Thanksgiving in San Antonio

We decided to spend Thanksgiving in San Antonio with our granddaughter, Courtney, and her husband, Keith, who was on standby for his job and couldn't leave town. Our daughter, Jean, and her significant other, Jim, and their two doxies piled into our RV on Wednesday and we, including our two dogs, headed out.

Wednesday proved to be a beautiful day and traffic was surprisingly light all of the way to the Famcamp at Fort Sam Houston. After setting up, we motored up to the Germany's apartment for a yummy supper ... she had prepared a delicious deer meat/beef cassarole with asparagus. We brought one of Marie Calandar's famous Banana Cream Pies for dessert.

On Thanksgiving we enjoyed some deep fried turkey -- cajon style -- with all of the trimmings, laid around and watched some TV and generally caught up on stuff. We did a drive-by on the Germany's new house... very, very nice. They settle in December and move in in February.

Friday found me at the BX and got a great buy on an I-Pad 2 ... has the camera ... Donna's Christmas present (couldn't wait). Jean, Courtney, Keith and I went to see the J Edgar Hoover movie ... really good! Should win some awards .... the aging process on the actors was unbelievable.

On Saturday Donna and I hung out at the RV while Jean and Courtney went shopping. We joined them later for take-out from Jason's Deli.

Sunday was a travel day back home ... a cold front had gone through on Saturday and the temps plummeted, plummeted I tell you, to the 50's! Again, we were pleasantly surprised by the lack of traffic on the highways.

All in all, it was a fun trip with no scary moments.

Leaving South Forty in Giddings

We leave the rally this Sunday morning right after Caring and Sharing at 0830. Have had a great time here with 14 rigs ... on Thursday evening folks settled in for a session of Joker (board with dice game) after a hot dogs with all of the trimmings. Friday morning DJ and I with two friends drove down to La Grange which is about 20 miles south of us. Another neat old town (1836) and hit Weikel's bakery --- to die for kolache's, cinnimon rolls and home made bread. We heard it was written up in Southern Living this month. That night we caravaned 20 miles to Winchester for a meal in an old Post Office turned restaurant that specialized in steak; more games to follow. After our business meeting on Saturday we headed back to the RV to catch up on college football and possibly nap a bit. That night found us at the dinner table again ... our hosts had deep fried cornish game hens and made a terrific dressing for our Thanksgiving feast .... the rest of the folks brought side dishes and desserts. I picked up a bear pillow in the gift exchange; but, sadly someone took it from me. Someone took my next selection (popcorn and Sinatra Christmas CD) and I ended up with a container of assorted candy. We wrapped up the night watching Baylor put the wood to Oklahoma.





Looks like we will be stopping at Camping World on the way home ... we lost a vent cover on the roof somewhere on the trip up here.

We are looking forward to our next trip ... leaving next Wednesday for San Antonio with Jean, Jim, Hansie and Maisie to spend Thanksgiving with Keith and Courtney. We will stay at the famcamp on Fort Sam Houston while Jean et al will stay with the Germanys.

More later!

Back on the Blog

We haven't done much on the blog lately ... been having technical problems with it ... mostly my fault; but, hopefully that is behind us. Apparently the *.gwt.xml module file (whatever that is) has a problem in that the compile time user agent value does not match the runtime user agent value. If this makes sense to you, please tell me what the heck it means.




Meanwhile .... we traveled to Boerne, Texas last month for a Kountry Lone Star South rally at the Alamo Fiesta RV Resort. Boerne is such a neat town ... lots of interesting shops to browse through and , of course, great restaurants to sample. Eleven rigs were in attendance ... two new couples, the Crumps and Hutchens, joined our chapter. Friday night we all hit the Hungry Horse Restaurant ... their liver and onions was very good! The hosts served up baked potatoes with all of the fixin's for Saturday night which was followed by a Halloween costume party. Gene won most original for his Father Balducci the Priest get up. The Newmar Kountry Klub International Directors, Jim and Wilma Weeks, attended the rally on their way to their winter digs in the Rio Grande Valley.

One of the highlights of our trip was lunch with our granddaughter, Courtney who now lives in nearby San Antonio. Sadly, her hubby, Keith was called out to work in the middle of the night and was snoozing away. Courtney left the Texans in Houston when he was transferred to San Antonio and now she works for a Methodist charities company.

