Short Stop in Natchez

At River View RV Park, Natchez, Mississippi...

Eastbound from Nacogdoches, we were successful in outrunning a storm system that was slowly moving its gloomy rain across the southern U. S. Looking at the radar, it was clear that we needed to take a more southerly route due to yet more rain showing up in northern Louisiana. So, we chose to go by way of Alexandria, Louisiana to Natchez, Mississippi. It was a good choice; there was no rain, but a lot of southerly wind flow that usually precedes an approaching weather system from the northwest. 

While I'm on the subject of weather radar, allow me to mention a real find in weather radar apps for your smartphone. Go right now and download RadarScope. It is a little pricey at $9.99, but it is so worth it. This is the same app used by many television stations to display weather on their newscasts, and it reminds me very much of the weather radars we used in airliner cockpits. If you bring it up on your phone and tap the location widget at the bottom left corner of the screen, it will locate you wherever you are in the U. S. and display the closest live radar image. I used this to navigate my way to Natchez, and it works unbelievably well. Here's a photo of my iPhone screen with the app live:

As you can see, it shows my location in Natchez, along with some light rain in the Natchitoches-Ft. Polk area and a small cluster of thundershowers just southwest of New Iberia. The radar being used for the display is at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Now if this isn't worth $9.99, I don't know what is.

We are very impressed with River View RV Park, which is actually on the Louisiana side of the river, across the bridge from Natchez. It reminds me greatly of the Tom Sawyer park in West Memphis, Arkansas, only nicer. For example, take a look at the long concrete riverwalk that extends the entire length of the park:

Here's a view from the walk; a big tug pushes a long line of barges upriver:

Below is a view of the same tug from the other side of the river in downtown Natchez. (The tug was going very slow against the current, so we had plenty of time to drive over there.)

We had only one full day in Natchez, so we made the best of it by visiting a couple of the grand antebellum mansions that we hadn't seen, beginning with Dunleith:

  
Built in 1790 and rebuilt in 1855 after a fire, it now hosts overnight guests on its beautiful 40-acre setting near downtown. Magnificent.

We also took a tour of Rosalie mansion, overlooking the Mississippi River downtown:

Here's the view of the river from Rosalie's second floor balcony:

The mansion has a very interesting history that is easily found online, so I won't take up space with recounting it here. Suffice it to say, however, that reading about it is nothing like being there and seeing it in person. We had an excellent docent who made the tour very enjoyable. She was a quintessential southern belle who couldn't even bring herself to utter the words "Civil War." She referred to it as the "War of Northern Aggression." I suppose one can understand that the emotional wounds are still raw--after all, it hasn't even been 200 years since the war ended...

And now, no visit to Natchez would be complete without a couple of foodie reviews, so here we go:

I didn't think we would ever find a doughnut better than a Krispy Kreme, but I think Natchez's Donut Shop has one. This fluffy little circle of goodness has a bit more substance and not so much icing as the KK and, wonder of wonders, it was still warm when it was handed through the window. I would have taken a photo, but the doughnut somehow disappeared before I could pick up the camera. Here is the very modest shop that created it; one would never guess the delights it contained:

And yes, it goes into my list of favorite restaurants found at the beginning of this blog, as does the next one.

Supper (as the evening meal is called here unless you are a Yankee unafraid of gunfire) was at Jughead's Fish Fry and More. This ramshackle little place may have the best value I've ever seen in fried seafood.

You just won't believe this--a seafood platter with boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, catfish, oysters, clams, crab balls, stuffed shrimp, stuffed crab, onion rings, hush puppies, french fries and coleslaw--way more than enough for both us--for (drum roll) $19.95. I kid you not! 

Now I ask you, who is the king of finding great hole-in-the-wall joints? Yes, yes, it is I, my friends, and it's all for you. (Remember, if it's a fact, it ain't bragging!)

We have a longer leg than usual tomorrow to Red Bay--a little over 300 miles--but that's really pretty easy, as the miles pass smoothly in Phannie's big captain chairs while we glide along on her air suspension. Watching the scenery through her Imax-like windshield and listening to tunes on XM Sirius, the only real challenge is selecting the kind of snack or beverage that will be sweetly delivered to the cockpit by the cute stewardess...wait a minute; why am I hearing the theme from The Twilight Zone?   

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

On the Way to Red Bay

Enroute to Red Bay, Alabama...

Next week we get Phannie's residential refrigerator upgrade (along with some others I haven't told you about) done in Red Bay and, on the way, we decided to drop into Nacogdoches, Texas, my home town, and visit some folks. Longtime friends John and Pat met us for an enjoyable meal, (especially since John paid; thanks, John). Then we went to see one of my old flight instructors from back in the sixties when I was acquiring my pilot's licenses and ratings. A. L. was a true professional pilot whom most of my contemporaries and I wanted to emulate. At 91 years of age, he is infirm now, but his mind is sharp as ever. He even remembered a short conversation we had many years ago over the radios of the respective airplanes we were flying. I was in a DC-8 at cruise altitude and, hearing his unmistakable voice over the cockpit speaker, I gave him a shout. It was late at night, and ATC didn't mind. I still can't believe he remembered that.

