Halloween

There was a wine and cheese party at the club house tonight for Halloween and to say goodbye to our summer managers and welcome our winter managers.  There was a good turn out.  Good visiting and a fun time.

Brooksville

We went to Brooksville today for very badly needed hair cuts.  Ate lunch at Cici's and drove around some.  Stopped for some wine for the party tomorrow evening.  Nothing new in Brooksville.  Picked up a Subway for dinner.  Sure good to get our hair cut.

Busy Monday

We spent the day getting things cleaned up and set up.  Feels good to know we will be here for awhile.  I cleaned the house, did laundry and Don worked outside, even washed the car.  We made a trip to Bushnell for groceries.  It has been cool today which feels fine to us while we were working.  Good to see friends again!

From Gulf Shores to Bushnell

We left the campground at 7:15 for the 10 hour trip.  All went well, the motorhome behaved itself even got better miles per gallon than usual.  It is interstate for the most part.  We got diesel right before heading to Sumter Oaks and put additive in the tank to keep the diesel from separating and getting mold.  Don used the leaf blower to clean off our concrete pad and we got parked and hooked up before dark.  We were a tired pair.  At least it was cooler than normal!  Good to see old friends again, good to just be here and know we will be here for awhile.

Sitting out Hurricane Sandy

We decided to stay one more day in Gulf Shores and wait for better weather.  Winds were forecast for the roads we take and why go if we don't have to go.

Don wanted to go for a ride this morning - we ended up at Krispy Kreme for a donut.  Think that was the whole purpose of the ride?  We also went down by the gulf shore and drove around in that area some.  Later we went to Zaxby's for dinner to take home.  Did some things around the motorhome so we can make a faster get-away in the morning for the 10 hour trip (including time change).  It has turned cold, at least it feels cold after mid 80 degree temps.  Is 50 this evening.

Day of rest in Gulf Shores Alabama

We didn't sleep well last night, too many miles going through our heads I guess.  We went for breakfast at Don's all time favorite place, Foley Waffle House.  It was good as usual.  Then I went to Old Time Pottery to pick up some more drinking glasses to match the ones we have - not many left.  Don went to Coleman outlet and a tools outlet,  then we went to Camping World and CVS.  We both took a good nap in the afternoon and went to Chic fil la and brought home dinner.

Now to Gulf Shores Alabama

We left Vicksburg on Interstate 20 for about 45 miles, there were lots of trucks, fog and road construction.  Got diesel at Pearl (Jackson)  and headed south.  There were many stop lights for awhile and traffic.  (Why do signs tell the motorist to "Watch for trucks entering" ?  Wouldn't you think the entering trucks should watch for the traffic??? )  We went around Pine Bluff and the Hattiesburg onto a decent four lane road to Mobile,  Albania   The last 18 miles into Mobile are many traffic lights and more and more traffic.  Finally we got to Interstate 69 which took us to Interstate 10 and then to the Gulf Shores turnoff.  The last few miles to our campground are always challenging.  We look for a white barn to find our turn, the white barn no longer is there!

We went out to eat at Logan's Steakhouse   We eat at one in Kissimmee, Florida and they ALWAYS try to seat us in the bar.  Sure enough this one at Spanish Fort tried to put us in the bar.  Do we look like bar flies?  The food was good, we were ready for a good meal.

Transylvania and Tallulah

We left Branson today and traveled to Vicksburg, MS.  This is probably the most gruelling, but not the longest trip we take.  There is a new road to Harrison, but in Harrison and beyond for some miles the highway has a curb right on the edge of the road.  If we hit it with our motorhome we are pushed into the other lane.  Then come the hills and curves, finally we get to the interstate and soon have to navigate through Little Rock.  Then it is stop and go traffic for a while until the road reduces down to two lane for about 90 miles into Louisiana where we go through the little towns of Transylvania and Tallulah.  Tallulah reminds me of where the book "The Help" could have been written.  Finally we get to Interstate 20 for 20 miles into Vicksburg.  That is four states for the day: Missouri  Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The campground in Vicksburg is easy in and out, well laid out, plenty of room to maneuver,  but the sites are not level.  Why do they build campground with unlevel sites, seems like that would be the first concern.