Today finds us in Giddings, Texas at another Kountry Klub rally. On our way we stopped at the Prime Outlets in Cypress and hit the Coach and Nike shops. Two handbags, a wallet and pair of shoes later we hit the road. The savings were feenominal and Santa's job is DONE! The South Forty Campground is rather rustic, but nice. We are a day early and there are four rigs here with a plan for a total of thirteen at the rally which officially starts today. A cold front passed through and the temps went from the 80's yesterday to forties this morning.

More later!

Home Again

We got all caught up in the visit with family in Ventura and then the reunion and the three day drivefest back home. Thus, I have to play catchup with this blog.

We had a great time in Ventura! Dann and Jodi Plum were such great hosts ... freeloaded at their place ... and the visits with Roger, a brother-in-law, were special. I noted the high gas prices in California and was advised, by a native Californian at that, that it was "better" gas and that's why it was so high. Is that true? I had forgotten how cool it can get in Ventura and, of course, we didn't bring any sweaters or jackets. A trip to Target took care of that!. Deeds, AKA Micah, who is the Plum's grandson, was his usual adorable self. Lots of laughs and tales of family stuff ... all in all it was worth the three day drive.

There is a story going around that I had brushed my teeth with shampoo ... sadly, it is true. My beloved had filled a bottle of Crest Mouth Wash with shampoo for unknown reasons ... I ran out of toothpaste and thought (erroneously) a bottle containing Crest somethingorother would suffice until I could get some TP. The soapy taste didn't last too long; only a day or so. The good side is: now my teeth have lots of body and luster.

We motored down to Irvine via the 101 and 405 and found that Californians were sooo friendly. While screaming down the freeway at 55 mph, they waved, honked their horns and even flashed their lights in greeting. It was really something!

The 14th reunion of the Flying Jennies, 815 Troop Carrier Squadron, from Ashiya, Japan in the 50's was such a great success. There were 36 folks there ... squadron mates, their spouses and some kids and their spouses. We told all of the old stories ... maybe embellished a bit ... caught up on our families and their circumstances ... visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Knott's Berry Farm ... all in all, it was a really wonderful time. It looks like the next one will be in Colorado Springs in 2013.

We were able to get away early on Sunday so we retraced out trip via Tucson, Fort Stockton and home. Actually, we stayed in the same motels.

Our daughter, Jean, and her son Trip, took care of the dogs while we were gone. They did such a great job; we can't thank them enough.

Ventura, CA

Left Tucson bright and early this morning ... beautiful weather almost all of the way ... wasn't there a song to the effect that is never rains in Southern California? OK ... it was just ONE shower ... nothing spectacular occured along the way. California speed limits need some work ... truck limit of 55 mph on the interstate is ridiculous with cars at 70. One moves from 80 in West Texas to 75 till you hit California and the quality of the road seems the same.

We arrived in Ventura about 4:30 ... went to dinner with our niece and brother-in-law ... and we are winding down and getting ready for bed.

Tucson, Arizona

Got away early from Fort Stockton ... very nice hot breakfast at the motel ... and "on the road" again ... lots of beautiful scenery on the way ... lots of shades of brown .... reflects the lack of rain although the folks in Tucson say they have had lots (?) of rain. The Penske racing team and their three BIG 18 wheelers passed us like a shot at 75mph ... very impressive looking set of wheels; ran into them at a rest stop and they are all decked out in matching duds ... very professional looking. Took a picture of them at the stop and also a very beautiful parrot with his equally attractive "pet". Maybe I'll figure out how to get some of these pics into the blog. Enroute we were entertained by the Lions beating the "Boys" (heh heh heh) and later we found out our team, the magnificant and spectacular, Houston Texans, had won. Obviously, they are well on their way to the Super Bowl.

We called an old friend, Vi King, who was in the phone book. Hadn't talked to her in a while; last saw her in '59 while her husband and Gene was in Squadron Officer's School at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL. Herk was an old "Jenny" flying C-119's in Japan in '55 - 58; he passed away a number of years ago. Vi has three girls and 10 grandchildren. It was so good to talk to her and hopefully we can do a better job of keeping touch.

The Riverpark Inn in Tucson is very nice, clean, reasonable, has cable and WiFi and a complimentary breakfast. It is almost downtown ON the interstate! Bennigan's restaurant on site is closed on the weekends so we ordered carryout ... had a cold one and watched a little TV. Ventura is 575 miles away and we hope for another early start.