A. L. was truly a member of the Greatest Generation, and he will always be a hero to me and many others. We had a nice visit, and I made sure he knew how much I appreciated his influence on my flying career. 

Visiting with this fine man brought back a lot of good memories and made me pause to think how differently things may have turned out if I had not had mentors like A. L. and others who demonstrated high standards and demanded the same from their students, all the while being positive and encouraging. His is a legacy that will always be remembered.

Now, on to another subject: Commenter Tina Lorenz from a couple of posts back wanted an update on my experience with the new Winegard Razar over-the-air automated antenna we had installed at the Tiffin rally in Canton, Texas. I'm pleased to report that it is even better than I had hoped. After the installation in Canton--which is sort of out in the boonies--we could get ten stations. Once we moved to the DFW metro area, we picked up no fewer than 22! Here's a photo of the control panel to prove it:

I'm so glad to be rid of the batwing; its extending mechanism stayed jammed most of the time, and I much prefer just pushing a button, which is the same thing I do to deploy the Trav'ler satellite dish to get Direct TV. I also might mention that the Trav'ler has been very reliable; we put up the dish at every stop (haven't used cable in years), and it hasn't had a single hiccup in five years of constant use. By the way, I have no relationship with or financial interest in Winegard; I just like their products.

Another way I avoid frustration is to have my own Internet. I have found precious few RV parks whose wi-fi is anything better than abysmal. So I handle that by a couple of hotspots I carry that give me 40 gigs of data per month (Yes, having hotspots from different providers is actually cheaper than getting the extra 10 gigs from AT&T. I can't figure out why an extra 10 gigs would cause such a jump in their pricing.) 

I'm taking the day off from editing Ed's book so I can write this post, but I don't think it matters to him right now, as he, too, is traveling and hasn't had much time for review.

Stay tuned for the latest!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

A Few Days in DFW and a Favorite Salad

At the Arlington KOA, Arlington, Texas...

Once again, we have landed on our former home turf to help our doctors fund their 401K accounts. It continues to amaze me how often one or more of our body parts develops some sort of pain, irregularity or malfunction that needs the attention of a medical professional. If that weren't enough, we are constantly reminded by e-mail, text or phone that it is time for a checkup. And then there are the prescription drugs that are sufficiently numerous that Sandy has to keep track of them in a small ledger. I suppose we must be doing something right, however; we seem pretty healthy and we don't really feel as old as we probably should.

By the way, you may not know the origin of the word "checkup," but it started a long time ago in my home town after my doctor became tired of accepting payments from patients in chickens, pigs or other farm animals. The old doctor had an office above the bank, and one day, I overheard a telephone conversation his nurse was having with one of his patients. The patient obviously was calling to make an appointment and asked how many chickens he should bring upstairs as payment for the doctor's services. The doctor figured out who was calling and hollered to his nurse, "Tell Herschel we don't need any more chickens; just bring a check up when he gets here." Hence the origin of the word "checkup."

What? You have doubts about my veracity in this matter? Well, it could have happened, couldn't it? Besides, I'm not George Washington; I can tell a lie.

Okay, I digress. I'm pretty sure that the need for all these doctor visits is karma. I'm more convinced than ever that this is payback from the Almighty for my having scoffed at old folks and their pill alligators when I was young. On the other hand, it's hard to argue with the current crop of doctors can do miracles for you with the proper chemicals if you try to keep healthy and continue to come in for a checkup.

Speaking of keeping healthy, Sandy and I have been trying to eat healthier food, and we have developed a couple of low-cal recipes that we rather like. One of these is our version of Salad Nicoise (pronounced knee-shwahs):

Now this salad consists of lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, boiled eggs, tuna and peppers, topped with garlic salt and pepper and using olive oil and red wine vinegar as the dressing. (Note: Using anything but red wine vinegar is not permitted; if you use some other kind, you need to be punished.) An authentic salad Nicoise is supposed to include anchovies and Nicoise olives, but we're not so fond of those things, so we use the peppers instead. It's pretty easy to see from the photos how it's made; just arrange all the stuff on a large plate on a bed of lettuce and sprinkle with the seasonings and oil and vinegar.

It is important to use high-quality ingredients; we subscribe to the philosophy that, most of the time, you get what you pay for. For this recipe, the tuna and the peppers should be top shelf. We use only canned albacore tuna that we order from a small private cannery, Chuck's Seafoods, in Coos Bay, Oregon (there are others that are very good, like Sportsmen's in Winchester Bay). Is it a bit more expensive than Star Kist? Oh yes. But after you have it, you will throw rocks at Star Kist.

By the way, here is a photo of the cannery itself, where we picked up a case of tuna last summer:

The peppers are Mama Lil's Goathorn Peppers, ordered from a small specialty foods place, also in Oregon: 

These peppers are wonderful; they are slightly spicy, tangy and garlicky, packed in olive oil, and are unlike any we have ever tried. Nothing could be better on this salad or a lot of other things; the possibilities are endless. A warning for the faint of pocketbook: These peppers are quite rare and are, unfortunately, priced accordingly. But I still think they're worth it. 

