Saturday, November 26, 2016
We started out today with a bang, and it never got better all day. The temperature was hovering around 27 degrees but there was no wind to speak of. I was up early, as usual, on a day we are about to exit town. I went out and turned on the motorhome furnace and it “appeared” to be working fine. For the next hour and a half I hauled our “last minute stuff”(stuff that will freeze) out into the coach. When Sharon got up she went promptly out to the coach to put stuff in it’s proper place. She informed me that the furnace wasn’t working and blowing cold air. She had the bright idea to try and light the stove to see if that was working.........nope. Immediately I surmised that I had not turned the gas back on after winterizing earlier. Everything worked when I turned the gas back on.I thought we would save some trouble If I filled the water tank before we left since the temp outside was really not cold enough to affect the filling. After about fifteen minutes water started pouring out the water compartment ceiling, and after examining what I had done, I turned off the water and corrected it. I had connected the hose to our black water flusher connection instead of to the fresh water connection, and filled up the holding tank. It was a good thing it had been dumped empty last fall. Problem 2 alleviated.During my personal clean up period I accidentally got a mouthful of Plax which went down my throat and into my windpipe. I coughed and sputtered and couldn’t breathe for the better part of twenty minutes before I finally got it all cleared out. Problem 3 alleviated.........I think.Our trip to West Bend and my son’s house was uneventful, but when we got there, and tried to lower the jacks they weren’t working. We never got them fixed so we had to sleep on a slant all night but Sharon reversed the blankets on the bed and we slept with our heads at the foot of the bed. By this time we were used to solving problems.Our visit with my side of the family was quite good except for all the cell phone usage. There were 8 of us there for dinner and we were the only ones not glued to a phone. We weren’t used to that type of situation even though we see it all the time in restaurants. We had 8 of us at our house for Thanksgiving and didn’t see that except for an occasional phone call or text message. Welcome to the cyber generation, I guess.We had our usual KFC dinner tonight. It was quite good even though we’ve Turkey for the last 2 days and will have Turkey until it comes out our ears over the next week.We came back out to the motorhome about 9:30 and watched a little tube before hitting the sack. Fortunately being reversed in the bed didn’t bother us at all. We had a relatively cozy night and slept late in the morning.Sunday, November 27, 2016
We got up this morning after a good night and got immediately on the road. We had fog so thick we were riding at 40 mph in case we had to stop quickly. We still had people whistling by us even though the visibility was only about a hundred yards. But we plodded on to our next stop.We had stopped for Breakfast along the way and didn’t mind stopping because of the fog. We were hoping the fog would clear while we were stopped.We stopped in Waterford, WI to see my sister Marge at the Elder Care facility there. Along with my sister was my Niece LouAnn and her husband Pat. We sat and talked and ate Kringle for about an hour and a half before we left to get back on the road again. We had parked the motorhome at a Park and Ride just off the Interstate and when we got back we hooked up and checked everything, including the jacks, which weren’t working last night. Apparently it was too cold for the jacks to work last night cause they were fine now.We got back on the road again very quickly and the only other stops today would be for a toll booth and gas. We didn’t get a chance to stop for gas until we got into Illinois but that was fine because we got it for $1.94. We had a couple of hours to drive yet today if we were to stop at our regular spot for the night. We pulled into the Wenona gas station and Burger King about 3 pm and got hooked up immediately. At least we were out of the fog that we had driven through all day.We settled in and got our dish up immediately and had TV. DirecTV only gave us the East networks but that is okay with us. They never offered us that program in the past, we had to take East and West. But they did give us HBO and Showtime for three months. We watched our regular shows all night tonight, however.We had Hot Turkey and gravy over dinner rolls for Supper tonight. We even had all the sides to go along. It was still a delicious meal to be having. I’m sure we’ll get sick of it in a week.We stayed up until 10:30 tonight before we both ran out of gas. We’ll be sleeping on level ground tonight however.Monday, November 28, 2016
We woke up this morning with the wind howling up a storm. It really had been blowing since yesterday and we suspected we’d have to stay here for another day. So when we arose, it didn’t seem to be a shock that we’d be sticking around here.Today would have been a lousy travel day since about the time we would have hit the road, it started pouring cats and dogs. We had it all, thunder and lightning and plenty of water. Surprisingly we never lost the signal for the TV, so we (I) were glued to the set except when we listened to Rush on the radio.We ate Turkey fixins’ for lunch but opted to go to Burger King next door to eat our Supper. They had a special going that was 2 Whoppers, 2 Fries and Two Drinks for $10. We sat and talked for about an hour after we finished eating. It seemed that the restaurant had just been remodeled, and was comfortable to stick around. Besides it was a way to get out of the coach for just a while. We had been couped-up all day today.We thought if the rain and wind died down today we’d still leave and get a few hundred miles further down the road. But it really didn’t let up until later in the afternoon and with it getting dark about 4 pm we just decided to sit and wait.We had TV, we were warm and settled, and just recently well fed. We had nothing to gain by getting back on the road today. So for the rest of the night we just sat and watched TV, (no Packer game) and Sharon read her book. We both called it a night about 10:45 and it was quite a bit quieter in the bedroom tonight without the wind blowing so hard.Tuesday, November 29, 2016