Fort Stockton, Texas

Left home about 8:30 this morning .... beautiful weather all of the way ... the only excitement was the crash of a lovely boat on I-10 north of New Braunfels - it must have been the result of the boat leaving its trailer for some unknown reason and spreading debris all over the place. It didn't look like anyone was hurt; but, I'm sure the owner is just sick! We bought gas near Comfort - yikes, it was $.30 higher than at home! I'm sure that will only get worse as we head west. We arrived about 5 pm and are staying at the Swiss Clock Inn ... not too fancy ...clean ... has a complementary breakfast in the morning... lots of TV channels and, of course, free WiFi. We had dinner at K-Bob's Steakhouse nearby ... our next stop is Tucson, about 550 miles west of here.

California Bound

This time we are travelin by car! Miss having all our "stuff" ... the dogs ... a bathroom on wheels ... a "fridge" full of goodies... a bedbug free bed. Don't miss buying diesel for my 9 MPG money pit. We are headed for California on October 1st ... Ventura to be exact, to visit family followed by a reunion of the 815th Troop Carrier Squadron (Ashiya, Japan) in Irvine on October 6th to the 9th. The plan is to return on October 12th after a stay in San Antonio to visit a granddaughter and her husband. Stops should also include Fort Stockton, Tucson, Phoenix, and Van Horn (TX). Our daughter, Jean, will take care of Maxie and Beckett (God bless her) and stay here at the house in the evenings - sorry, Jim!

Back Home

Great grandson Nathan

Jan, Bill and Gene in Charlotte

Great grand daughter, Kayla

The Carlsons

The cake

Obviously, Gene and Donna

Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Arlington Cemetery

I didn't do anything on this blog after leaving Ohio; but, so much has happened. I failed to address the Donaldson Reunion on July 31st .... there was so much catching up to do, there just wasn't enough time. There were about 60 folks there .... so much good food! Kudos to Jennifer and Larry Baylor for pulling it all together.

The trip to Northern Virginia was the usual winding, white knuckle journey called the Pennsylvania Turnpike ... about 40 big ones ($$$) from Ohio to Breezewood. We arrived at Bull Run Regional Park in Manassas, Virginia just before a big storm. While there we were able to visit some old friends -- Dewey and Alice Carlson -- who lived across the street from us on Reynard Drive in West Springfield. Hard to believe it was almost 40 years! They were well ... enjoying retirement ... doing lots of traveling. Also caught up with an old neighborhood friend, Jackie Lauria, who sadly lost her spouse a few years back.


The highlight of our visit was the Laying of the Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on August 5th. Such an honor! The whole family was there down to two great-grandkids. We had such a great time the entire weekend. Deb had pulled the whole thing together and we had such a wonderful weekend.



Our next stop was in Virginia Beach to visit John and his family ... stayed at the Oceana NAS famcamp ... very nice ... the sweet sound of shrill jet engines most of the time. For you retired military types, don't pass this one up. We had a annual crab feast thanks to the Pongo Fish House... a bushel of those yummy blue crabs were hungrily devoured by the Taylor clan. Add baked potatoes and fresh sweet corn and life can't get much better. By the way, when in VB, be certain to visit their aquarium ... it's a keeper!





August 15th found us in Gene's sister's driveway in Charlotte. Funny thing happened --- the hood latch jammed on the Saturn tow car. You have to pull the ignition fuse (precluded engine start) under the hood when towing, sooooooo what do you do when you can't get the hood up? You call Good Sam and have your car towed to a dealer that can replace the hood latch mechanism and cable. After a nice visit, we headed for home via stops at Birmingham and Shreveport. Our car battery died upon arrival and was subsequently replaced.


It was a wonderful 3500 mile trip despite the few glitches.

More Louisville

Nice weather here in Ohio ... temperatures in the 80's. The big thing going on here is in nearby Canton, President McKinley's home and resting place and, oh yes, the Football Hall of Fame! They have all of these events going on leading up to the induction of this year's nominees, capped by the Hall of Fame Game which sadly has been cancelled because of the NFL lockout. Nevertheless, they pressed on with the parades, style shows, cook-offs and balloon events with fireworks. It is a very big deal here!

