Friday, December 28, 2007
Merry Christmas from Montana!
Dec 24 – 28, Mon – Fri ... On Christmas Eve, most of the family attended a candle light church service. Dixie’s sister, husband and three boys drove to Great Falls from Hogeland for Christmas. We had dinner at Dixie’s mom and dads that evening. Dixie’s brother, Danny, was scheduled to arrive on a flight from Palm Springs but it was delayed due to a mechanical issue with the plane. He and his daughter made it to Salt Lake City where they overnighted and caught a flight to Great Falls on Tuesday morning. On Christmas day, Doug and Fran had everyone over to their place for dinner. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time with family and especially the kids. As a Christmas gift, Doug and Fran gave the two oldest nephews a trip to Disneyland in January. Before they were told of it, however, they had to solve several scavenger “clues”. Once they did that, they learned of the trip. They were very excited because neither of them has ever flown on a commercial jet. On Thursday, Dixie spent most of the day working on medical billing claims. This is a job she is being trained to do by her sister-in-law, Fran, who has a home business doing this service. On Friday we headed back to the ‘farm’ to spend a few more days.
Dec 17 – 23, Mon – Sun ... “The farm” is located in and around Hogeland, MT, a small farming community in North-Central Montana about 12 miles from the Canadian border and province of Saskatchewan. On Monday, we drove with Dixie’s parents the 175 miles from Great Falls. We had a great time visiting with Dixie’s sister and family (we attended a wonderful school Christmas program of their 10 year old son) as well as her brother and sister-in-law. The weather cooperated too; it was cool but sunny most of the time. Back in Great Falls on Friday, Mike called the Dometic Corp yet again. He spoke with a Customer Service manager in an effort to get them to come up with a better solution to our refrigerator dilemma. Unfortunately, the news was not good. Although the part is in the states, all Dometic distribution centers are closed until January 2nd. This means that the part can’t be in Rockport until about January 7th so more changes to the Western itinerary are forthcoming. We’ll likely stay in Great Falls until about the 4th or 5th of January rather than go back to a motorhome with no working refrigerator. We’ll deal with it while spending some quality time with family. On Friday, we drove in and around Great Falls with Doug and Fran, looking at some townhouses and condos. We’re not all that serious about buying right now, just seeing what’s out there.
Dec 17 – 23, Mon – Sun ... “The farm” is located in and around Hogeland, MT, a small farming community in North-Central Montana about 12 miles from the Canadian border and province of Saskatchewan. On Monday, we drove with Dixie’s parents the 175 miles from Great Falls. We had a great time visiting with Dixie’s sister and family (we attended a wonderful school Christmas program of their 10 year old son) as well as her brother and sister-in-law. The weather cooperated too; it was cool but sunny most of the time. Back in Great Falls on Friday, Mike called the Dometic Corp yet again. He spoke with a Customer Service manager in an effort to get them to come up with a better solution to our refrigerator dilemma. Unfortunately, the news was not good. Although the part is in the states, all Dometic distribution centers are closed until January 2nd. This means that the part can’t be in Rockport until about January 7th so more changes to the Western itinerary are forthcoming. We’ll likely stay in Great Falls until about the 4th or 5th of January rather than go back to a motorhome with no working refrigerator. We’ll deal with it while spending some quality time with family. On Friday, we drove in and around Great Falls with Doug and Fran, looking at some townhouses and condos. We’re not all that serious about buying right now, just seeing what’s out there.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Leaving Rockport ----TEMPORARILY!
Dec 10 – 16, Mon – Sun ... Tuesday evening, we went to dinner with our RV friends Bob and Jeanne that we met while at Bay View RV park. It was “Tuesday night special” night at The Big Fisherman restaurant where beer was a buck and the chicken fried steak dinner was $1.75. The total bill for the four of us was $10.51. Naturally, at these prices, Mike quickly asked for the check. What a guy!! We also figured out that our air conditioner, that quite working a few days before, really worked fine that the problem was in the rv park's breaker (that was a relief, one less problem to deal with) On Thursday, we paid a visit to Camper Clinic, the people who we are working with on the repair of our still broken after 21/2 weeks refrigerator. The manager we’re working with called Dometic Corp again in an effort to find out when our replacement part will arrive in Rockport, Tx. He was told it could possible arrive by next Thursday the 20th. With that lovely thought we decided to call Dometic Customer Service ourselves. The person Dixie spoke with told her that more than likely, the part would not arrive until after the first of the year, as in 2008!! (They’re made in Sweden) With that we decided to leave the mh with them (no charge for storage) and fly to Montana to visit Dixie’s family. On Saturday we dumped what was left in our cooler and headed to San Antonio where we overnighted. We left our car at the hotel and managed to get on a Northwest flight to Minneapolis and then on to Great Falls. We arrived at 1pm on Sunday without any glitches!!! We had a wonderful dinner that evening at Bill & Gloria’s. Tomorrow we will head to the farm for a few days!
