Desert Scenes And Grandpuppies

Thank Goodness

We moved today.  We are still in Tucson but in a different park.  It is less money, with cable and internet.  I might even jump in the pool.  It was cheaper to rent it by the week and that is what we did.  We are settled and happy.

Guess what I did today?  I ran over the sewer connection.  Why they put it in the middle of the lot I will never know but I back right over it.  First time I have ever did something like that.  :-)

I also miss my computer.  Mom was nice enough to loan me her computer while mine is missing it's cord.  I left it over at my son's house so no pictures and no stories but maybe tomorrow.   Life is good.

Fort Stockton Texas Sunset

We are in Tucson and not Fort Stockton.  I was going through my photographs this evening and thought I would post these pictures I took while in Fort Stockton.

 

I Am Still On The Road

We are in Texas, Fort Stockton to be exact.  I met up with a friend this evening and enjoyed a beautiful sunset and great conversation.  Tomorrow we are heading to New Mexico and we are hoping to be in Tucson on Friday.  If all goes well. 

We did spend a couple of nights in Oklahoma but left before the weather turned crazy.  Texas is so dry and so many parts of it is on fire.  It is truly a scary situation for those living here.  

We are alive and well and moving down the road.  More later.

I Am On The Road To Tucson

Right now we are turtling our way to Tucson.  I will be posting more this evening or tomorrow. 

Still In Missouri

The reason mom and I ended up in Missouri was to see a doctor for my yearly physical.  Once again my cholesterol level was brought up.  I have had this problem for years and I am on some pretty strong medication.  My weight was not a factor, it is hereditary.  I hear “you have to watch what you eat,” yet I am not sure what it is I am suppose to be eating.  Last night mom and I went out to eat and I was trying to figure out what I could eat.  It was a buffet so I concentrated on fish and a salad.  The couple sitting next to us heard us talking and a wonderful conversation started.  The gentleman was a Vietnam vet, been exposed to Agent Orange which of course caused a myriad of medical problems.  He also has diabetes.    He was a wealth of information.  He uses a book to keep track of everything he eats which I am checking into purchasing it.  There is a web page, Calorie King, which I am going to use.  It lets me know exactly what I am eating and what is in it.   I was given a George Forman grill and I am going to purchase a toaster oven.  Try to eat smarter.  I have started taking fish oil, 2 tablets 4 times a day.  Which is not a good thing when you live in an itty bitty van.   I have been told my body will adjust. 

Tomorrow we need to run back to my hometown to sign some papers and then back to Kansas City for the night.  Tuesday, knock on wood, we will be out of state.

I Have Been To Italy

Well, actually I have been in Kansas all this time BUT my credit card number was in Italy.  It was having a grand old time.  I am not sure all it purchased but it I do know it stayed in a really nice hotel.  Isn’t it sad that your credit card ends  up having a grand old time while you are stuck in Kansas… Sigh  You know something the person using my credit card did all of these fun things absolutely free.  Fortunately I paid for protection against these things.  All I had to do was cut up my globe trotting credit card (that will teach it to have fun without me) and wait for a new one.

Question – Have you ever done something so stupid that you wonder, after the random act of stupidity, what the heck you were thinking?  I arrived at my daughter’s home and there sitting on her counter was Robert’s Christmas present to her.  A Keurig which is a single-cup brewer.  At first I considered it a doo dad.  Hannah patiently showed me how to brew my own teas with it and then she showed me how to use the K Cups.  K Cups hold coffee, tea, hot chocolate etc.  The next morning I decided to brew a cup of decaf coffee on my own and it tasted so good I had a few more cups of joe.  At the end of the week Hannah came home and I met her at the door with a big old howdy and said  “hihoneyhowwasworkIdidthelaundryIplayedwiththedogsandbythewayyouareoutofdecaf.  I was wired for sound.  I have been off the caffeine long enough for it to really be potent.  So we headed for the store to purchase more coffee.   I ended up buying a small Keurig for myself.  I live in a van and I have absolutely no idea where I am going to store it when we are traveling.  I only purchased decaf coffee and I have all the tea I need.  So no more bouncing off the walls and staying up till 3 a.m.

This afternoon will be my last visit with the dentist and we will be heading out tomorrow morning for Camdenton.  After Camdenton we will be heading to Las Vegas New Mexico or someplace near.  It will feel good to be on the road again.

Life is good.

 

We Made It

We arrived in Kansas around 11:30, just in time for lunch.  Hannah and Robert took us to Bo Ling's, one of my favorite restaurants.   Unfortunately it was right next door to Half Price Books.  The afternoon was spent browsing through books and talking.  Hannah and I both have a love of poetry.  We also share the dislike for romance books.  She works among books and she says the romance books always smell of tacos, menthol vapor rub and cigarette smoke.  I am sorry if this offends some but reading a romance novel is like reading the same book over and over and over.   Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.  I like substance, I like variety and I don’t need a happy ever after.  I am not in the norm when it comes to this way of thinking because romance sells and sells big. 

Tomorrow I meet my new doctor. Life is good.

Topless Interstate Driving

We are in the state of Oklahoma this evening and tomorrow around noon we will be sitting down having lunch with my daughter. 

