Gainesville and Theodosia

We left for Gainesville /Theodosia on May 11. Before we could go, we had to take the RV in for an alignment. That was a requirement according to our warranty and it did not need to be done so that put us leaving at 2:00 p.m. and $65 less.

I decided to take the interstate instead of fighting Hwy 5. The wind was bad and the trucks were worse. I told mom I felt like I was being sucked and blown and she said I sounded like I was on Dateline.

I decided to find a campground and try again in the morning. I pulled off the interstate and drove right passed the campground and since I couldn’t do a U-turn with an RV, I keep on going. I found out that driving on the back roads isn’t as bad as driving on the interstate. Somehow, I ended up on Hwy 65 and stayed on that until I made my next turn, which was Hwy 160 (?). Hwy 160 does not have a straight stretch of road; it was like someone's intestines. To make matters worse, the road did not have a shoulder. 49 miles later, I finally came upon the RV Park in Theodosia. After mom pried my fingers from the steering wheel, we checked in. The park was very small, clean, well-kept and most important quiet. It has a small café that serves the best breakfast.

Surely is not doing very well. She started coughing on the morning of the 12th; 7:00 a.m. to be precise waking us both up. The cough was horrible so we took her to a vet. The vet explained that in older dogs the trachea has a tendency to collapse. She is hoping it is an infection. The meds make her sleepy. She is not coughing and doesn’t appear to be distressed. When I come back home I will have her X-rayed and see what is going on. Her breathing is normal and as I said, she is groggy but happy. If she becomes ill, I will take her to a vet and have her x-rayed sooner.

Also On the 12th, we drove down to Gainesville to visit friends. They are restoring a 100+ year old house. My favorite room is an upstairs bedroom. The previous owner wallpapered it with newspaper. She was from a town called “Romance” in Missouri and every article about her hometown she circled. The newspaper is from the early thirties. They don’t plan to redo that room, just leave it as is. The house originally was a log cabin and the previous owners built around that. It was also originally a three story home but it was hit by a tornado a long time back and they took off the third floor. It still has the stairs to the third floor and that appeal to me because of the stairs that lead to nowhere. I also loved the wallpaper in the bathroom but Millie said she would save it for me so I can wallpaper my bathroom with it.

We also visited two mills and drove into Arkansas for dinner. We decided to stay another night and go for a boat ride.


On the 13th was the boat ride. Bull Shoals is a beautiful lake. No boat docks, condominiums, and million dollar homes on the water. Surely didn’t like it. She totally freaked out but I created a windbreak and held her in my lap and she calmed down.

Right now, we are in Cape Girardeau spending the night and plan to hit the road tomorrow. We don’t know where we will be staying or where we will be going. Whenever we get internet access I will keep you updated.