Sunday, December 09, 2007
STILL in Rockport without a Refrigerrator!
Dec 3 – 9, Mon – Sun ... It’s obvious that someone is testing our patience because nothing positive happened with regard to our refrigerator issue this week. They tell us “maybe next Wednesday or Thursday” the part will arrive. We’re beginning to think we will be spending the winter in Rockport, Texas waiting on parts. (To add insult to injury, on Sunday, we discovered one of our air conditioners would not work). Tuesday evening, we stood in line for an hour to eat a complimentary fish dinner provided by the city of Fulton for all the winter Texans. We had a good time meeting and talking with another couple while waiting in line. The food, however, was worth the wait. Dixie visited a local Chiropractor three times for a problem with pain in her shoulder and arm. We drove through Goose Island State park and also saw what is know to be the largest Oak Tree in Texas which is over 1000 yrs old. On Sunday, we rode the bikes eight miles along a beach road and into the city of Fulton. While taking a walk out on a pier, we observed a dolphin in the choppy bay waters.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Extended stay in Rockport -- problems!!!!
Nov 26 – 02 Dec, Mon – Sun ... For some unknown reason, our refrigerator was not cold when we got up on Monday morning. We went to Walmart and bought some ice chest and ice, used two we had, and placed everything in them, hoping to save our groceries. Mike called Camper Clinic and told them our problem and asked them so send someone out to look at it. On Tuesday afternoon, the tech arrived and within 5 minutes gave us the bad news that the cooling unit had to be replaced. Our thought was, great ... two weeks out of warranty and the two year old refrigerator quits. The guy we’re dealing with at Camper Clinic said he would get his warranty person to call Dometic Corp and see what they would do. In the mean time we bought more ice. Late Wednesday, he called and gave us “good news – bad news. The good news is that Dometic will take care of both parts and labor. The bad news is that they have to order the parts and the work can’t be done until next Tuesday or Wednesday. Later, we decided to drive the 45 miles to Corpus Christi and did a bit of shopping. Since we’re going to be another week without a fridge we decided to purchase a large ice chest. We also are using the refrigerator itself as an “ice chest” by putting ice and food items inside. Obviously, over the next several days, we’ll be cooking as much of the food as possible.
Dixie was suppose to meet some Continental friends in Austin for a ‘girls’ weekend in Roundtop. Since we were still in Rockport she decided to fly to Houston on Friday and drive to Roundtop with the Houston girls. They spent Friday night there and then drove back to Houston where Dixie attended the annual Houston Presidents Club party. She arrived back into Corpus Christi this morning.....ready for a nap. Sounds like it was a couple of short nights! We received our GPS so Mike spent the weekend playing with that. Still buying ice & trying to keep our refrig. items somewhat cold!!!
Dixie was suppose to meet some Continental friends in Austin for a ‘girls’ weekend in Roundtop. Since we were still in Rockport she decided to fly to Houston on Friday and drive to Roundtop with the Houston girls. They spent Friday night there and then drove back to Houston where Dixie attended the annual Houston Presidents Club party. She arrived back into Corpus Christi this morning.....ready for a nap. Sounds like it was a couple of short nights! We received our GPS so Mike spent the weekend playing with that. Still buying ice & trying to keep our refrig. items somewhat cold!!!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Hello from Rockport, TX
I will put a photo on in the next couple of days. It's been too rainy/cloudy to take any photos!