It was a long day and we were exhausted.   About 350 miles.

Sunday

We ate breakfast at Steak n Shake.  The breakfast was good, the service good but they had a smoking corner where six people were puffing away.  The smoke penetrated the whole dinning room.

For dinner we grilled pork chops and had sweet potatoes with them.

12 volt dimmer

We got the 12 volt dimmer switch in the mail and Don installed it today.  Now the main bedroom lights work.

We ate dinner at Panera, just not too hungry - been eating too much.

Arkansas Black Apples

We went to Arkansas this morning for the great Arkansas Black Apples.  We found them at the usual place, a little fruit/vegetable place just beyond Harrison.  It was a beautiful day for a car trip  the fall colors were great and made more beautiful against all the rock formations.

The rest of the day we stayed home.  Clouds formed in the afternoon and it got cool.  Just seemed like a good time to fix dinner at home.

More shopping, more eating

We went to the second outlet mall in Branson.  I got a pair of jeans and a shirt on for $9.99 each.  The jeans were a particularly good deal.  We went to K Mart, I need a K Mart fix now and again and this one is nice, clean and well stocked.  Didn't buy much.

The campground clubhouse had a Chili dinner, with corn bread and strawberry pie.  We visited with Mr. and Mrs. Prevost (a Prevost is a motorhome starting at a million dollars).  They were friendly enough, didn't think they were too special.

Fall Creek Steak and Catfish House

This morning we went to Target and Wal Mart.  Wal Mart wouldn't take my coupons, even at customer (no) service.  They said too many people were copying coupons and they were loosing too much money.

We ate dinner at the Fall Creek Steak and Catfish House.  We'd heard for some time that it was a good place and it was.  We got there early and still had to wait 30 Min. We had so much food we took enough home for another meal.

We had thunderstorms again this morning and some rain.

Rib Crib

We worked around the motorhome today.  Don once again took apart the washer/dryer to remove accumulated lint, a job that seems to need to be one every 3 - 4 months.  It's a big job moving out the machine and taking apart some of the back.  It is drying much better now.

We ate at the Rib Crib tonight.  It is their AYCE night.  The ribs were very good, we had seconds. Couldn't eat all the sides: cole slaw, beans, potato salad, fries and texas toast. 

Grand Buffet and Grand Jubilee

We went for lunch at the Grand Buffet, it is probably the best buffet in Branson.  (Not that we have eaten at all the 2,000 buffets in town.)  It was as usual very good, fresh food, good tasting, clean and good service.  Afterwards we decided to see if our BOGO coupon was good at any of the shows.  One show, The Grand Jubilee seemed to be our best choice but we still had our reservations   We went to the show in the evening and were blown away!!!  It was excellent, the quartet was very good, the band very good.  Many costume changes, great stage lighting.  Also a good comedian, female soloist, and a talented announcer.  We had a great evening.  This is now my third favorite show in Branson (behind The Haygoods and The Presleys).

Sunny Sunday

We went out for breakfast at McFarlands.  It a good place to eat and has an interesting decor.  I made bread in the afternoon (in a bread machine), it turned out well - a little overdone crust.  Don grilled steak for dinner.  I talked to Brenda and Sheila in the evening.  Nice day!!!

Stormy Saturday

It was a nice day until the evening when the predicted storms roared through.  We got a lot of rain but thankfully no wind, hail or tornadoes.  In the morning we went to an outlet mall, I had good luck in one shop.  Then I went to Kohls and found nothing.  There were a lot of people out shopping.  We ate dinner at Steak n Shake.