We woke up this morning and the weather had calmed down considerably since yesterday. We would be hitting the pavement as soon as we got ourselves ready to travel today.We got everything shut down, unhooked and packed up and we were on the road by 9am. The sun was shining and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day for traveling.Our jacks didn’t feel like operating again today so we just took matters into our own hands.Our first stop was a Rest Area just north of St Louis to eat lunch. We decided to have Hot Dogs as a brief respite from our usual Turkey fixins’. It was a nice change of pace. We also had potato chips and then finished up the Blueberry Tart of Drema’s. For a “slap together” it was pretty good.Our next stop took us to the other side of St. Louis for gas. With our discount we managed to find it for $1.92. Thank you Flying J/Pilot.Sharon got frustrated trying to find a campground for the next couple of hours. She doesn’t usually have trouble but I guess everyone has a bad day once in a while. We pulled into Pheasant Acres RV Park in St. James, Missouri about 3 and immediately got set up. At least plugged in with the Dish up. We managed to find a signal from the satellite even though the campground manager doubted we would.We gathered our leftovers for a Turkey feast again tonight before we settled in front of the Telly for the night.We watched our regular programs all night until the bewitching hour arrived at 10:30.Wednesday, November 30, 2016
We were off this morning headed toward, and expecting to, arrive in Branson in the early afternoon.Before we could get on with our day, I needed to replenish the water tank which was running low and sputtering. I didn’t fill it on our first day because of the trouble we incurred with the water.We needed to stop along the way and fill our gas tank cause after we leave Branson there won’t be any readily available cheap gas until we reach Oklahoma. We also needed to fill our LP before we get to Branson.Ozark, Missouri seemed to be the perfect spot to do it all. We first stopped at Lambert’s Café, one of our favorite spots to eat, when we get down here, and then headed out for the gas and LP. Lambert’s Café is the Home of the Throwed Rolls. We usually order the Chicken Wings, which we always take home, and then fill up on the “pass-arounds.”We got to our campground around 3 which was just right for us. We got hooked up and our dish ready to receive. We were comfortably settled by 3:30 and reading the stuff Sharon picked up in the office. We pretty much knew what we were going to do, while we are here, for the next few days anyway.We ate our Chicken Wings for Supper tonight. 4 wings is a complete meal they’re so big.We camped out in front of the tube for the night. I’m not seeing the problem with only the East networks so far. We’re managing to get all our shows and it certainly helps to have a DVR receiver. We watched a couple of episodes of “the Curse of Oak Island” and I’m beginning to think this may turn out like Al Capone’s safe for Geraldo Rivera.We lasted until well after 10 tonight before we called it a night. We’ll probably have a busy day tomorrow.Thursday, December 1, 2016
The first thing on our agenda this morning was Breakfast at the Grand Country Buffet. We’ve been stopping there for the last couple of years when it was getting hard to find a decent Breakfast Buffet for a reasonable price. Besides I love the “Ozark Omelettes” that they have there. It’s Egg, Onion, Green Pepper and seasoning mixed together and baked in a cupcake tin, along with all the other regular entree’s on a Breakfast Menu. We filled our tanks and then called it a morning.On the way home we stopped at Price Choppers grocery store and picked up a few things for the upcoming week.In the afternoon we went and saw a show put on by the Lettermen of 60's and 70's fame. It was their Christmas show and its been playing since early November. We had a good time for the 2 ½ hours we sat and listened.After we got home Sharon took off for the craft store just down the street. She was back in about an hour empty-handed. It’s not often she has to come home skunked.After she got back home she mixed up some Turkey, Dressing and gravy for sandwiches. I love that mixture in sandwiches. I also had some Cranberry Jello Salad to finish of the sandwich. It was a very good Supper to say the least.We enjoyed our usual entertainment for the night. Planted in front of the television and gazing at the tube for the night. At least they haven’t started playing the Christmas reruns yet. We still have that to look forward to in the near future.We were exhausted early tonight and went to bed about 10:15. We gave up on this day early.Friday, December 2, 2016