Nov 19 – 25, Mon – Sun ... On Monday, we had an appointment at Camper Clinic to have the motorhome refrigerator and large patio awning looked at. The refrigerator seemed to have a seal issue on the freezer side and the awning was not rolling up properly. They ordered another door from Dometic so we have to go back there and have it installed on the day we leave Rockport. They told us the awning was missing some parts and that was causing it to roll up improperly. It’s now working like it’s supposed to. We thought we had a three year warranty on parts and labor with the Dometic products but discovered that it only covered parts after two years. We were 11 days beyond two years so had to pay their ridiculous $99 hourly rate. Wow!! After an email to Dometic, they will take care of the installation of the freezer door and I’m in the process of writing a letter to the warranty department about the awning issue. We’ll see what happens. Later that evening we went to Bill and Gloria’s for spaghetti & Monday night football.
On Thursday we had Thanksgiving with them at their clubhouse dinner, the Circle W RV park. We even went back at 6p.m. for leftovers. The weather has turned wintery, i.e. cool and damp. We decided to skip the ‘Black Friday’ sales (there’s no sale that’s worth getting to a store a 4 or 5 am!) We ordered a GPS online through Costco and skipped the mad rush at the stores. Dixie did a couple of haircuts on Friday.
Bill & Gloria come over for dinner on Saturday.
Sunday evening we headed into town for a Chinese buffet with Bill & Gloria. They are headed back to MT on Mon.
Nov 19 – 25, Mon – Sun ... On Monday, we had an appointment at Camper Clinic to have the motorhome refrigerator and large patio awning looked at. The refrigerator seemed to have a seal issue on the freezer side and the awning was not rolling up properly. They ordered another door from Dometic so we have to go back there and have it installed on the day we leave Rockport. They told us the awning was missing some parts and that was causing it to roll up improperly. It’s now working like it’s supposed to. We thought we had a three year warranty on parts and labor with the Dometic products but discovered that it only covered parts after two years. We were 11 days beyond two years so had to pay their ridiculous $99 hourly rate. Wow!! After an email to Dometic, they will take care of the installation of the freezer door and I’m in the process of writing a letter to the warranty department about the awning issue. We’ll see what happens. Later that evening we went to Bill and Gloria’s for spaghetti & Monday night football.
On Thursday we had Thanksgiving with them at their clubhouse dinner, the Circle W RV park. We even went back at 6p.m. for leftovers. The weather has turned wintery, i.e. cool and damp. We decided to skip the ‘Black Friday’ sales (there’s no sale that’s worth getting to a store a 4 or 5 am!) We ordered a GPS online through Costco and skipped the mad rush at the stores. Dixie did a couple of haircuts on Friday.
Bill & Gloria come over for dinner on Saturday.
Sunday evening we headed into town for a Chinese buffet with Bill & Gloria. They are headed back to MT on Mon.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Our last fun filled week in Houston!
Nov 12 – 18, Mon – Sun ... The highlight on Monday was driving to The Woodlands and having dinner at the home of our friends Don and Linda who have a beautiful home on a golf course. Tuesday, our friends Bob, Nettie and Andy (Dixie’s Training dept days), came over for dinner at the motorhome. We had a great time reminiscing and catching up on people we knew while at Continental Airlines. On Wednesday, Dixie got a haircut and Mike had the oil changed and the brakes redone on the car. Thursday evening brought more Continental friends (Presidents Club Marketing) over for hors d'oeuvres and wine. On Friday, we went to Hermann Hospital and met Carson Jason Teague, who was born at 305pm weighing 7lb 2oz. He was brought into the world by our nephews Carrie and Corey Teague. On Saturday it was time to pack up and leave the Houston area. It was sad leaving family and friends but it was time to move on! We drove 175 miles to Bayview RV Park in Rockport, TX (about 40 miles from Corpus Christi). Sunday Mike washed the roof of the motorhome and then we went to visit Dixie’s Cousin Gloria & Bill. They have wintered in the area for the last 3 years. We later went out to dinner at “Moon Dogs”.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
More from Houston!
Nov 5 – 11, Mon – Sun ... On Monday we took the bikes, packed a lunch, and went to Houston’s Memorial Park where we rode about 11 miles of trails. This park is very wooded and, believe it or not, is about three times the size of Central Park in New York City. On Tuesday, Dixie drove to the north side of town and had lunch with more of the people she worked with during her Baggage Resolution years. On Saturday, we drove to The Woodlands and had a fun time with our friend Carina whom we both worked with at different times. It was Mike’s 65th birthday and she had invited several other people that we had worked with over the years. We had a great time! We’ve also found time to use the exercise equipment here at the park almost every day this week. Other than a little shopping, using the park pool, etc., that about sums up our week.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Another week in Houston!