Rainy day Friday

We were awaken about 6AM by thunder.  It rained most of the day, sometimes hard.  It had been a long time since we'd been in rain.  The car actually looked better, it was covered with dust.  We mostly stayed home, in the evening we suddenly remembered we had to take the movie back which we rented to cover the Vice Presidential debates on Thursday night "This Means War".  We stopped by a local grocery store that has an excellent bakery.  I chose a peach pie and Don got donut holes.  Don ordered the dimmer switch on line so no trip to Springfield.

10-11-12

We went to McDonalds for lunch and then hunted around for a 12 volt dimmer switch.  One place would send us to the next and that place to the next.  We never did find one except on e-bay.  Will check with the Springfield RV places tomorrow.  Dinner was at the clubhouse:  Bean and ham soup, corn bread, fried potatoes (don't know how these fit in) and pudding.  We had good conversations with some people at our table, closed the place.

Catching up

I cleaned the motorhome, washed towels  etc. while Don debugged the front.  A lot of bugs chose our motorhome window.  I was inside when all the sudden the kitchen vent stopped.  Don went on top the motorhome and found the ground wire had become disconnected, repaired the fan again worked.  He also attempted to replace a light in the bedroom but somehow caused a short that will have to be checked out later, meanwhile we have to use the lights by the bed.  We went to Fuddruckers for a hamburger for dinner.  Was a nice day, blue sky and upper 60's - forecast for rain the next 3 days.

Osceola Iowa to Branson, MO

We left Osceola about 8AM, had a good day on the road.  Going through Kansas City went well, not much traffic and the GPS got us through all our turns.  We stopped for diesel at Peculiar Pilot and got to Branson (actually Hollister, next to Branson) about 3PM.  The park, Escapees Turkey Creek, is almost full, we were lucky to get a 50 amp site.  They didn't recommend our site to us but we had parked there before and it worked fine.  We no more got settled when a truck pulling a huge Airstream trailer decided to park in the site in front of us.  I tried to ignore them, but finally got up to look (of course Don was gone) and they were SO close to our motorhome.  I made my presence known and suddenly they were super careful.  It took them forever to get to the exact spot they wanted their trailer parked.  We went to Sonic and got sandwiches which we brought home.  When we returned the people with the trailer were just starting to disconnect the truck, completely blocking the road.  He is an arrogant type, she is friendly.  They wanted to know when we were leaving as they are leaving Saturday.  They had hoped we would be gone so they could get out easier.   We plan to stay a week or two.  Hopefully we will be around when they pull out to guard our motorhome.

Prior Lake, MN to Osceola, Iowa

We got out of Dakotah Meadows RV Park about 8:30 for a day on the road.  All went well, we got to Lake Side Casino about 2PM after getting $250 of diesel at the Pilot next door.  Went to Arby's for a sandwich for dinner.

Dinner at Sheila and Ken's

After a very cold night, got down to 27 degrees, we went out for breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then to Sheila's for a pizza lunch.  Brenda and Rebecca, Kazia, Dusty, Logan and Holland as well as the Dennis family of Sheila, Ken, Josh, Zach and Brianna we there.  We had good pizza and good food.  Sheila made a super dip and Brenda brought wonderful apple crisp.  We sat around a long time and visited and laughed.  A fun day.  We are pulling up the jacks on the motorhome tomorrow and heading south where it will hopefully be warmer!

Minnesota Cold

The weather turned from very nice to very cold in a matter of hours.  We have to go into freezing mode with the motorhome which means putting water into our water tank and disconnecting the hose.  Also means using our propane furnaces as the heat pumps only work down to 40 degrees.  We can do it and stay plenty warm.  It would help it the wind would die down and the sun would shine.  It is Minnesota in October, what can we expect!  Northern MN is getting snow!!!!!

Making the most of the nice weather!

The weather folks tell us we have ONE more nice day then cold, wind, rain.  We have just been taking it easy - went out to the bank, Menards and lunch at Arby's.  In the evening we brought home tacos for dinner.