Monday, April 11, 2011

Having forgotten to publish my Journal to the website yesterday I got up this morning (Tuesday) with a mission.  I got everything ready and published it first thing.  I think that was the first time in about 10 years that I actually forgot to publish on my regular Monday.  I’ve had other troubles with it, but never forgot to publish it.

For Breakfast this morning Sharon whipped up Egg McMuffins for us. They were very good and set us up for the day.  We had planned to drive downtown having never been there before.  After that we planned on going to the movie to see “The Kings Speech.”  We didn’t know if we’d have time to get downtown and to the movie because of the time we left.

As it turned out we didn’t have enough time to make it to the movie today, but Sharon found a huge Hobby Lobby that she wanted to browse through.  We also needed to stop at a grocery store to pick up a few things for the next couple of days.

In the afternoon we encountered the wind again for the day.  It wasn’t blowing consistently hard, but it was gusting up to 30 miles and hour.

We still had the cable hooked up along with the dish but we have no TV listings with the cable, and surfing is a full time job.  We turned the TV on for background noise and then we took a nap.

Later on this afternoon we left to go to Dyers BBQ restaurant.  We’ve been going there for at least 10 years each time we come through Amarillo.  The BBQ is fabulous and the restaurant is very comfortable with very good service.  While we were in the restaurant we got a call from Phil Bach from California informing us that a friend had just passed away.  Linda Smith, who we met through the Bachs, died this morning.  The Smiths, who we’ve known for several years actually stopped in Iron Mountain one time, a few years back.  She and Dick are wonderful people and we’ll miss her.  We were glad that we got to see her a last time this winter.

After Dinner at Dyer’s we came home and settled in front of the TV for the night.  We had plenty to watch tonight and even the dish was working again.  Although while checking the recorded programs and movies on the DVR I realized that it had all been erased.  The titles were still there but the programs were not.

It was not a problem since we had plenty to watch and we even recorded a couple of more shows.  Even though we had all that to watch we still caved at 10 for the night.  Goodnight Sweet Prince.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

We were up with a plan this morning.  We had decided last night that we were going to The Big Texan Restaurant this morning for their Buffet Breakfast.  We had been there before for steaks but never for their Breakfast.  Judging by the number of people in the restaurant, this was not going to be a good deal.  Starting off it was a little pricey at $9 but we each had a $2 off coupon, which brought the price reasonably under control.  The Buffet, however, was not up to their advertising.  The food was god but the French Toast, Pancakes, omelettes etc. had to be cooked to order which I did not care for.  Beverages, (coffee) were also not included in the price, so we drank water.  It was generally not a pleasant experience and we’ll not be back again.  And to top it all off, we had to drive 15 miles down the road to get there.

After Breakfast we drove back home for a couple of hours waiting for the time to go to the theater to see “The King’s Speech.”  We ran out of time yesterday so we were going to take it in today.

By noon we had just enough time to make it to the theater so we took off.  It was actually a lot further than we expected.  We didn’t arrive until almost 12:30 which was just in time for the show to begin.  The movie was excellent and we enjoyed it very much.  It was easy to see why it won many awards.

We were back home by 3 o’clock and we camped out in front of the TV for awhile.

Neither of us was hungry for supper having eaten a big Breakfast this morning and we were still sated this afternoon.

The wind was still blowing this afterno0on and does not look like it’s going to give up anytime soon.  We still had the cable hooked up so TV was not going to be a problem at all tonight.  Of course the wind usually dies down just after dark so it may happen again tonight.

We had a night full of programming tonight including the debut of “Deadliest Catch”  for this year.  We certainly managed to find enough to watch tonight before we

finally crashed and burned at 11 tonight.  We just had to watch the episode of American Pickers that taped which took us up to 11.  Sometimes you just don’t have enough time to fit it all in.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Today was a get-ready-to-go day from the minute we got up.  I had a couple of things to do today like clean the windshield, dump the holding tanks and disconnect the utility connections.  I had intended to disconnect everything this afternoon but it never panned out.  I realized that it would take all of 15 minutes including hooking up the car in the morning.