Nov 3rd & 4th, Sat – Sun – On Saturday evening we met with some of Mike’s high school friends at their home in Katy, Tx. Needless to say, it was a fun evening with lots of food and laughs. Mike spent Sunday watching some football games and installing his ladder mounted U. S. flag he bought at Camping World. We both spent some time at the swimming pool and Mike used the gym yet again. What’s he trying to do, look like Mr. Atlas?
Oct 29 – Mon – Fri Nov 2nd – The highlights of the week were: On Tuesday, Roger, Karen, Corey, Carrie and Casey (Amber had to work late) visited us at the RV park for dinner. We had a fun time. Mike’s Dr. appointment was on Wednesday (everything was fine) and Mike had lunch with his friend Bob. On Thursday evening, we attended an annual meeting at the Wyndham Hotel with our financial planner. Friday was a shopping day...Dixie took on the project of printing & putting our blog/journal in an album. We now have 235 pages of memories!
Oct 29 – Mon – Fri Nov 2nd – The highlights of the week were: On Tuesday, Roger, Karen, Corey, Carrie and Casey (Amber had to work late) visited us at the RV park for dinner. We had a fun time. Mike’s Dr. appointment was on Wednesday (everything was fine) and Mike had lunch with his friend Bob. On Thursday evening, we attended an annual meeting at the Wyndham Hotel with our financial planner. Friday was a shopping day...Dixie took on the project of printing & putting our blog/journal in an album. We now have 235 pages of memories!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Another week in Southwest Houston
Oct 28 Sun ... This morning we attended “Lakewood Church”. This is the church where Joel Osteen is the Pastor. The church building is the old ‘Summit, then Compaq Center’ where the Houston Rockets played. Well, what can we say, it was AWESOME! It was a high energy, music filled, spiritual experience. Joel and his wife Victoria conducted the service to a packed congregation (average weekly attendance is 47,000 with 6 services). His weekly TV show airs on dozens of channels nation wide and his optimistic message has made him one of the country’s most popular preachers. The church building its self is pretty unbelievable.
Oct 27 Sat ... Mike fulfilled a long time goal of attending a Concealed Handgun course for the purpose of obtaining a license to carry a concealed handgun. It was an all day course starting at 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and was held at an indoor shooting range in South Houston. The instructor was a retired Houston Police Officer who spent his last 14 years as a Police Academy Instructor. He was extremely knowledgeable concerning the law as well as an excellent communicator. Mike qualified on the shooting range with a borrowed (from the shooting range) Glock 9MM semi-automatic handgun. Dixie spent the day shopping.
Oct 26 Fri ... Again, Mike worked around the mh (after a brief visit to the fitness center) before picking up Dixie in the afternoon.
Oct 25 Thurs ... Mike took Dixie to the Bush Intercontinental Airport for a trip to Newark, NJ. She’s assisting the department she formally reported to by performing some club evaluations while Mike did things around the mh and went to the fitness center. Happy ??Birthday to Dixie's brother, Doug!
Oct 24 Wed ... Mike’s high school buddy, Eugene, treated him to a round of golf at a very nice course in Friendswood. Even though the play was slow (a tournament) they had a good time. Happy 7th Birthday to our neice, Lexi!
Oct 23 Tues ... Did some grocery shopping at a Whole Foods Market. That was a first time for that store --- lots of neat stuff there.
Oct 22 Mon ... Mike had his annual physical check-up at M. D. Anderson Cancer center this morning. He sees his Dr. next Monday for consultation concerning the test.
Oct 27 Sat ... Mike fulfilled a long time goal of attending a Concealed Handgun course for the purpose of obtaining a license to carry a concealed handgun. It was an all day course starting at 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and was held at an indoor shooting range in South Houston. The instructor was a retired Houston Police Officer who spent his last 14 years as a Police Academy Instructor. He was extremely knowledgeable concerning the law as well as an excellent communicator. Mike qualified on the shooting range with a borrowed (from the shooting range) Glock 9MM semi-automatic handgun. Dixie spent the day shopping.
Oct 26 Fri ... Again, Mike worked around the mh (after a brief visit to the fitness center) before picking up Dixie in the afternoon.