Our little Beckett is at it again. Attempts to keep him from the counter in the kitchen have failed miserably ... last night while we were at dinner with an old friend, he got onto the counter and ate a whole container of dog snacks (he actually unscrewed the top to get in it?????), Maxie's leftover dinner and two ant baits. Luckily, he was still alive this morning. He looks and feels heavier.

Also, yesterday we had lunch at Bob Evans with another old friend, Mary Lou Baker. It is so good to meet with friends of old ... the one from dinner was Donna Jean Ermlick, a college mate in the 1950's .... gulp! The dinner last night was at an old college watering hole (Polinori's) which was renouned for its Italian food and 3/2 beer .... was pretty good and the place hadn't changed much since we went to school.

They have such a great market here in nearby Hartville ... lots of Amish farms that grow terrific produce. Bought some great looking pork chops that we grilled tonight with baked potatos, salad and sweet corn. Ahhh, the good life!

Not much of a plan for tomorrow ... probably head over to University of Mount Union ... hit the book store ... and scope out the newest additions to the school. It has changed so much since 1948. Fortunately Donna and I have not changed much since then? Maybe a hair line that's beginning to recede.

Louisville, Ohio

Here we are at Cutty's Sunset RV Resort ... got here about 5ish yesterday. I drove up salivating for the deeeelishous chicken they cook at the campground restaurant; sadly, they closed at 2 pm... we quickly switched to our backup -- sausage, eggs and toast. Woke up this morning to temperatures in the 60's ... lovin it! All is not peaches and cream, however, the Ten O'Clock News is on at Eleven O'Clock! I'll never make to the Letterman Show. Folks on Eastern Time would LOVE Central Time. We pretty much puttered about the RV, catching up on laundry, hitting the store and getting the car washed. Dinner tonight is ---- you guessed it ---- fried chicken! Our sister-in-law is visiting us today and catching us up on all of the news.

July 23 Elizabethville, KY

The last couple of days are travel days. It is miles and miles of hohumdrum on the interstate until you look up and see some moron entering the highway at 40 miles per hour who finally sees you in their side mirror as you pull up abreast of them, AND you unable to pull over because of traffic. Oh well, it keeps your juices flowing.

We stayed at Holloway RV Park in Hammond the first night ... anxious to hit Catfish Charlies, a restaurant next to the campground. We have been going there for years ... sadly, they are only open now Thursday through Sunday ... why, we don't know. The meals were not up to our expectations; but, then again we were working on memories. Oh well ... on to Jackson, TN and Joy-O RV Park. This is nice, but small, park ... has everything you need; a good in and out place ... no WiFi or cable. Tonight we are in Grandma's RV Camping in Shephardsville, KY. It is an attractive park ... well laid out ... has WiFi ... no cable ... BUT! If you have pets this place can be a problem. The pet walk was 100 yards from our site ... do not let your pet (if you have a male it is a BIG problem) go on any shrubs or trees before you get to the pet walk or YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE WITHOUT REFUND! Obviously, the owner is Grandpa, Grandma is not in the picture, and he hates dogs! Anyway ..... nice place; but, if you have a pet, don't bother with the aggravation.

Tomorrow is a NEW DAY and with any kind of luck at all, we will be in Cutty's Sunset RV Resort in Louisville, OH and settling in for some yummy fried chicken at the restaurant there. Should be there till August 1st when we head for Northern Virginia.

Fixin' To Head North

Next week Donna and I plan to head for Ohio via Hammond LA, Jackson TN, Shephardsville KY arriving at Cutty's Sunset RV Resort for a week or so to visit family and friends. The RV is filthy ... we have a drought here in League City -- all of Texas for that matter -- and a prohibition on washing of vehicles is just one of the restrictions to conserve water. Believe me, our tongues are hanging out here! I may have to wash it in the storage area that does not have those restrictions. Soooo .. there is still lots to do to get ready.

Our little Maxie, who is 15 years old, is suffering from congestive heart failure ... on meds ... walks funny (don't we all) ... but is hanging in there. In the middle of the night and I hear her belabored breathing, I think "this is it" but all is well in the morning as she dances around awaiting breakfast.

Here are Hansie, Maxie, Beckett and Maizie; Hansie and Maizie are our granddogs.

