FINALLY…..ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Thursday, April 29 – We played Mexican Train for the last time this evening. Had to say good-bye to our domino playing friends. Marsha pulled it off with out tears. Way-to-go Marsha!!!!! LOL

Here are some pictures of our dear friends. We miss you already.

Fran and Wayne..they are setting up for a play.

Louise and Paul

 

Marsha’s dear friend, Peggy.

Unlike Mexican Spinner,  Mexican Train has different rules, set up and strategy. This is what some of the layouts look like when someone wins.

A special friend stopped by to say hello.

Marsha found this blow up Longhorn on the give away table. She was so excited. She picked it up, plugged it in, and sent Kelly a text asking her if she wanted to put it in her classroom. Kelly said “Sure.” We now have it in the MH.

Friday, April 30 – WE FINALLY HIT THE ROAD TODAY!!!!! YEA!!!! We pulled out of Livingston, TX at 8:30 am and arrived at Ameristar Casino Campground in Vicksburg, MS at about 3:30 pm. It is overcast and a rainy day.

This is our campground. Nothing to write home about but price is right and it is in sooooo close to the historical center of Vicksburg. The roads are paved, all sites are pull-thru and paved, and each site has a paved patio with a picnic table.

 

 

It was an uneventful drive....my first drive of any distance since my back surgery. Even Bella enjoyed the trip sitting for a long time on Marsha's lap. She only spent a little time under the couch – her normal travel site – she's such a scary cat. We will be here about 3 days checking out the historical sights and venturing to the casinos in the evenings. We are camped on the shores of the GREAT MISSISSIPPI.....well, actually across the street. It sure is a big river!

Some pictures of the Might Mississippi.

This is the bridge we went over to Vicksburg.

This is the very old railroad bridge that went over the Mississippi. They no longer use this bridge.

Where the railroad came out from under the ground.

So happy that we are traveling again. Thanks for stopping by. Our next post will be of historic Vicksburg.

FINALLY ON OUR WAY…..YEA!!!

Monday, April 26 – Well, today was the big day. Notice anything different about Paul?

Yes, today was the first day that he was allowed to take the brace off for ONE BIG HOUR.

Sure had an unusual Motor Home pull into the campground across from us. It was 78 FEET LONG......holy cow!

They had 2 cars in the trailer. It looks like a NASCAR set-up but it wasn't. The gal that helped him park said he was helping her move to Texas, and her car and all her stuff was aboard. I didn't get an opportunity to talk with the driver. They were only here a couple of days and moved on.

The neighbor and friend – Duane – came down and helped me make a template of my windshield. We are considering getting a sunshade for the huge front windshield and the manufacture needed a pattern of our window. We taped a huge piece of paper on the windshield and traced the glass surface.

We also made patterns of the two side windows in the driving compartment. I then mailed it back to the manufacture, and he'll call with an estimate. The company is Magne Shade. We saw them in Quartszite this winter. It goes on with magnets. It supposedly cuts out over 90% of the heat and ultraviolet rays that normally enters via the huge windshield. You wouldn't probably install it if you were only stopping for one night but definitely if you were staying for several nights. Most owners of motor homes seem to use them.

Boy has the Texas weather been amazingly beautiful. Clear blue skies and temperatures in the 80's.

Today was the warmest yet.....in the 90's. We've been sitting outside all day. Luckily the temperatures drop into the 50-60's at night so sleeping hasn't been a problem. Haven't ran the A/C yet! The Fantastic Vent fans have pulled enough cool air into the MH to keep it comfortable. Bella even had to search out a cool place…to sleep, of course.

 

Marsha just loves the flowers here in Texas. Last night that was a very sweet smell. She went all over looking for the source. She found them in another vine behind our motor home. It is called Japanese Honeysuckle. The whole back area is full of this vine. It is really beautiful…according to Marsha.

TRAVEL PLANS – Well, we are finally planning to hit the road this Friday, May 1. We are traveling to Red Bay, Alabama to have five of our windows replaced at the Tiffin Manufacturer. Even though our 2005 MH is out of warranty, they are covering the replacement. We have some other small items to have them serviced while we are there. We weren't able to get an appointment – all 40 service bays are booked for the entire YEAR! They do have quite a few bays they hold on a first come, first serve basis. We may have to wait, but we'll get the work done. We are also planning on taking a plant tour while we're waiting. That should be interesting.