Oct 25 Thurs ... Mike took Dixie to the Bush Intercontinental Airport for a trip to Newark, NJ. She’s assisting the department she formally reported to by performing some club evaluations while Mike did things around the mh and went to the fitness center. Happy ??Birthday to Dixie's brother, Doug!
Oct 24 Wed ... Mike’s high school buddy, Eugene, treated him to a round of golf at a very nice course in Friendswood. Even though the play was slow (a tournament) they had a good time. Happy 7th Birthday to our neice, Lexi!
Oct 23 Tues ... Did some grocery shopping at a Whole Foods Market. That was a first time for that store --- lots of neat stuff there.
Oct 22 Mon ... Mike had his annual physical check-up at M. D. Anderson Cancer center this morning. He sees his Dr. next Monday for consultation concerning the test.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
A Move to Southwest Houston - LakeView RV Resort
Oct 21 Sun ... Quite day today. We sat outside this morning and read the paper, enjoying the view of the lake and the great weather. The temps & humidity are down.
Oct 20 Sat ... Today is our nephew Jason White Teague’s birthday. He would have been 35. We met with the family at the gravesite this afternoon and had dinner with them after that.
Oct 19 Fri ... We took a drive into the Sugarland/Missouri City/Stafford area this afternoon; Mike couldn’t believe how much it had changed since he lived there in the mid to late 70’s.
Oct 18 Thurs ... We used the gym facilities in the morning. Later, Dixie drove into downtown Houston and had lunch with some of the girls she worked with when she was with Continental Airlines. Mike cleaned the mh, re-caulked the kitchen sink and put up another smoke detector; this one in the bedroom.
Oct 17 Wed ... Move day ... to LakeView RV Resort in SW Houston. It rained on us during most of the 50 mile drive but the traffic wasn’t too bad. This is a very nice park; probably the best park we’ve camped at in 6 years of RV’ing (this one can truely be referred to as a 'resort', unlike many of the others that claim they are). It’s new, (opened in 2006) on a 4 acre lake, a 3/8 mile walking path, concrete full-hook up sites with 50 amp service. It has a very nice clubhouse that includes a spa, exercise equipment and computer room. Of course, it’s also the priciest park ... ever at over $600 for the month. Oh well, we must splurge every once in a while in order to ease the pain of such a stressful lifestyle we lead. (ha)
Oct 16 Tue ... We drove into Conroe again where Mike had to get his Tx drivers license renewed. Then went to the grocery store and surprise, surprise, it wasn’t a Walmart this time. Later, Dixie did laundry. We also talked to our new neighbors from Round Rock, Tx who were new full-timers. They had a lot of questions about campground memberships. We told them all we knew and gave them some recommendations.
Oct 15 Mon ... Not much going on today. We had to make a trip into Conroe to the Fedex store to send back our golf badges to our friend Ross. Later in the evening, we drove to our friend JoAnn’s house for dinner.
Oct 20 Sat ... Today is our nephew Jason White Teague’s birthday. He would have been 35. We met with the family at the gravesite this afternoon and had dinner with them after that.
Oct 19 Fri ... We took a drive into the Sugarland/Missouri City/Stafford area this afternoon; Mike couldn’t believe how much it had changed since he lived there in the mid to late 70’s.
Oct 18 Thurs ... We used the gym facilities in the morning. Later, Dixie drove into downtown Houston and had lunch with some of the girls she worked with when she was with Continental Airlines. Mike cleaned the mh, re-caulked the kitchen sink and put up another smoke detector; this one in the bedroom.
Oct 17 Wed ... Move day ... to LakeView RV Resort in SW Houston. It rained on us during most of the 50 mile drive but the traffic wasn’t too bad. This is a very nice park; probably the best park we’ve camped at in 6 years of RV’ing (this one can truely be referred to as a 'resort', unlike many of the others that claim they are). It’s new, (opened in 2006) on a 4 acre lake, a 3/8 mile walking path, concrete full-hook up sites with 50 amp service. It has a very nice clubhouse that includes a spa, exercise equipment and computer room. Of course, it’s also the priciest park ... ever at over $600 for the month. Oh well, we must splurge every once in a while in order to ease the pain of such a stressful lifestyle we lead. (ha)
Oct 16 Tue ... We drove into Conroe again where Mike had to get his Tx drivers license renewed. Then went to the grocery store and surprise, surprise, it wasn’t a Walmart this time. Later, Dixie did laundry. We also talked to our new neighbors from Round Rock, Tx who were new full-timers. They had a lot of questions about campground memberships. We told them all we knew and gave them some recommendations.