Sharon took off with the laundry to get that caught up for the next few days and while she was gone I got a call from Norm Jones, our friend from Great Britain, inquiring as to where we were.  He said he thought that we might have left Desert Hot Springs around this time.  When he found out we were in Amarillo he was pleasantly surprised.  He was on the highway about 15 miles west of our campground, headed this way. He suggested that we go to lunch together today as he was only passing through.  Sharon and I had already planned to go to lunch today to a Chinese Restaurant that we haven’t been to in a few years.

About 10 minutes later Norm pulled into our campground and pulled into the site next to us.  It was very good to see him again.  This was the third time this winter that we’ve gotten together.  We talked for about an hour before we headed out for the restaurant, The China Star.  We were at the restaurant for about an hour and a half just catching up the past year and how his winter went this year.  It was the first year that he had been traveling without Sue, who died this past fall.  He said it was very lonely out there on the road this year.

After lunch Norm took off in the motorhome which he had brought to the restaurant and parked in a large parking lot.  After we dropped him off we said our good-byes and bid him farewell.

During Norm’s visit I also got a call from Duncan Systems who provided our mismatched windshield.  They didn’t appear too co-operative about fixing the problem except to suggest having it re-tinted.  I talked to them about 20 minutes and told them I’d be in touch.

For the majority of the rest of the day we just camped out in our favorite spots and watched TV.  Sharon had her knitting, and I had my recliner.  What was not to like.  We were ready for the bed when the right time came around.  We just silently caved for another day.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

We were up and flying this morning early.  By 8:30 we were on the road and headed 20 miles for the Flying J for a fill up that will take us to Oklahoma City.  We hadn’t eaten Breakfast yet, and as luck would have it, there was a Denny’s at the Flying J.  After the refueling we went in and each had Moons Over My Hammy for Breakfast.  It’s a Ham, Egg and Cheese sandwich on Toasted Sourdough Bread.  It was very good and we just barely got under $20 for the meal, even though it was the Special for the day.

We were back on the road and fighting the wind all day today until we stopped in Oklahoma City for fuel.  I refused to stop at the Flying J there where gas was $2.63 a gallon and kept driving.  About two miles down the road we found a Travel America that was selling it for $2.53. We pulled in and filled up about 3/4 of a tank.  Later we realized that we may have found the cheapest gas in Oklahoma City.  We never saw it for that price again all the way through the City.

Normally we would have stopped in Oklahoma City for the night but it was only about 2 o’clock and we hadn’t incurred any “bad” weather that had been predicted.  We kept on going until I was tired of fighting the wind and we stopped in Seminole, Ok for the night at a little campground.  We decided that as long as this campground was handy we’d forego boondocking for the night.

The wind was blowing pretty hard when we stopped so we didn’t even try setting up the dish for the night. 

Just before we sat down for Supper we had the rain start falling.  It was accompanied by marble-sized hail that fell for about two minutes.  It was the first time we had been in a hailstorm with that sized hail stones.  We were just thankful they weren’t any bigger. Kentucky and Tennessee have had recent storms with baseball-sized hail.

After nightfall the wind let up and we tied to get the TV going.  Unfortunately for some reason we couldn’t get both tuners to receive a signal. When we finally got them both receiving, one would drop out for no reason at all.  After a while we just gave up on TV for the night.  We still had unseen Seinfeld DVD’s to watch if we really got bored anyway

I took a nap for most of the night after having a couple of beers before supper.  It had been a long day driving and fighting the wind Besides I needed a rest before I finally went to bed at 10.  And go to bed we did.

Friday, April 15, 2011

We were up early but not in a rush to get on the road this morning.  We just got ready and then left.  Our intent this morning was to end up in Branson, MO  this afternoon. 

Our first stop this morning was around 9 to have Breakfast at McDonald’s.  I especially like their Big Breakfast with Hotcakes.  The place we stopped was a McD’s in a gas station with about 50 cars in the parking lot.  We wondered if we’d even get a seat inside. As we went in there was only about 15 people in the restaurant.  Apparently the cars were all people using the place for a Park and Ride.

After Breakfast we were back on the road in very good time with our next scheduled stop being a gas station just out side of Branson.  According to my website they are selling gas for $3.49 a gallon.  We’ll see.