We are traveling through northern Louisiana to Vicksburg, Mississippi for some civil war site seeing prior to reaching Red Bay. We plan on being in Red Bay from May 5 until probably near the middle of the month. Then we will return to Houston via the southern route through Biloxi (the beach) for my three month post surgery, June 10, doctors appointment. From there it's off to Ohio to visit family.

Thanks for visiting. Stay tuned for our next adventure.

NOTHIN’ MUCH GOING ON HERE

Tuesday, April 20 – The weather was beautiful. It is usually in the high 70s or low 80s each day. Cool nights….great for sleeping.

Well, it can’t get much more lay back than this past week. We done it all, seen it all and are READY TO MOVE ON!

The highlight of our week was meeting the girls for dinner in Humble. Kelly was visiting Carrie in Houston, so we said, “Why not meet for a early dinner?” The girls drove up to Outback Steak House, about 20 min. drive from Carrie’s and we drove down, about an hour and half drive from Livingston. All four of us had a delicious meal.

Marsha is enjoying watching the Cleveland Indians just about every day. We now have a new wall decoration.

 

It is her Tribe towel she got back in about 1980 something….LOL

We visited a new church, First Baptist Church, this past Sunday. It is a beautiful church with the friendliest people. The sermon for Marsha and I was excellent.

Paul begins weaning from his brace on Monday, April 26. We have tentative plans to get back on the road Friday, April 30. Our plans are to drive to Red Bay, Alabama to the Tiffin plant to have our new windows installed. When we ordered them, the gal said she did not know how long it would take to get the windows in. The factory was out of glass…WHAT? A window factory out of glass…..how can that be? So, she suggested we call before we leave for Red Bay. We will make a call early next week, and hopefully they will be able to give us good news. We will give you the update on our plans next week.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a good one!

TRADER VILLAGE AND CLEVELAND INDIANS

Saturday, April 10 – Before I tell you about our visit to Trader Village, I want to tell you what happened to us on the way to church Easter Sunday. Funny thing happened on the way to church. Marsha was driving along about a minute from church when a Texas State Trooper pulls up behind her and turns on his lights. She said, ”What the heck.’ and I replied, “Believe me dear, you aren’t getting pulled over for speeding.” In which, she gave me The Look. Anyway, the police officer comes to the window and as polite as can be says, “Good morning, folks.” “I noticed a blue  light on the front grill of your car. Could you tell me what that is.” Paul explains that the light was installed when we had the supplemental braking system installed to apply the brakes of the Jeep automatically when being towed by the motor home. This light is to inform us that the Jeep brakes are applied. This is important to know, especially if you DO NOT have the MH brakes applied. You don't want to be dragging the Jeep with the brakes on! Well, this BLUE LED light is illegal in Texas (it was installed in Ohio). Only Police cruisers can have a blue light visible on the front of the vehicle. We explained our situation to the policeman and he said to cover it with black electrical tape when we are not towing. On we went with a “have a good day” from the police officer. Marsha still swears she wasn't speeding....LOL!

Now to Saturday….We went to Camper's World in Houston this morning. I received a gift card for my birthday and there were some things we wanted to check-out at the RV Store. We've been looking for some chairs with high backs but struck-out again. We've seen other people with them, but have been unable to find similar ones. Instead we upgraded our sewer hoses. We had the El Cheapo style from Walmart so I purchased better ones. We also purchased a stand to hold the hose up off the ground so it drains properly. Happy Birthday to me.

We then over to Houston’s Trader Village is a Texas-Size Marketplace. opened in 1989 and covers more than 105 acres, with 1,500 dealers, every weekend. More than one million people browse, buy & trade in this open-air bargain hunters' paradise each year. It's the largest market on the Texas Gulf Coast.  Besides the great shopping there's always something happening at Traders Village.

We walked around the market enjoying the people and looking at the things for sale. There is quite a Mexican influence on many of the things for sale. Marsha did find a small basket she's been looking for. She sat it by the door to hold our keys and other items we use daily.