Oct 15 Mon ... Not much going on today. We had to make a trip into Conroe to the Fedex store to send back our golf badges to our friend Ross. Later in the evening, we drove to our friend JoAnn’s house for dinner.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Back home in the Houston area!
Oct 14 Sun ... Today we decided to take in the final round of the Administaff Classic golf tournament at the Augusta Pines golf course in Spring, (Woodlands) Tx. In addition to the pros (Bernhard Lager won) we followed the celebrities - Jeff Bagwell, Roger Clemens, Rollie Fingers, Gary Carter and Clyde Drexler for awhile. We had a good time and for once didn’t get lost getting out of the Woodlands on our way home.
Oct 13 Sat ...This afternoon we drove to our old neighborhood and took in our churches annual Art & Crafts festival. We were able to visit with many old church friends. After that stop we met our old neighbors (well not ‘old’ – just former), Jim & Priscilla for a wonderful dinner and conversation. We even made a quick drive by our old house!
Oct 12 Fri ... We continued our visit today at Roger & Karen’s.
Oct 11 Thurs ... We drove about 50 miles to Pearland to visit Mike’s brother and family. We all went out to a local Tex-mex restaurant for dinner in the evening. We stayed overnight at Roger & Karen’s.
Oct 10 Wed ... Dixie had a haircut appointment while Mike went with Ross to the Augusta Pines golf club to watch a Pro-Am round of golf. It was part of the Administaff Classic which is part of the Champions Golf Tour. Later, Dixie met us at the course.
Oct 9 Tue ... Today is a Walmart supply day. Later, we met our friend Ross from Texarkana for dinner.
Oct 8 Mon ... Mary and Hershel took us with them out on the lake on their pontoon boat to check their “noodle lines”. This is similar to a trotline except the line with hooks has a styrofoam “noodle” that serves as a bobber. This way, you know where the lines are located in the water. We pulled in a couple of nice catfish and a bigmouth bass. We had a wonderful time visiting with them.
We went through Livingston, Tx and picked up our mail at the Escapees Rainbow park. When we got to the park in Willis and after disconnecting the car, it wouldn’t start because the battery had run down. Two fellow RVer’s helped us by providing a jump start. We even found a site where we would have some afternoon shade and yet get our satellite signal. Life is good!!
Oct 13 Sat ...This afternoon we drove to our old neighborhood and took in our churches annual Art & Crafts festival. We were able to visit with many old church friends. After that stop we met our old neighbors (well not ‘old’ – just former), Jim & Priscilla for a wonderful dinner and conversation. We even made a quick drive by our old house!
Oct 12 Fri ... We continued our visit today at Roger & Karen’s.
Oct 11 Thurs ... We drove about 50 miles to Pearland to visit Mike’s brother and family. We all went out to a local Tex-mex restaurant for dinner in the evening. We stayed overnight at Roger & Karen’s.
Oct 10 Wed ... Dixie had a haircut appointment while Mike went with Ross to the Augusta Pines golf club to watch a Pro-Am round of golf. It was part of the Administaff Classic which is part of the Champions Golf Tour. Later, Dixie met us at the course.
Oct 9 Tue ... Today is a Walmart supply day. Later, we met our friend Ross from Texarkana for dinner.
Oct 8 Mon ... Mary and Hershel took us with them out on the lake on their pontoon boat to check their “noodle lines”. This is similar to a trotline except the line with hooks has a styrofoam “noodle” that serves as a bobber. This way, you know where the lines are located in the water. We pulled in a couple of nice catfish and a bigmouth bass. We had a wonderful time visiting with them.
We went through Livingston, Tx and picked up our mail at the Escapees Rainbow park. When we got to the park in Willis and after disconnecting the car, it wouldn’t start because the battery had run down. Two fellow RVer’s helped us by providing a jump start. We even found a site where we would have some afternoon shade and yet get our satellite signal. Life is good!!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Mike's hometown of Texarkana, TX
Oct 7 Sun ... We hit the road today about 930a heading south 165 miles to the small town of Zavalla to overnight with some friends of ours from Continental days. Mary & Hershel sold their home in Houston and now live on Lake Sam Rayburn. They are also fellow RV’ers. We are looking forward to our visit. Monday we drive another 125 miles to the Willis/Conroe (about 55 miles north of downtown Houston) area where we will be until the 17th. ((the internet is hit or miss on the road so I may not get the photos on just yet))
Oct 6 Sat ... Today was lunch with two of Mike’s cousins and their spouses. We haven’t seen them in several years so we enjoyed visiting with them. This evening we had another get together at a Mexican restaurant with the school buddies –- more fun times!