We had a dilemma when we woke up this morning. We had a bunch of things to do and very little time to do them. It was a “get ready to go” day, and with that our tanks should have been dumped. While hooking up the sewer, the hose practically fell apart in my hands. I didn’t have an extra hose, which I thought I did so that meant I had to go shopping. Sharon was gone with the car, doing laundry, so that was out of the question for the time being. While she was gone I checked the oil, transmission fluid and radiator water. Everything was just fine.We also wanted to go and eat lunch at one of our favorite spots, Joe’s Crab Shack. We had to put that off until Supper cause we also wanted to go and see the singing group, The Platters.We got some of our stuff done in time to head downtown to the little theater called the Hot Hits Theater. It’s an older theater located at downtown Branson. I say “little” cause it only holds about 125 people at capacity. Unfortunately there were only 13 people in attendance, but they performed like the house was standing room only. And the music was just fabulous. There were none of the group that were original members. There were The Drifters, another black group, that were performing at the Hot Hits at the same time.After the show we headed out to Joe’s Crab Shack for Supper. It wasn’t very busy in the restaurant until we were done eating and leaving. Our Dinner of King Crab was absolutely fabulous. We really enjoy this meal, but only once a year.After Dinner we stopped at Wal-Mart to see if we could find a sewer hose. We couldn’t so we bought some donut holes instead. They’re not interchangeable but I like donut holes.We left and came back home with all the stuff we could do today, done. For the rest of the night we camped out in front of the Telly. We watched 2 reruns of our favorite shows so the Christmas reruns may have started. In any event, we watched the TV until about 10:30 before we gave it all up for the night.Saturday, December 3, 2016
We left Branson about 9:30 this morning by a slightly different route. I didn’t like it because it took us up into the high hills and the drop-offs were right at the edge of the road. And the drop-offs in some cases were several dozens of feet. But we managed to bridge that storm and continued on our way. We had no reason to stop early today, so we drove until lunch, when we stopped in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We took out about twenty minutes to eat near a Fire Station. While Sharon was in McD’s to get the food they had a fire call that they answered with an Engine and an Aerial. It was like deja vous all over again.After we got back on the road we went through the Bobby Hopper Tunnel almost immediately interrupting Sharon trying to take a nap. We’ve gone through this tunnel for the last 10 years and she always forgets it’s there.She was trying to take a nap because she offered to drive once we hit Oklahoma. But that never happened since I was fine driving for the rest of the day.We tried, and finally found a campground in Henryetta, OK but it wasn’t fit to stay at and we couldn’t find a manager in the place. We left and drove another while ending up in Seminole, OK. We stopped at a Truck Stop/Campground just off the highway. We had eaten before at the restaurant that’s at this exit right next to the campground, called the Roadhouse Diner.We quickly settled into the campsite and Sharon set up the dish while I was out attempting to dump our holding tanks. It seems like the tanks don’t want to get dumped. I had another hose disintegrate in my hands again today. It was my last one and I still couldn’t reach the sewer. Not to mention the fact that I had to change my clothes when I came back in because of the mud I was standing in, while trying to connect the hoses.I was relieved to just come back in the coach, eat my Dinner and relax for the rest of the night. Even though it was Saturday we managed to find enough to carry us through the night.Sunday, December 4, 2016
We were up and rolling this morning at a relatively casual pace. We knew we only wanted to go as far as Amarillo. The Roadhouse Diner was just next door but we opted to have a light Breakfast in our coach and get going. Since our gas tank was full We didn’t need to stop for anything, except to change drivers, until lunchtime where we pulled off on an obsolete exit at a closed gas station. It only took us about 20 minutes to eat and get going again. When we stopped I didn’t know if we’d get turned around to get out again. Sharon was confident we’d get out, but maybe that was because she got us in here. It was close but we managed to escape in good shape.Our next stop was west of Oklahoma City for Gas. We gassed-up at our usual Flying J and found it for $1.74. We’ve been having great luck finding gas for under $2 a gallon. According to the news the price is supposed to spike because of OPEC cutting production.We arrived at our campground, Oasis RV in Amarillo, about 3 PM and settled into our site. As luck would have it, we still couldn’t reach the sewer. After a little finagling we finally got it hooked up and got our tanks dumped after all.We had a couple of hours to rest before we went to Dyers Bar-B-Que for Dinner tonight. We’ve stopped at Dyer’s every trip for the last 15-16 years that we’ve been traveling. They’re food is absolutely fabulous and a sure stop when we come through. We both had the Pork Ribs and I added the Spicy Sausage to my Dinner. It also comes with Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, Onion Rings and Garlic Toast. We washed it all down with an ice cold beer.We got back home and sat in front of the tube for the night. I watched Impractical Jokers on TruTV that Sharon doesn’t like, so she sat back at the table and did whatever.We gave up the ghost about 10:30 tonight and were both happy to finally be in bed.
