Innovations, Excitement and Some Fantastic Changes!

Well it's a little past January 2 and we have been on the road having a good time! I want to begin this blog with a huge congratulations to my wife for a great accomplishment, an accomplishment that will now forbid me from accusing her of getting lost going around the block, an accomplishment that has enabled us to have more fun when we travel, She has successfully navigated this trip with her GPS and without assistance from me (as in she has always followed). She has learned to use the GPS and now just takes off ahead of me on her own. The day she drove right through the heart of Houston without any issues and without my help was the day that she convinced me that she can do anything she sets her mind to.  With that being said....on to the travels!

Cindy with Krystal Blue in Ashdown, Arkansas

We departed Hollister on the 9th of January and having already decided that there was no need to drive excessive amounts in a day (unlike my motorcycling days) had ours days journey set on Alma, Arkansas for a night then on to Ashdown, Arkansas, where we would stay for a week.  On this first leg of the trip Cindy followed me and since her Mustang was far quicker and more maneuverable than my truck with 42 feet of home behind it, that night we decided that she should just drive to the next destination and we would meet up there.  I have to say that doing this even made the driving easier for me because with her following me I would try to time the stop lights so that we would both make it and so on. Our home is 13 feet, 6 inches tall and this made it difficult for anyone following to see the lights or traffic that lie ahead. I am proud to say that upon my arrival at Millwood Landing RV Resort in Ashdown, there she was.  We both celebrated this achievement and agreed that she should just go at her own pace from now own. 

I got to do a little fishing while we were at Millwood and managed to land one decent sized sunfish. I also had a complete bonehead event that I am sure (at least I hope I'm not alone in this) has happened to others.  The first night at Millwood I decided to not hook up the sewer connection so therefore the tank valves were all closed.  Well, I rinsed a glass in the kitchen sink and got called away or distracted or just simply had an old man moment, either way I managed to awaken to a really strange chirping noise and step out of bed onto a wet floor! No damage done, just a kick myself moment for being such an airhead.

This one was about the size of my hand.

Well, other than my own stupidity, we had a good week at Millwood, mostly just chilled and relaxed then we headed out for our next destination, Huntsville State Park in Huntsville, Texas. This was very close to where my brother lived so it would be a great opportunity to spend some time with him and his wife.  Normally we would just set up in his yard for our visit but I decided this year to go to the state park.  The sites were ample in size but the amount of money it cost to stay there weighed against the amenities offered I can say that we will most likely not stay at this park again, we will instead spend the same amount or most likely less money and have more amenities to enjoy.  Huntsville was a good week, just not anything to write home about. The weather was rather dreary for the most part so we didn't even get to do any cruising in the convertible.

Our site at Huntsville State Park

We left Huntsville and headed on to our next destination, one that we were both looking forward to because it was on the Texas Coast and we were going to connect with some friends from our time at Basswood, Rod and Kay.  The drive south was un-eventful except for the hard headwind for most of the trip.  Brutus did a great job as far as power but that wind killed my fuel mileage.  I guess a second thing that would be noteworthy is that Cindy made it to the Copano Bay RV Resort with absolutely zero problems while I, the one that always was talking about her getting lost, made a wrong turn and had to backtrack in order to get to the campground. Now keep in mind the hard headwind and this wrong turn, they become a humorous punch to the face in a bit.

We got in a lot of convertible time on this leg of the trip, cruising from Rockport, Texas to Port Aransas, Mustang Island and Corpus Christi. We got together with Rod and Kay for a day out on the island.  They gave us the grand tour via golf cart with Rod revealing one of his favorite activities on the island, belt sander racing!  That looked to be a very fun and economical way to get your competitive rush!  The RV resort was extremely nice with concrete pads that were level, a nice heated pool (haven't figured out why they had a heated pool in south Texas but they did), We made several trips to Port Aransas and the island, got to play in the ocean and just have a whole lot of fun.  We headed out of there just in time, just a few days later that part of Texas, as well as the entire state of Texas saw record breaking low temps accompanied by SNOW.  Talk about good timing! 

Remember the hard wind and wrong turn I mentioned earlier?  Well it helped to create another stupid moment first for me.  When we get to our site, I unhook the truck and parked it for the duration.  On the next to the last day of our stay I drive into town and fuel up the truck so that I don't have to deal with it loaded.  I knew that I was very low on fuel from the aforementioned events but didn't realize just how low.  You guessed it, I got about a mile from the campsite and ran out of fuel.  I walked all the way back, got the car and proceeded to go buy a fuel can (that now resides in the back of the truck full of fuel) got fuel, took the car back to the site, walked back to the truck and then back to our site.