Oct 5 Fri ... We rode the bikes about 5 miles this morning. We got together with more Texarkana school friends this evening to eat catfish and reminisce.
Oct 4 Thurs ... In the afternoon, we went over to some friends’ house for a visit. Later, we helped his son-in-law lift a very large elk head onto a wall bracket in his home office. The elk weighed over 700 lbs. when it was shot. It has a very large rack of antlers and is the largest I have ever seen, bar none. They estimated it weighed between 80 – 100 lbs. Later, we went to Chili’s for happy hour and a snack.
Oct 3 Wed ... Today we rode the bikes about 7 miles around the lake area. The weather is quite warm (temps around 90) so any outside physical activity has to be done early in the day. Later we drove into town and visited a Walmart and the town library for internet.
Oct 2 Tue ... One of Mike’s school buddies from when he lived here in the 50’s, took him around town today. He also took him to meet some of the guys he went to school with and who still live in Texarkana. Mike enjoyed it immensely. While he was away, Dixie worked on her scrapbook project.
Oct 1 Mon ... Today is another drive day ... this time to Texarkana and a Corp of Engineer park on Wright Patman Lake. We met our friend Ross McAlister, his dad and another friend, for dinner at the Dixie Diner restaurant. We had a great time talking about old times because Mike went to school with them when he lived his early years in Texarkana. (Mike was born in Texarkana and lived there through the 10th grade).
Oct 6 Sat ... Today was lunch with two of Mike’s cousins and their spouses. We haven’t seen them in several years so we enjoyed visiting with them. This evening we had another get together at a Mexican restaurant with the school buddies –- more fun times!
Oct 5 Fri ... We rode the bikes about 5 miles this morning. We got together with more Texarkana school friends this evening to eat catfish and reminisce.
Oct 4 Thurs ... In the afternoon, we went over to some friends’ house for a visit. Later, we helped his son-in-law lift a very large elk head onto a wall bracket in his home office. The elk weighed over 700 lbs. when it was shot. It has a very large rack of antlers and is the largest I have ever seen, bar none. They estimated it weighed between 80 – 100 lbs. Later, we went to Chili’s for happy hour and a snack.
Oct 3 Wed ... Today we rode the bikes about 7 miles around the lake area. The weather is quite warm (temps around 90) so any outside physical activity has to be done early in the day. Later we drove into town and visited a Walmart and the town library for internet.
Oct 2 Tue ... One of Mike’s school buddies from when he lived here in the 50’s, took him around town today. He also took him to meet some of the guys he went to school with and who still live in Texarkana. Mike enjoyed it immensely. While he was away, Dixie worked on her scrapbook project.
Oct 1 Mon ... Today is another drive day ... this time to Texarkana and a Corp of Engineer park on Wright Patman Lake. We met our friend Ross McAlister, his dad and another friend, for dinner at the Dixie Diner restaurant. We had a great time talking about old times because Mike went to school with them when he lived his early years in Texarkana. (Mike was born in Texarkana and lived there through the 10th grade).
Sunday, September 30, 2007
More from Branson & on to Hot Springs Natl Park in Arkansas
Sep 30 Sun ... We took a drive today up the scenic mountain road where the view of the Hot Springs valley was nothing short of spectacular. Later, we take a hike one of the many trails in the park.
Sep 29 Sat ... As most people know, the town is named Hot Springs because of the natural hot thermal springs in the area. An average of 700,000 gallons of water is collected each day at an average temperature of 143 degrees Fahrenheit. The heyday of spa bathing in the several bath houses was from 1880 to 1950 when over a million visitors a year immersed themselves in the park’s hot waters. By 1985 only one bath house remained open. The Fordyce bathhouse is now the National Park visitors’ center and museum. We took a self-guided tour and watched a video of what it was like back then. It’s interesting that all the equipment of the time was still there to view (a full spa experience). Of course we had to fill a couple of gallon jugs with ‘the water’. There are water jug fountains in a few locations for just that purpose.