The rest of our trip through Oklahoma and through Arkansas and into Missouri went without incident.  We arrived at our gas station around 1 PM but they WEREN’T selling gas for the price reported on the website.  It was now up to $3.59.  This was the first time they had missed.  I checked the price again when we got to our campsite and they were still reporting the lower price.  We pulled into the station anyway, but I had trouble with my credit card, and when they didn’t answer the call button we drove off.  I didn’t need that kind of grief from them.

As we drove into Branson it didn’t seem like anyone was selling gas for much more than we were going to get it out on the highway anyway.  When we leave we’ll stop in Ozark, MO to fill up.

As we settled into the campground we decided that we’d stay home for supper tonight and Sharon recited a few options.  We decided we’d have Chicken Nuggets and Fried Potatoes with a little salad.  It was quite good and a nice change of pace.

We set up the dish and it was working fine TONIGHT.  Last night we couldn’t get it to work for love or money.  Sometimes life just wants to kick your ass for fun.  All in all though, it was a pretty good day and we settled in front of the TV for the night.  The wind mostly settled down and we had uninterrupted TV for the night.  By the time the bewitching hour rolled around we were both either overknitted or overTVed.  We were ready for the sack when it called.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

We had a plan this morning to go out for one of the Buffet Breakfasts that are featured here in Branson.  We couldn’t decide which one until we were almost ready to go.  At the last minute we figured we would go to The Plantation Restaurant which is on the strip and only a short distance from our campground.  The food was very good and a nice variety and the cost was only $4.99.

After Breakfast we had to stop at a grocery store to pick up a few things for the coming week.  Sharon concocted a plan to have Pork Chops for supper tonight and apparently needed a couple of things to make that happen.  We stopped at the Jubilee grocery on 76, and I waited in the car while Sharon went in to find her stuff.

After our stops we came back home and camped out in front of the TV.

After a while I decided to clean the contacts on our batteries.  We’ve had trouble over the past couple of days trying to start the generator, even though we didn’t need it. .  We may have a problem with either the charger on the Inverter or the batteries themselves.  I need to take care of each problem separately to know what to fix.  So after cleaning the cable connections I’m hoping that it will solve the problem.  That would be the easiest to fix.

Later this afternoon we were entertained for over an hour by a guy who was driving around our camping section which is about 30 sites, driving his car through sites, getting out and inspecting sites and we just guessed at what the hell he was doing.  Finally he left the area only to return 10 minutes later with his motorhome being followed by the car.  He actually took the wrong direction coming into his site and he had to drive around again in order to get in there in the right direction.  He had jacks on the motorhome but when he was done leveling, it was not level with no hope of fixing it.  I can only wonder if this is what he does at every campground he enters.  But then he would prevent the folks around him of being entertained for awhile.

I had to choke down a Pork Chop for supper tonight along with Shoepeg Corn and Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.  I also had my regular dessert when we have gravy.  Two slices of bread with butter and smothered with gravy.  I was happy when supper was over with.

We really had nothing to watch on TV tonight so we surfed our way to 10 o’clock.  We returned to TruTV a couple of times tonight when we were really starving for entertainment.  But we managed to make it bedtime without much complaint.  It’s nice without having the wind to deal with every day.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

It was actually going o be a nice day today for a change.  It’ll warm up into the 70's and the sun plans on staying out all day.

Sharon was off ro church this morning as soon as she got herself ready to go.

We really had nothing to do today except that we had decided that we were going to the IMAX  theater over the next couple of days to see a movie.  The movie we picked was Mysteries of the Great Lakes.

By the time Sharon got back from church we were both ready for lunch.  We had some leftover pizza that had been in the fridge for a few days and we heated that up.  Another meal finished up and cleared out of the fridge.

We watched the NASCAR race this afternoon until it was time to go to the IMAX.  The race wasn’t over yet but we ran out of time.

We thought the movie was going to be about shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, but it was about the endangered Lake Sturgeon and the efforts to bring it back from extinction.

After the movie we came back home and had Spaghetti and Meatballs for Supper tonight.  It was very good and afterwards we settled in front of the TV for the rest of our night’s entertainment.  Sunday was not a good night for TV so we surfed for most of the night until we found a Cops marathon on TruTV.  And then we surfed back and forth between that and Human Planet on Discovery.  Neither of them kept us up late however.  We both caved at our usual time tonight.