We also wouldn't think of serving this salad without our favorite cracker--Trader Joe's Everything Crackers. Here's the box, with a Mama Lil's jar keeping it company:

For those who would deny themselves a little splurging now and then, here's a thought about budgets: Almost everyone except someone really rich has one. But life is short; you will likely not remember the mundane, but you won't forget giving yourself a little treat. You're worth it.

I've been busy helping edit a book being written by Ed, a friend and fellow retired pilot about his flying career. This has had the unexpected benefit of bringing back memories of my own flying escapades about which I may write a memoir just to see what I can remember. It was a great career, and I may just do it for my grandkids.

In a few days, we will be heading eastbound for Red Bay and new stuff for Phannie. She's excited!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life. Please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

Rally Time and a New Upgrade for Phannie

Photo above taken at Winchester Bay, Oregon

At Mill Creek Ranch RV Resort, Canton, Texas...

The Texas Allegro Bluebonnet RV club, to which we belong, has been sponsoring a large statewide rally here in Canton. It was open to all owners of Tiffin motorhomes, and there were approximately one hundred sites filled with Tiffin coaches of all kinds and vintages:

Here's another view of more sites near the park's pond:

Aside from fun, food and fellowship, the owners of these coaches had some opportunities in several seminars to get some education in such subjects as satellite TVs, towbars and towing, hot water systems, tire safety, RV batteries and other presentations. Tiffin representatives were there with the latest news from the factory, and some well-respected RV service techs were on site to present their credentials and perform maintenance and upgrades. Vogt RV from Fort Worth brought three new Tiffin coaches to show the rally attendees and sold two of them! 

One of the participating tech firms that I hold in very high esteem is Custom RV (256-668-0973), based in Vina, Alabama (not far from the Tiffin factory in Red Bay). The owner, Brannon Hutcheson, was there along with an assistant, Jason, and I had them install the new Winegard Razar automated TV antenna to replace Phannie's "bat wing" antenna that was cumbersome at best to operate and unusable at worst. Wow, what a difference! This antenna is installed on the roof and, with the push of a button inside the coach, it will automatically search and find all available local TV channels for viewing on Phannie's TVs. Although we use Direct TV satellite mostly, we sometimes like to see some local programming, especially news and weather. The new Razar is amazing in that with the push of a button, we suddenly had ten clear local HD channels available to us in Canton, which is quite a long way from any TV transmitters.

Here's what the Razar antenna looks like installed on Phannie's roof:

Here is a photo of the antenna's control panel:

Here is a photo of Brannon and Jason of Custom RV as they finished the installation:

In a couple of weeks, we will be taking Phannie to Brannon's shop in Alabama to have some more upgrades--one of which will be a new residential refrigerator to replace the current electric/propane Norcold--or "Nevercold"--as it is often called among RV owners. Phannie will get other upgrades as well, but this is all I'm going to tease you with for now.

Many of the seminars were well attended, as seen below:

Here's a photo of some of our club members who attended:

On one evening during the rally, Sandy and I drove a short distance to the Four Winds Steakhouse near Wills Point to meet friends John and Bobbie Jo:

Four Winds is located at what was the ranch house of former Dallas Cowboy Leroy Jordan. The large house was renovated into a restaurant on a hill overlooking hundreds of acres of prime ranch land in northeast Texas. The food was excellent, as was the company and the setting; it was good to see our friends again:

John and Bobbi Jo

While everything we ate was delicious, the standout had to be the bread pudding. I am no stranger to bread pudding--as you might surmise by my less-than-emaciated torso--and this may have been the best:

Four winds will be included on the favorite restaurants list linked near the top of this blog. (If you suspect that you might need to bring a fat wallet to this place, you would be right.)

On the other hand, there are places near Canton where you can really eat well on the cheap. A favorite is the always-busy Street Taco Shack located near the entrance to Mill Creek Resort. It is certainly named appropriately, but the owners serve a lot of authentic tacos that will set you back only $1.25. They also have a killer salsa made fresh daily. The salsa alone is worth stopping, in my opinion:

If this weren't enough, there is a similar takeout joint next door that sells some fried catfish that is fresh, delicious and dirt cheap.

After the rally ended, several of our group met at Easley's Steak House in Canton, where we enjoyed some excellent steaks at a modest price, plus the service was excellent. It was good enough that it will also go on the favorites list. 

This has been a fun and informative week with lots of good fellowship, but such are the adventures of the wandering gypsies we have become. As my friend Ed writes, in closing his daily blog posts, Life is Good!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

Grandkids Fix and Travel Plans

Banner photo taken at Winchester Bay, Oregon

At Sunset Shores RV Resort, Willis, Texas...

Our two-week visit with the kids and grandkids is drawing to a close. We've had a great time spoiling Mason and Pryce, something for which we think we have a special gift, and so do their parents, except Mindy and Tyler don't always think of it as a gift. We see no need to apologize for this; we've worked hard to reach a point where we can do just about anything we wish, whenever we wish, and there are worse things than ensuring that our grandsons love us more than their parents! (I'm kidding, but only slightly.)

Grandkids Pryce and Mason being kids; what a hoot!