Our home for a week in Rockport, Texas, Copano Bay RV Resort

The "heated" pool

Krystal on the ferry to Port Aransas

Krystal on "Mustang" Island

A thousand year (plus) oak tree. Big tourist attraction here

Cindy holding Rosy Boa at botanical gardens

Some of the beauty at the gardens (the flowers aren't bad either)

Toes in the sand, Mustang Island

some beauty (and a statue) botanical gardens

A belt sander drag strip

Great friends, Rod and Kay

One night at Boomtown RV Resort, Vidor, Texas
This was a stop over and the campground was one 
of the nicest I have seen. Definitely on our radar
next year for a longer stay!

 

From Vidor we headed east, on to Abita Springs RV Resort in Abita Springs, Louisiana.  Normally we would go to all sorts of Mardi Gras activities while here but thanks to the covid 19 BS, those activities were greatly reduced.  I'll do another chapter about the good times we did have here including a visit from some more great friends soon in my next blog.  Thanks for reading and please follow me if you enjoyed this.

Life, as we knew it has changed....or on the road again.....sort of.

It has been a while since I have written anything to add to this traveling blog but the time has finally come for Sierra, Brutus and Krystal (the wife's blue Mustang convertible) to take up accomadations  at someplace other than the Kansas City area.  My daughter has graduated and is now working her dream, so our time and the need for us to remain in KC has expired.  We did spend almost three and a half years at Basswood RV and the time there was memorable as well as educational.  Even more noteworthy and most important to me is the time I got to spend with my grandkids and family.  

May 19, 2020....We finally were ready to just GO!  Southward ho to Branson, Missouri where we will be until January 2, 2021, then its off to the gulf coast for the winter! The original plan (we all know the original plan almost never works out) was to work for the entertainment and amusement park in Branson, Silver Dollar City.  I had driven to Branson back in February for a job fair and had a job all lined up beginning on June 1, 2020...then came this covid BS....then the phone call that the park had no idea when they would open.  My happy demeanor dropped!  We had been in the same place for all that time and I just wanted to be somewhere different and this BS was now going to stop that dream....or was it?  

Intent on leaving and going somewhere, I landed another job working for a very good friend of mine in Branson, I was going to be a snow cone production engineer, in other words, I got a job at a snow cone booth.  Off to Branson we went!

We got to Branson and I remembered a great RV spot that was right on Lake Taneycomo that I had once pulled my friends park model RV to.  It was a very beautiful place, very quiet and did I mention it was right on the lake?  The site was available and the price was very right so I rented it.  I can literally walk out my door and go about 25 steps and I am standing on the shoreline of the lake.  We have all the daily visitors one would expect living on a lake, you know, the ducks, the geese, a family of groundhogs, and I can see the fish swimming in the clear water in the mornings when I go out and drink my morning coffee.  Cindy really likes this site as well so we decided to make this site in Branson our summer home for a while.  We'll keep this site and return to Branson in May for the summers.  Cindy likes the setup because it is close enough to the grandkids, in fact, she has driven to KC by herself to visit and actually enjoyed the trip.

You may have noticed that I changed the header of my blog.  I figured it was time to retire Matilda form the limelight and let Sierra be the star.  During the down time in KC I was able to make a few modifications to Brutus to help pull Sierra down the road and I am really happy with the improvements.  I added rear air springs and an Adrenaline high pressure oil pump so now I have more power and an air ride suspension.  On the way to Branson I decided to weigh my loaded rig. With full fuel tank and our normal load the rig came in 220 pounds shy of 26,000.  The upgrades made a huge difference in the trip.

Life here is so much more laid back than in the city, people are friendly and we both feel fine.  I guess one of the reasons I decided to write this is that we are getting to do what we have worked so hard all our lives to do, travel. Just this week the harsh reality that tomorrow is never guaranteed, a lesson I almost learned first hand almost 11 years ago, again made itself evident.  A very dear friend, a man that was within a year of my age, a man that had plans to retire and travel and spend time with family, came in from working in his yard, went to his chair, sat down and passed into heaven from a heart attack.  May you rest in peace and travel the clouds, Warren. 

There hasn't been a whole lot happen here to write about.  We have had visitors come, I guess that since this is such a fun place to be people enjoy coming to visit. 

I'm going to close with some pictures of our view and new location.  I most likely won't create another post until we hit the road for the winter.  But then again, I might.  I would also like to say congratulations to my daughter on her outstanding achievement and to thank her and her family for letting us be such a close part of  their lives during the last three plus years, I wouldn't have missed or changed it for anything, congratulations Doctor!

The view of Lake Taneycomo from our front yard

Happy Independence day from Branson!

Sunset on the lake