Our trip precluded attending Ryan and Sarah's wedding in California on Sunday, the 17th. We so wish them the very best and know it will be a grand affair. We look forward to seeing them in October when we head to California for the 815 TCS (Flying Jennies) reunion.

We are looking forward to the Donaldson Reunion in Canton, Ohio on July 31st. They graciously arranged it during our visit.

Day 12 - Home Again

Trip and I had an uneventful drive back to League City ... left Hot Springs about 8:30 and arrived in the storage area about 5:30ish.

Lessons learned: One's spouse and dogs seem to survive without any interference. An 81 year old CAN get along with a 25 year old couped up in a confined space; but, in all honesty I think he paced himself to accomodate the old coot. Looking back over our blog, it would appear we ate our way across the route! Nevertheless,we are already talking about next summer and maybe we can do something that could include another grandson - Danny, who will head off to college that fall.

The next trip scheduled with be our summer round robin from here to Ohio, on to Northern Virginia, then Virginia Beach and stopping in Charlotte before heading home.

Day 11 - Hot Springs

Awoke to a lovely morning ... high in the low 70's ... had a sausage, egg, toast and fruit breakfast. Took off on a road trip through this part of Arkansas, hoping to see more of the Ozarks. After about 100+ miles surrounding Lake Ouachita, we arrived back in Hot Springs. It looked much like the Hill Country in Texas plus lots of huge trees. Back in HS, we walked a bit, scoped out a bathhouse, then returned to the campground for lunch. Our next challenge was the Hot Springs Mountain Tower atop, you guessed it, Hot Springs Mountain. The tower, at 216 feet above the 1060 foot mountain is most impressive. The view from the top is so impressive! We then checked into the Buckstaff Bathhouse. We had the whirloop mineral bath which included the tub bath, hot packs, sitz bath, vapor cabinet, needle shower and whirlpoot turned on in your tub. The scrub with the loofa mitt was most exhilerating; but, the Swedish massage that followed the whole sheebang made you feel like a refreshed, lightly greased goose! My Swedish massage was administered by a Rumaniyyan! We returned to the RV to relax -- as if I needed relaxing -- and prepare the dinner meal - steak and salad.

The plan is to head into town tonight ... hit the Ohio Bar for some live music and libations. We did go and heard Leven Walkin (guitar) and Roxy (viola). Very nice sound ... loud, but nice.

Tomorrow we head for home ... miss all those folks there!

Day 10 - Hot Springs, Arkansas

We spent all day on the road ... not much to say about that! Arriving at the Hot Springs National Park KOA about 5ish, we proceded to our site and after a lot of maneuvering, unhooking the car in a sharp turn, we finally got in. Lots of campgrounds are simply not designed for a 40+ foot RV. Having set up, we drove down town to scope out the place. Stopped by the Visitor's Center, caught the movie, walked the main drag, then drove about town to get a feel for the place. We capped off the day with pork chops and salad in the RV. Tomorow is another day!

Day 9 - Nashville

Our last day in Nashville was spent RELAXIN'. I stopped in Camping World and checked out all of the stuff ... drove over to Kroger's and topped off the groceries. The rest of the day we watched some TV ... Trip hit the pool ... and that was it! Oh yeh ... we cooked a couple of steaks and coupled with a nice salad, ended a perfect day.

Day 8 - Nashville

Early this morning we were awakened by thunder and lightning and a pitchfork and hammerhandles rain that I wish for League City.

Off to Music City after breakfast ... first stop is the Visitor's Center and then a stroll to the Ryman Auditorium (the old Opry House). Fond memories flood back from the days when Donna and I were stationed at Sewart AFB in Smyna and we actually WENT to the Grand Ole Opry. You sat on wooden benches and watched the entertainers troop across the stage. They warmed up their instruments on the side of the stage while the main act performed on center stage. Our walking tour took us by the various shops, restaurants and honky tonks on Broadway Street. One fascinating place was the Hatch Show Print shop. It was full of very interesting woodblock prints, mostly used as advertisements for a variety of products and shows throughout America. It is one of the oldest show poster print shops in the United States. Trip bought a print of an exclamation mark (you have to see it to get it - it's a visual thing). We drove to Centennial Park to see the Parthenon, a replica of the one in Athens, hence the term -- Nashville, the Athens of the South. It was really something ... built in the 1800's to celebrate the Nashville Centennial. It houses Nashville's art museum and Athena Parthenos, at 42 feet it is the tallest indoor sculpture in the Western world. Having filled our heads with culture, we filled our stomachs at the Big River Grill and Brewing Works.