Since we went fulltime, we had been roaming for a couple of months, during which we hadn't seen the boys, but Sandy kept herself busy during that time acting as a purchasing agent for them--almost entirely for acquiring clothes, books, movies, educational material and, of course, toys. We were pulling the Escalade during this time, and Sandy gradually acquired so much stuff for the boys that I had to fold the middle and rear seats flat in order to make more room. When we finally unloaded in the dark of night at Mindy's and Tyler's house, it seemed much like Christmas as Tyler struggled to find room in the attic and storage areas. I'm thinking Sandy may not have read the previous post about finding "balance."

So that you don't get the idea that we are way too extravagant for the boys' own good, you should know that most of the things Sandy bought were seriously on sale and now are stored for gift giving occasions through next Christmas. I'm figuring she may have had her fill of shopping for the grandkids after the frenzy just completed, but history is not on my side here.

At my friend Ed's request, I have been doing some editing of a memoir he is writing about his long career as a pilot. It has been an interesting project and luckily, Ed doesn't seem to be in a hurry for the editing to be finished. I spent most of my flying career in management positions and, although I did a great deal of writing, I have not had an occasion to edit an entire book. I suppose I'm overly picky about the final product, so a passage I'm editing may go through several rewrites before presenting it to Ed for his review. This is pretty time consuming, and working on it in my spare time is pretty slow going. I'm determined to see it through, however, if Ed doesn't fire me!

We've enjoyed this quiet RV park here in Willis, Texas right on the shore of Lake Conroe. I'm going to include it in the 'best of the best' parks listing on the home page, even though it doesn't quite meet all the criteria. All the roads and sites are concrete--a big plus for us, as we don't like tracking mud an dirt into Phannie or Mae. The park is well kept, heavily wooded and aesthetically pleasing, especially with the lake view on two sides. 

Sunset Shores on Lake Conroe

A big plus is that it has good wifi most of the time--something I can't say about most parks. Perhaps the best thing is that the price is right, especially for a monthly stay. The only downside is that a few of the RVs here are a little shabby looking and occupied by semi-permanent residents. That seems incongruous with the quality of the facility.

We'll be leaving here for Canton, Texas, where we will be attending a statewide rally for owners of Tiffin coaches next week. All the sites there at Mill Creek Ranch RV Park will be occupied by the attendees. We've never attended one of these large rallies before, so it should be interesting.  After that, it's back to the DFW area and routine doctor visits. We'll leave there in late April for the Tiffin factory in Red Bay, Alabama, where we will have some major upgrades done to Phannie. We'll keep you informed about all of this.

You know you won't get away without my telling you about some excellent restaurants here in the area. My first pick is the Fish Pond Cafe here in Willis:

This is one of those country dives that you just know is going to have good food, and boy, did it ever! Catfish, turnip greens and green beans were on the menu this day, and it was nothing if not superb. The veggies were fresh, of course, and seasoned with ham hocks just as your grandmother would make:

The next eatery is really unique, in north Houston on 1960 near I-45. It's called Le' Pam's House of Creole:

The owner, chef and cheerleader is a lively and wacky black woman named Pam who moved to Houston from New Orleans, where she obviously learned everything she needed to know about cooking cajun and creole food that may be the best in the area. Her kitchen is fully visible behind the front counter, so a customer can see everything she does, and she stays busy! When she has a break, she loves to walk around in the dining room, visiting with customers, all of whom seemed to know her when we visited.

Here's Pam, visiting our table and bragging to us in a loud and animated voice about how good the food is that she cooked for us: 

I guess if you're telling the truth, it isn't bragging, is it? All I know is that it was wonderful. I had asked for some lemon to squeeze on the fish, but she scowled and told me good-naturedly that I couldn't have any, as it would ruin the wonderful flavor of the spices. In all the restaurants I have visited, I think this was the first time I have been scolded for asking for something! However, I didn't argue with her, and it turned out to be okay; the fish was great, and the flavor might indeed have been diminished with the lemon juice.

Take a look at this seafood gumbo and be jealous. It was packed with fresh seafood, including crab, and it was probably the best I've ever tasted. Ditto on the jambalaya and the fish/shrimp plate in the background:

I couldn't eat all the gumbo, so Pam brought me a large Styrofoam takeout container, into which she poured the remainder. Then she noticed that the container wasn't full, so she took it back to the kitchen and filled it up with gumbo again at no charge. Amazing. Are you hungry now? You should be.

For those interested in how we're doing with the fulltiming thing, we're still pinching ourselves. Freedom is a wonderful thing: If we wanted to, we could just throw a dart at a map and say, "Let's go there!" Then we raise the jacks, pull in the slides, and we're off. Life doesn't get much better than that.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

Finding Balance (Homespun Philosophy Warning!)

At Sunset Shores RV Park, Willis, Texas...

Now that my infernal tooth abscess has been treated--mainly through a wealth transfer from me to Dr. Cain--I'm feeling a little philosophical. I don't know, perhaps it's the medication talking:

I've always heard about the importance of a balanced life but, for some reason, the subject has been on my mind more than usual now that I'm older and (supposedly) wiser. There are a number of older (and definitely wiser) folks who thought the same thing through the centuries, like the apostle Paul and Benjamin Franklin, to mention a couple of them.