Sep 28 Fri ... We got on the road early this morning for our drive to Hot Springs. All went well and we stopped in Conway, AR for lunch. The rv park is in the National Park system yet has no hook-ups. Our site is near the Gulpha Gorge Creek and we can hear the sound of the rushing water over a small water fall. Unfortunately, we’re unable to receive our satellite signal due to the fact there’re too many trees in the area. I guess we’ll have to do a lot of reading while in this park.
Sep 27 Thu ... Went to the gym this morning and use the high speed internet in the activities center. We were to move to another park tomorrow in Branson but we decided to move on down the road. We plan to drive about 225 miles to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.
Sep 26 Wed ... Dixie’s Mom and Dad left this morning for their long trek back to Great Falls, MT, a drive of about 1,150 miles. We later went to one of the outlet malls and then to Walmart. Sep 25 Tue ... Another day of a Branson show. Today it’s the Tony Roi Elvis Experience. This will be our last and only show for today. The show today was awesome for sure. Tony Roi and his Elvis Experience show is one of the best we’ve ever seen, anywhere. He has a striking resemblance to Elvis and his voice is also very much Elvis. His show was voted Branson’s best show of the year for 2006; Branson’s best singer of the year for 2006 and best performer of the year in 2006. This is a “don’t miss” show if/when you travel to Branson, MO.
Sep 24 Mon ... Today is our “big day” here in Branson because we have tickets to two great shows. In the afternoon we went to the Pierce Arrow show. It was an excellent show that consisted of country, gospel and patriotic singing and dancing. The comedian was great as well. All in all it was a very good show. In the evening we went to the Mickey Gilley theatre and show that was excellent as well. He sang several of his many number one hits and his comedian, Joey Riley, was the funniest yet. We laughed like we haven’t laughed in a long time.
Sep 29 Sat ... As most people know, the town is named Hot Springs because of the natural hot thermal springs in the area. An average of 700,000 gallons of water is collected each day at an average temperature of 143 degrees Fahrenheit. The heyday of spa bathing in the several bath houses was from 1880 to 1950 when over a million visitors a year immersed themselves in the park’s hot waters. By 1985 only one bath house remained open. The Fordyce bathhouse is now the National Park visitors’ center and museum. We took a self-guided tour and watched a video of what it was like back then. It’s interesting that all the equipment of the time was still there to view (a full spa experience). Of course we had to fill a couple of gallon jugs with ‘the water’. There are water jug fountains in a few locations for just that purpose.
Sep 28 Fri ... We got on the road early this morning for our drive to Hot Springs. All went well and we stopped in Conway, AR for lunch. The rv park is in the National Park system yet has no hook-ups. Our site is near the Gulpha Gorge Creek and we can hear the sound of the rushing water over a small water fall. Unfortunately, we’re unable to receive our satellite signal due to the fact there’re too many trees in the area. I guess we’ll have to do a lot of reading while in this park.
Sep 27 Thu ... Went to the gym this morning and use the high speed internet in the activities center. We were to move to another park tomorrow in Branson but we decided to move on down the road. We plan to drive about 225 miles to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.
Sep 26 Wed ... Dixie’s Mom and Dad left this morning for their long trek back to Great Falls, MT, a drive of about 1,150 miles. We later went to one of the outlet malls and then to Walmart. Sep 25 Tue ... Another day of a Branson show. Today it’s the Tony Roi Elvis Experience. This will be our last and only show for today. The show today was awesome for sure. Tony Roi and his Elvis Experience show is one of the best we’ve ever seen, anywhere. He has a striking resemblance to Elvis and his voice is also very much Elvis. His show was voted Branson’s best show of the year for 2006; Branson’s best singer of the year for 2006 and best performer of the year in 2006. This is a “don’t miss” show if/when you travel to Branson, MO.
Sep 24 Mon ... Today is our “big day” here in Branson because we have tickets to two great shows. In the afternoon we went to the Pierce Arrow show. It was an excellent show that consisted of country, gospel and patriotic singing and dancing. The comedian was great as well. All in all it was a very good show. In the evening we went to the Mickey Gilley theatre and show that was excellent as well. He sang several of his many number one hits and his comedian, Joey Riley, was the funniest yet. We laughed like we haven’t laughed in a long time.
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