 

There were tons of vegetable and fruit stands. We tried our first taste of papaya. We both did not like it.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Texas with one of these on every block.

You should of seen the dogs for sale. Cage after cage of puppies. I think this was an example of the puppy factories people talk about.

And lots of birds for sale.

Never knew their was a variety of Finch with our name sake.

We saw no cats for sale. Thank goodness.

We found this place rather weird…Voodoo?

For some reason, Paul was in the mood to buy me a fur. What I would do with that is beyond me.

This is the one he picked out for me….Gee thanks, Hon!

We have never seen anything like this at any Flea Market we have been to.

I was tempted…..LOL  So was Paul.

For you men….the sign 4 X 11 is not the size of the bra. They were selling them 4 for $11.00. What a steal!

Paul was at it again. No, hon…I will not look like the manikins when I put those jeans on. Can you see the expression on the sales gal face. She is thinking….Get your kicks, old man.

They were having the annual Bayou City Cajun Fest celebration with all types of Cajun food and music.

There was a super Cajun band and dancing. We only understood about every 9th word they sang. It was all in Cajun talk.

 

Of course, we couldn’t go to the Cajun Fest without eating some Cajun food.

For $3 you could purchase this huge plate of Crawfish! Marsha wanted some, but it was too much for her to eat. Nope, not for me. They look like something I would kill or run from....not eat!

We settled for some Red Beads and Rice, Gumbo & Rice, Bodine, and sausage on a Stick. All excellent!

With all this delicious Cajun food, Paul’s favorite is still the elephant ear....yum!

Oh.....before I forget something else...We've just about finished with our clean-up and leaf bagging here at Rainbow's End. We've bagged over 77 bags of leaves and winter trash. GOOD JOB.....MARSHA! But wait! She's not one to put up her feet and enjoy sitting around. She has now volunteered in the library and is sorting books and getting EVERYTHING organized. She's the Assistant Librarian.....JEESH!

Monday, April 12 – Marsha is a “happy camper” now a  days. She ordered MLBN….Major League Baseball Network. She now can watch almost all the Cleveland Indians’ games. She has the TV schedule, times and channels. Some games are telecast on two channels…home team and visitor team networks. She loves when they broadcast the Indians STO channel. She gets to listen to her life-long idol, Rick Manning! She was so excited for opening day at home, but in the end, they lost again against Detroit. She said….”Wait until Wednesday!” I don’t know how she can keep getting kicked in the teeth and come back for more. True fan she is!

Are friends and neighbors, Ed & Linda Lavin, who were parked right next to us, pulled out this morning. They are headed for Alabama. Surprisingly, the spot sat empty all day. Around 4:00, we saw a motorhome coming around the bend. It was Don DeCoast, and he pulled in the empty spot. Don and Joyce are friends we met here in Livingston in December of last year. We also spent time with them in Quartszite. Don is here by himself while Joyce flew home to New Hampshire to visit with her daughter, sister and the rest of the family. It will be fun to visit with Don for a few days.

It's been SIX WEEKS since my back surgery......two more weeks to go in this back brace. I can't wait to get it off! It will take a week or so to get out of it completely. I have to wean myself slowly. An hour more each day until I'm comfortable with it off all day.

We played dominoes again tonight. We only had four players, so we played Spinners. Marsha and I both got shut-out....no wins!

Tuesday, April 13 – On our way home from the health club this morning, our windshield caught another stone from a passing truck. This time we escaped with only a very small chip. We immediately called the glass guy and had it repaired before it spread. Thank goodness we have zero deductible on glass damage.

We spent most of the day sitting in the sun talking with Don and catching up with what each other has been up to and our plans for the future…especially this winter.

Around 4 p.m., we headed to Kelly’s softball game in Crockett…about an hour and fifteen minutes up the road. I looked like a different team. All the “bad apples” she had trouble with have quit the team and the girls were really enjoying playing the game…including Kelly! Even though some of the younger players that have been moved up to varsity made some errors, the team won 7-5. Yea!

The drive home in the dark was uneventful except the large bugs that were splattering on the windshield. We had to stop at a gas station and clean the glass so Marsha could see to finish the drive home…GEESH!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!