Paul, in Phillipians 4, described how best to live a Christian life.  In that chapter, he recommended "moderation"--certainly a synonym for balance--and a host of other positive things worthy of one's contemplation. Verses 4-8 are a good read for anybody.


Benjamin Franklin promoted positive living by producing his "Thirteen Rules for a Virtuous Life," among them "moderation," which we call "balance" these days. I won't expound on Franklin's rules here, but they are easily Googled.

I think that if I dared add anything to what these men wrote, it would be "humor." I think one goes a long way toward finding balance by looking for humor in things and not taking oneself too seriously.  With this in mind, I'm going to share my own list of 10 attributes that I believe could help promote a balanced life. Humor, then, will be the first; they are not in any order:

1. Humor. Is there any happier group of people than RVers? If you are traveling in an RV, you probably have escaped work and the other humdrum activities of your existence. Who wouldn't be happy about that? Friends know that I make jokes and wisecrack with them but, sometimes at my peril, I'll cut up with RVers who are complete strangers; they usually come back with something even funnier or more sarcastic, which I love. I can't remember finding many sourpusses, and no one has ever hit me, thankfully.

2. Prioritization. Decide what's important. This may sound simple, but it's not. It is worth some serious introspection, so you can be certain you're not fooling yourself. For us, our freedom to roam is worth far more than the bondage of a house. Several of our friends have had an epiphany about this recently, just as we did. 

3. Positive Attitude. This is a choice one makes. Practice making that choice every day, even when it's not easy, and it will become a habit. (Faith in God and reliance on His guidance makes this a lot easier.)

4. Expect the Unexpected. Stuff happens, and most of it is trifling and not worth getting upset; however, some of it is serious. A famous preacher once said that there are two kinds of people: Those who have trouble in their lives and those for whom the phone hasn't yet rung. (See #3 above to deal with this.)

5. Share Time With Yourself and Others. You deserve some time for yourself, but stay connected with family and friends. Remember the old Scandinavian proverb: Go often to the house of a friend; for weeds soon choke up the unused path. 

6. Moderation in All Things. Take nothing in your body to excess; it's not good for body or mind. Don't do things to extremes; save a little for next time. Don't talk as much as you listen. (Sandy wanted me to take this one out.)

7. Forgive and Forget. Be quick to ask for forgiveness and quicker to give it. Resentment and anger can't live in that environment.

8. Be Charitable. Give of your time and resources as you are able; almost nothing is more satisfying. Be frugal and not wasteful; those of the most modest means among us are better off than most of the world.

9. Be Resolute. Do those things which you should be doing without putting them off and, once you agree to do something, don't fail to do it. (Being punctual also fits here. There is not much more disrespectful than being habitually late.)

10. Be Humble. This gets easier as you get older and realize how many of these things you messed up.

Now I don't pretend to have been very successful at all of these, but I wake up every day and try to get some of them right.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.



 

A Post With Some Teeth in It

At Sunset Shores RV Park, Willis, Texas...

I have been a bit incapacitated for a couple of days with an abscessed tooth. I had taken a break from my editing "job" for my friend Ed to work on another legitimate post to Phannie and Mae, but I haven't been able to do that either; I have difficulty concentrating with a toothache or any other kind of chronic pain. The result is that you are stuck with this whiny little piece; I'll have something a little more substantial when this is over.

I made a hasty trip to see my dentist, Dr. Novo Cain (sorry), a scrawny kid who could easily be my grandson. Somehow, he must have earned his DDS and MD when he was a baby, as he looks only about 18 now.

"You're getting a root canal!" he said, with way too little sympathy in his voice, which was still squeaky enough to make me think it had only recently changed. I figured his buoyancy was due to his realization that the next payment on his Mercedes was now a done deal. 

More later; I have to buy a Mercedes for Dr. Cain.

Thank you, Lord for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

Eureka Springs and Shopping to Help Heal a Wound

At the Eureka Springs KOA, Eureka Springs, Arkansas...

You may think it odd that I would title this post as I did, as most guys would think of a shopping trip by his wife as anything but a healing process! Instead of healing anything, it could do serious injury to a bank account. But this was different. Very different.

If you've read this blog for a while, you know that we were victims of burglars twice in the last few years--at our residence and at our motorhome. On both occasions, the thieves stole mostly Sandy's jewelry that I had given her on countless occasions in the nearly 40 years we've been married. It was devastating for her, not so much for the monetary value, which was considerable, but mostly for the sentimental loss that she will never recover. Furthermore, our feeling of being violated is something that will probably never go completely away, and I am fairly certain the home invasion was more of a factor in our decision to sell the house than either of us will admit.

Fortunately, the thieves didn't find some of the most expensive pieces of jewelry that were kept in a safe, but those that were taken were some of Sandy's favorites. We have begun to try to replace some of them, but it is an almost impossible task. We both like pieces that are unusual or one-of-a-kind creations by designers and craftsmen, and it is their uniqueness, of course, that thwarts our finding replacements. We had bought many of the pieces that were stolen during our travels through the years, and it is at this point in the story that our current stop in Eureka Springs becomes relevant.