It has been pretty boring the past couple days with the exception of one morning.  I did the usual morning routine and we took off.  About thirty minutes later I started scratching.  I could see the bumps appearing on my arms.  I made a quick dash into a Dollar General Store and bought Benadryl lotion.  By the time I got to the counter it was obvious I was breaking out.  I made the comment that I am going to have to take my shirt off the minute I get into the van.  That caused an eyebrow to lift from the cashier.  I medicated myself and put on sleeveless shirt.  About a half hour later the itching stopped and eventually the redness disappeared.  The strange thing is when I put on the shirt I wore when I developed the rash, I broke out again.  I am allergic my to my shirt.  It is an old shirt that I have worn countless times.  I plan to wash it and then see if I break out.  I hate to throw out an old friend. 

I told mom that I would get us to Hannah’s on time even if it means driving topless to Kansas….  Fortunately that didn’t happen.

Life is good.

We Are Still In Louisiana

One of the places we wanted to see in Louisiana was Myrtle Plantation.  When we drove into St. Francisville  and did a little research on the area we both reached the decision to wait.  There are historical cemeteries, historical homes, civil war battle sites and hiking.  To much to do in less than 5 hours.  

We did find a RV park in St. Francisville.  It was a wonderful park.  Okay a little run down but wonderful.  We were greeted by a wagging tail, nice people, and reasonable rates.  Later that evening another pooch came up to visit while mom and I were sitting outside.   The trouble I had was my doo hickey kept going off.  I bought an electrical thing to monitor our electricity.  It was really really cheap and it flashes 120 and F60.   It was a cool night light and I was  looking forward to having Robert, my daughter’s beau, explain it to me.  Then it went off and I found myself googling “Reverse Polarity Fault Condition” to “Low Voltage.”  It was a crash course in electricity.  That is why I love the RV life.  You learn so much, you experience so much, and life is really never dull.    I fixed the electrical problem by hooking up to a different electric “doo hickey.”  LOL

Right now we are in Marksville Louisiana and the Paragon Casino RV Park.  It is a Good Sam and Passport America park and the rates are very reasonable.  We are leaving tomorrow and will be in Kansas as planned. 

We met another Van Dwelling couple from Canada.  They wintered in Texas but are not committed to staying in one place during the winter.  They were a nice couple and a delight to talk to. 

I am actually looking forward to the drive tomorrow.  Life is GREAT!

Bay St. Louis Mississippi

This morning mom and I got up early and headed for the casino.  It was a very good day for us.  On top of winning a few extra dollars we lucked into a seafood buffet for 9.99 a piece.  There are days I am so happy to be over 50…   Tomorrow we are planning on spending the night near Baton Rouge. 

While we were in Apalachicola Florida, mom and I stopped at Chestnut Street Cemetery, a historical cemetery .  Dr. Alvin Wentworth Chapman, Botanist, is buried there.  Dr. Chapman was the author of "Flora of the Southern United States", first published in 1860 with several later editions by the author. For nearly fifty years this was the only manual of flowering plants in the southeastern states. An 1830 graduate of Amherst College, he moved to the south in 1831 and to Apalachicola, Florida in 1847 where he practiced medicine. He collected rare plants throughout the southeast and stayed in contact with northern botanists including Asa Gray. The genus Chapmania was named in his honor

Some of the stones in the cemetery showed signs of repair but other than that, it was in poor shape.  Which is distressing to me because there is so much history there.

A few pictures I took of the cemetery. 

	Epitaph Found At at Chestnut Street Cemetery Jesus, while our hearts are bleeding O’er the spoils that death has won, We would at this solemn meeting Calmly say, “Thy will be done.” Moravian melody written by Thomas Hastings
	Epitaph Found At at Chestnut Street Cemetery When I am dead and all will soon forgot My words and face and ways I somehow think I'll walk beside thee yet Adorn thy afterdays. I die first and you will see my grave But children you must not cry For my dead hand will brightest blessing wave O'er you from yonder sky.
	Epitaph Found At at Chestnut Street Cemetery All that which pleases only for a moment All that troubles us is but for a moment That only is important which is eternal.
Epitaph Found At at Chestnut Street Cemetery Clarence Goet Tinger closed his eyes in death, and flesh and spirit severed When earth and father-land and home With all their beauty Sank in gloom say was it to be forever No not forever
	Epitaph Found At at Chestnut Street Cemetery While we weep as Jesus wept Thou shalt sleep as Jesus slept With they Saviour thou shalt rest Crowned and glorified and blest

Three States

We are in the state of Mississippi.  Our plan is spend one more night in Mississippi before heading to the next state.

Last night we spent the night at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, another  beautiful state park.  We got in around 4:00 p.m.  and I took a walk on the beach.  It was a little chilly but I enjoyed the solitude. 

Later that night things got a little freaky.  I did not have phone service nor internet service consistently.  The freaky thing happened when I notice my phone was on Central Standard Time.  The park ranger said we were still on Eastern…  I had picked up my phone to look at it and then I set it down on mom’s bed.  It went to Eastern Standard Time.  So mom, technically, was an hour ahead of me all night.   I turned my phone off because it was confused.  I didn’t turn it back on until we hit Mexico Beach. 

A few pictures I took at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Florida.