I am trying to add pictures ... please bear with me ... I'm old and very slow to figure it out!

Day 7 - Nashville

We rose early, like 7ish, and fixed a nice breakfast (sausage, eggs and toast w/fruit) and hit the road. We picked up the Natchez Trace at Jackson ... nice road ... two lanes ... 50 mph limit ... no shoulders ... lots of scenery ... a few wildlife (one live racoon, lots of road kill and crows, and a large dead snake that we ran over. We decided to by-pass Shiloh; I think we were "battlefielded out". How many monuments can you see and read!


Anyway, here we are in Nashville! Got here after 6pm; but switching off with Trip every two hours made the drive very easy. Checked into the Yogi Bear Jellystone RV Park ... nice ... WiFi ... cable ... pull throughs ... close to the action. We had a nice pork chop dinner w/salad here in the rig. The perfect end to a perfect day! As I type this, we are enjoying coffee with homemade oatmeal macadamia nut/cranberry cookies (thanks to Donna!)


The plan is to stay here two nights then head for Hot Springs.

Day 6 - Vicksburg

This morning we headed south to Natchez hoping to see some antebellum plantations ... didn't work out. All had tours other than Sunday. We did stop at the Winson Ruins, a 21,ooo acre plantation that was abandoned after the Civil War. Not much to see for the time spent off the main roads to find it. Other plantations were all closed so we pressed on the Natchez. Beautiful city of very lovely homes ... went to Longwood and Stanton Hall ... both were open and you could tour them for a $12 fee each ... we passed. They would not even let us LOOK at Longview unless you paid! Check them out on the web ... www.stantonhall.com and www.natchezpilgrimage.com. We did stop at the historic Jefferson College, first institute of higher learning in Mississippi.It was very impressive ... interesting and informative. You can check them out at: www.mdah.state.ms.us.

We did the driving tour of historic spots in Natchez and came away wishing we had stayed there and drove up to Vicksburg to visit the battlefield. There was SO much to do in Natchez.

Tomorrow we jump on the Natchez Trace (we drove part of it today while headed to Natchez) and head north. We should be stopping somewhere north of Tupelo, MS.

Hopefully, we have solved the problem with our Brake Buddy. The fuze was fried.

Dinner was brats w/onions and salad and we spent the evening watching TV.

Day 5 - Vicksburg

We arose to a beautiful Saturday morning and noted a substantial increase in our camping companions ... probably due to the Miss Mississippi Pagent starting this weekend. After an egg, sausage, melon and toast breakfast in the RV, we lit out for the Vicksburg National Military Park. We were just in time for the firing of the cannon demonstration -- very noisy and very impressive. An excellant movie followed which described the events that let to and during the whole campaign. You can't fathom the heartache and peril associated with the eventual siege of the city. The park is very large and composed mostly of monuments to the units involved. There is an terrific 16 mile driving tour of the park with telephonic narration. They have restored a resurrected Union gun boat, the Cairo, which is on display with an accompanying museum of naval artifacts from the period.

We met with an old friend, Jan Lee, who graciously treated us to a terrific dinner at Jacques, a very nice local restaurant.

We plan to drive by car down to Natchez early tomorrow to check out some of the restored antebellum mansions and homes in the area.

Day 4 - Vicksburg

Dawn broke on a very beautiful morning and after a light breakfast we left the comforts of the French Quarter RV Resort. An easy ride to I-10 and I-55 got us to Jackson, Mississippi followed by a right turn on I-20 to Vicksburg just 45 miles to the west.

The first order of business after checking into the Ameristar RV Park was to find a dentist, yes, a dentist and this is at two o'clock on a Friday afternoon. Luckily, the park receptionist led me to her doctor, Paul Ballard (Ballard Dental Group) who saw me at three. They had the necessary dental tech in-house to repair my broken "flipper" ( a temporary retainer type device which is the precursor to a crown over a healing implant). I had been in contact with an old friend of Sewart AFB, TN times .... Donna and I had been exchanging Christmas cards with her over the fifty-five years; but, had not seen one another for a whole host of reasons. Jan met me as I walked out of the dental cubicle and into the reception area. She had apparently told the story to the receptionist and the whole staff had gathered to get our reaction. After a very long hug, we chatted and made plans for dinnner tomorrow evening. She, like me, had not changed a bit!