If you've never visited Eureka Springs, Arkansas, you have missed a fascinating place. It is a quaint and historic little town perched dizzyingly on steep hillsides in the middle of the Ozarks, and it reminds me of a tiny San Francisco in that regard. (The debauchery found on the left coast would hardly be tolerated here in the Bible belt, however.) 

Eureka Springs is quite a laid-back and quirky place, full of innocently colorful characters and countless little mom-and-pop shops that line both sides of the steep and narrow old streets. One of these shops is Zark's, a place full of one-of-a kind jewelry and decorative objets d' art, and where Sandy happened to find some of her favorite jewelry pieces on a previous trip years ago. These were among the ones stolen, of course, and that is precisely the reason I brought her back here, in hopes of replacing some of what she had lost.  

I'm happy to report that we hit the jackpot! Zark's still had a number of pieces of glass cabochon jewelry much like Sandy's originals, and I bought all of the ones that were similar to the stolen ones. Some of them appear below; I didn't get a photo of the earrings:

A characteristic of this type of jewelry is the changing colors when viewed from different angles. The photo doesn't really do them justice in that regard.

Zark's has a lot of beautiful things, and we credit our longtime friends John and Myrna for its discovery:

I know I've spent a lot of space on this story about "stuff" that really isn't important, but that's not the point. The point is that by being able to give Sandy back some items--and even a few more of them than she originally received--that were very similar to the stolen ones, we began to feel, maybe for the first time, that the thieves weren't totally successful in taking away objects that represented wonderful times and a long, loving relationship. It was certainly a psychological boost, and we even shared the story with the shopkeeper, who teared up a bit. Wiping one of her eyes, she looked at our selections and said, "Well, the thieves didn't win over love, did they?"  She understood. 

Afterward, Sandy and I came to the conclusion that we may not need to try heroically to replace many more of the lost items. We have each other and the good memories, after all, and this "win" today may have been enough for us to move on and get the matter behind us for good. (That doesn't mean we won't pick up a few more things as we continue to travel; she is a woman, after all.)

Eureka Springs is perhaps most noted for the Great Passion Play, performed from May through October, depicting the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. We haven't been able to see it yet, but we have that on our list. There is plenty to see and do otherwise, though. There is Christ of the Ozarks, a huge statue of Jesus erected in 1966 near the 4,100-seat Passion Play amphitheater:

The photo above was a very long telephoto shot taken several miles away at the top of the 1886 Crescent Hotel that overlooks all of Eureka Springs:

Historic 1886 Crescent Hotel-a must visit for lovers of old buildings

There are country music theaters that are also popular in season, as well as many historic homes and other venues for the history buffs.

We found a couple of surprisingly good restaurants: Fresh, a farm-to-table eatery that has never seen a canned vegetable,

Fresh Restaurant in Eureka Springs

and Ermiliano's, an Italian Restaurant that has the distinction of being touted as the best Italian restaurant in Arkansas:

The restaurants will go on our best restaurants list that has a link at the top of this blog.

It was a bit early in the springtime for Eureka Springs trees and blooms to be in full display, but everything was budding out, and the forsythia were in total yellow plumage:

If you've been reading this rag for a while, you know how I like to include photos of unusual or quirky things. Well, here is one that I saw in near downtown Eureka Springs. I don't think I've ever seen a Radio Flyer wagon quite like this (note the bridle on the front):

One final note: We parked at the KOA in Eureka Springs this time, but we recommend Wanderlust RV Park instead. It is much closer to town and much less hilly.


Thank you, Lord for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

A Caravan to Branson With Friends

At Branson KOA, Branson, MO...

As fans of gospel music, we cooked up this trip with Bubba and LouAnn and talked mutual friends Harvey and Mary Lou into going with us to a three-day music event called "Praisefest Branson."  

Mary Lou and Harvey: Two of the Sweetest People on the Planet

We caravanned from Fort Worth in tandem with Bubba's bus, "Woody" and stopped in Hot Springs for the first night.

Lake Hamilton RV Resort 

Our campground of choice at Hot Springs was the Lake Hamilton RV Resort, a friendly but average park right on the lake.

Since it was just a stopover, and we had visited Hot Springs several times before, we didn't do any sightseeing, but we had a good seafood dinner at the Cajun Boil restaurant just a stone's throw from the RV park.

In determining our route for the next day, Bubba decided he wanted to take Arkansas highway 7 up to Harrison before turning onto 65 for the final leg to Branson. Now highway 7 is mostly a two-lane road that winds through the Ozarks for more than 180 miles and, while it is a scenic drive, it is a bit of a challenge in a couple of big rigs. By the time we reached Branson, I was pretty well worn out from negotiating all of the hairpin curves and the constant engine and transmission management on the endless grades.

We made a stop at one of the picturesque roadside viewing turnouts on highway 7.  It occurred to me that Bubba and I had stopped in this very spot 11 years ago, when we were just getting started in RVing. Here's a photo of our rigs back then--along with Sandy and LouAnn:

Now, fast forward eleven years at the same turnout on highway 7 in Arkansas:

Sandy, LouAnn, Bubba, Harvey and Mary Lou

Who knew that we would be making the same trip a decade later with a couple of big rigs?

Our first RV back then was the very basic Jayco model in the first photo above. We grew disappointed with it rather quickly, mainly because when we bought it, we didn't know what we didn't know about RVs at the time. As we began to take trips in it, many of the assumptions we had made about the usability of the design and layout proved false. There's nothing like the experience of a long shakedown trip in a new RV to reveal problems, and it wasn't long until we were asking ourselves what we were thinking when we bought this. We didn't keep the Jayco very long and upgraded to a much larger and nicer fifth wheel.

After we purchased the second fiver, a Sierra model made by Forest River, we enjoyed immensely the new layout and design for a while: 

It wasn't long, however, until we discovered through using the new rig that it, too, had design flaws and inconveniences that we wanted to avoid in the next one. And, while we've now had very good experience with motorhome living in Phannie, we have discovered some things about her layout and design that we will certainly want to change when or if we get another motorhome. I wonder if we'll ever find the perfect rig?

 Once we got set up at Branson, we had a nice hamburger cookout with Bubba as chef. He did a good job! Harvey, a totally great guy, looks on.

We enjoyed greatly the three-day Praisefest event at the Mansion Theater. 

Spring has sprung at the Mansion Theater in Branson

One of our favorite groups, the Booth Brothers, were there. I didn't get a photo of them this time, but here is one from the Alaska cruise last summer. We were able to get to know some of the artists personally, and that was one of the best parts of the more intimate setting of that cruise ship.

We also had a nice lunch visit with lifelong friend, John Sharp, who was best man at my wedding and I at his. We had a nice meal at Famous Dave's BBQ, and it was really good to see him again. 

As we often do when in Branson, we treated ourselves to an excellent lunch at Big Cedar, a beautiful resort on Table Rock Lake. 

Devil's Pool Restaurant at Big Cedar

Inside the Devil's Pool Restaurant

The photo below is of a wooden bridge built above the Devil's Pool waterfall near the restaurant.

We will part company with our friends here in Branson. Bubba is not yet retired, so he has to get back to work in Fort Worth. We, on the other hand, have decided to stop in Eureka Springs for a couple of days to do some shopping; I'll tell you more about that in another post.

As Bubba's coach pulls out, headed for Texas, I can't help but think of the two recent great gifts of freedom that have come our way--gifts that Bubba hasn't yet experienced, unfortunately. The first was my decision to retire nearly three years ago, the most profound result of which was the elimination of the limitations that my job placed on our travel decisions. When you're working, your time off is never really your own, as there is always a conscious or subconscious demand on your time that you are obligated to fulfill--if not immediately, then it's waiting for you when you return. You are rarely able to take a few extra days in order to enjoy a longer stay somewhere. Retirees, of course, can come and go whenever they like, and that was something I had only dreamed about for decades while I was still working. The second blessed freedom was our decision to sell the house and go fulltime. That's what now allows us the freedom and resources to do something spontaneous like stopping in a bucolic little town like Eureka Springs, just so Sandy can do some special shopping. Furthermore, if we get another brainstorm like that, we'll do that, too! And why not? We have no limitations or obligations now. Yes, friends, this fulltiming gig is proving to be even better than we could possibly have imagined. For those of you getting the urge to do that, don't be afraid to pull the trigger; you likely have some really good times in store for you. (But don't tell anyone; we should keep this to ourselves.)

Speaking of folks who are thinking about fulltiming, we got a call from Bobbie Jo and John, more good friends with whom we spent some time in the Rio Grande Valley last winter. She said that she and John had been talking to a realtor about selling their large home near Dallas and going almost fulltime while retaining a storage building/casita they currently own. They said they were influenced by the happiness we demonstrated when we were with them in the Valley, so that made us feel really good. We have a date to visit with them again in a few weeks, and we'll find out how they're doing. 

We also had a call from Steve and Jackie, friends from Austin who are new fulltimers and who recently traded their fifth wheel for a Tiffin Phaeton after they saw ours. They are headed out west for a couple of months and, boy, are they excited. We're glad they love their rig, and we hope to visit with them soon.

As a favor to another fulltimer friend and fellow blogger, Ed, of Happy Wanderers fame, I have taken on a project to edit a book he has written about his long flying career as a pilot. I'm not sure he chose his editor very well, but since I am also a retired commercial pilot who enjoys writing, I suppose this made some sense to him. My guess is that there was another overriding influence for his decision: I work cheap. Really cheap. But that's what friends are for; I think Ed, like several other longtime pals of mine, would probably do almost any favor I asked of him, with no questions asked. Everyone should have such friends.

So far, my editing gig has proven to be an interesting undertaking, albeit a bit slow; I've completed only the introduction and two of 31 chapters. There are reasons for my slow progress; English composition was a favorite subject in high school and college; therefore, I learned well and became rather picky about things like proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax and the like. Such attention to detail is, fortunately or unfortunately, a bit of an obsession. Even writing this post takes me quite a number of hours and countless tweaks and rewrites. Another reason I get slowed down is that I often have to lay the project aside when it conflicts with my own activities and obligations; not doing so would make Ed's project seem like w*rk to me, and I've sworn off that for good. I'll get it done, though; I just hope Ed's patience holds out.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

Drying Out and More Fulltiming Observations

At Northlake RV Park, Roanoke, Texas...