I arrived at the rig and found Trip off on a run. He returned, took a quick dip in the pool and we drove downtown to look it over and prepare for our Saturday adventures. Of course, the devil made us stop at the Cracker Barrel to replenish our vitals.

Ameristar RV Park is adjacent to the Ameristar Casino --- how convenient! Nice park with 65 TV channels, pool, WiFi, nice level pull throughs and a reasonable fee.

Day 3 - New Orleans

After all of the fooood from yesterday, we dried out this morning with sausage and eggs in the RV before heading out to the National World War II Museum. It was absolutely wonderful! If you come to NO, don't miss it. We viewed the big screen movie as a prelude to the museum itself - called "Beyond All Boundries" and narrated by Tom Hanks ... it is a must see film! Before hitting the museum itself we stopped at the Cochon Butcher for lunch --- yes, we are pigging out again. This time it was on a tasty North Carolina pulled pork sandwich with very spicy potato salad. Tonight we plan to hit the Acme Oyster House for -- you guessed it -- oysters! It sounds like we are doing a lot of eating; but, we ARE doing a lot of other stuff in between, like naps, reading, walking, resting, looking at stuff, etc.



As an aside, at breakfast yesterday, when I asked for some pancake syrup for my grits, the affable, older, black server loudly announced "Have Mercy!" Apparently, the folks in New Orleans DON'T eat their grits that way. She would have fainted if she saw me put butter, salt and lots of pepper on them!









Well, we are getting ready to move in the morning ... next stop is the RV park at the Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg. Hopefully, we may win enough at the casino to cover our trip ... or not!

Day 2 - New Orleans

Busy day today ... breakfast at The Old Coffee Pot -- Eggs Jonathan (like benedict but better!) -- poached eggs over ham and muffins smothered in hollandaise sauce (spicy!) with fried shrimp, grits and home made wheat toast. We checked out the Louisiana State Museum which is a must see followed by a special Katrina and Beyond exhibit which was superb! Our subsequent thirst was sated at the nearby Cafe' du Monde with cafe' au laite and yummy beignets (French donuts - actually I think they tasted like funnel cakes - thick ones - covered in powdered suger). After resting ... by the pool ... reading (Trip) we lit out for the best po' boys in town at the Parkway Bakery and Tavern ----- fried shrimp with a side order of fries smothered in gravy. The highlight of the night was a marvelous jazz presentation at the Snug Harbor ... Delfeayo Marsalis, brother of Branford, leader of the Tonight Show Band, led the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, a happy group of a dozen cool cats! The high point was his personal rendition of "I'm Confessin That I Love You" from my old dancin days! We left the show in a drenching rain headed for our car; but, it was worth it!

Day 1 - New Orleans

We left the storage area about 9:30 in light sprinkles -- it had not rained in League City to amount to anything in months! Fueling up at the Pilot/Flying J (diesel @3.91) in Orange, Trip jumped into the driver's seat and we pressed on. Note: He has the proper class B license. It started seriously raining approaching the Texas border. It rained, hard at times, most of the way but stopped as we arrived at the French Quarter RV Resort. This site is right down town ... very very nice! Annenities include: cable, internet, hot tub and pool and really great security and it is right off the interstate. After setting up we headed out to scope out the town and drove through the French Quarter, Bourbon Street, Garden District, Warehouse District, and surrounding area. Returning about dark, we settled in for the night with sandwiches and an evening of television.

Gene and Trip's RV Trip

Gene and two of his grandsons (Trip Galleher and Danny Jackson) went on an RV trip in the summer of 2010 motoring from League City, Texas to San Antonio, Big Bend National Park, Fort Davis, Fredericksburg and Austin. The plan was to repeat a trip this summer; but, due to scheduling conflicts, Danny could not attend. Our odyssey starts in New Orleans ... hits some jazz clubs and of course some eateries for which NO is well known. The World War II Museum is a must as well. We will then proceed to Vicksburg, antebellum plantations and the Civil War Battlefields then jump on the Natchez Trace heading for Shiloh, Tennessee -- you guessed it ... the battlefield! The next stop is Hot Springs, Arkansas and when we are sick of the sights or each other, head back to League City.