Our plans to attend the Tiffin rally in San Antonio were thwarted by the downpours that just wouldn't stop here in north Texas. I have a longstanding policy of avoiding driving Phannie when it is raining, mainly because it is just too scary in a big rig among the crazies out there on the highways. It seems there are too many drivers who simply don't comprehend the difficulty in stopping quickly a 30,000-lb. bus, especially on wet roads. We have had more than a few breathtakingly close calls when some thoughtless driver pulled out right in front of us, thinking we were a Volkswagen or something, I guess. Wet roads just make stopping that much more difficult. We've determined we don't need this much excitement now that we're retired, so we don't drive in the rain unless we have no other choice. Besides, who likes hooking up and setting up in the rain? Certainly not me.

So, our next departure will be to caravan with Bubba and LouAnn to Branson, where we will attend a three-day gospel music festival. Branson is a favorite destination of ours, and we're looking forward to a good time with these two friends and also with other friends Harvey and Mary Lou, who will also be joining us.

One of the nice things about fulltiming is that we can change plans quickly as conditions warrant, and we don't have to be concerned about the impact such changes will have on maintaining a house that is left unoccupied for long periods of time. It has been such a relief not to worry about break-ins or weather damage or anything else that used to be constantly on our minds. 

Another thing that jolted me, but in a good way, happened when I began deleting from our online banking platform those accounts that had been set up to pay the bills incurred by home ownership. There were a surprising number of them, and it really felt good to realize that, as each was deleted, there will be no more of our cash sucked up and sent into the ethera for this purpose.

I've also noticed that fulltiming requires more planning than I thought. Longtime readers will know that I am not much of a planner, so this is something that doesn't come naturally for me. Planning is needed mainly for reservations at RV parks. I really wish I were the type who could just head out somewhere and not worry about having a place to park, but we've found that RVing is more popular than ever--especially with the drop in fuel prices--so we frequently find parks with no spaces available. With this in mind, I try to stay ahead of the game and make reservations as far in advance as possible. We simply don't do boondocking and probably never will. Call us prudish, but we like the comfort and convenience of full hookups. We also tend to look for parks with paved roads and pads; we're not particularly fond of dirt and mud, either. (We're really not snobs, folks, we just like what we like.) For planning, I mainly use rvparkreviews.com and look for Passport America, Escapees and Good Sam discounts whenever we can find them.

Another thing we've had to get used to is meal preparation for two in our small space. We eat out often, and we don't have much freezer space (soon to be corrected with a new residential refrigerator), so we really have to be careful not to overbuy at the grocery store. We tend to eat a goodly number of sandwiches and salads, and we no longer cook things that require a lot of preparation. And, to make sure we use the RV parks' electricity and not our propane, we think we have found the perfect combination of small cooking appliances in a Breville convection oven, an induction cook plate and an electric skillet. 

Oh, and there's also the crockpot and the Weber Q grill, but we don't use those all that often. Stir-fry is a favorite, and the electric skillet works fine for that. For us, it's all about simplicity now; we use paper plates for most meals, so cleanup is usually very quick and easy.

So, we're almost two months into fulltiming now, and we are more convinced than ever it was the right move at the right time. We just can't imagine having to go back and strap on the bondage of home ownership again. That may change in the future but, for now, we are giddy with our new sense of freedom.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

Hitch Itch

At Northlake Village RV Park, Roanoke, Texas...

Yes, for those kind enough to inquire, we did survive the common cold; thank you for asking. Since I've been puny, I haven't been posting much, but I'll try to be a little more industrious in that regard. I think I've just about worn out Sandy's patience with my sulking resentment over having caught this silly cold. She is just a much better patient than I, and I'm not sure why she puts up with me.

As our three weeks here in north Texas are drawing to a close, we have pretty much taken care of doctor and dentist visits, and we now have our new glasses. After seeing the difference with our new prescriptions, we are glad we made the upgrade. Sandy has one more visit with the dentist to finish up her new crown, and we will be outta here. Hitch itch has definitely set in.

Fortunately, we seem to have missed any freezing weather and, since we will be heading south to San Antonio next week, we are pretty confident that we will escape it altogether now that spring is upon us. 

We spent a little time at the storage unit switching out some clothes for the warmer weather coming up. And no, we haven't yet completely pared down our wardrobe to what will fit in Phannie, although we know that is something we should do. That's not to say that we haven't given away a lot of clothing, because we have. The pieces that remain are those that are favorites and which fit well. It's hard to get rid of those.

We were only able to go through and empty two boxes of stuff about which we had reconsidered. These were largely things that were stored during the last minute crush when the house sold, and their disposition was pretty easy to figure out. At this rate, it will be a while before we can get our excess stuff pared down to where we would like for it to be. Another thing we picked up was the shredder, something we hadn't anticipated carrying with us, but which has become essential for us to keep up our comfort level, considering all the identity theft that is going on.

It looks like this is going to be housecleaning day, something that will certainly take less time than it did in the stick and brick house. I figure we can knock it out in less than an hour, even with my cleaning the air conditioner filters.

As I look outside while writing this, the trees are budding out nicely and the birds are singing sweetly. Spring is almost here, and the road beckons. We will soon answer the call.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.