It's moving day. There is rain in the forecast today but it is fairly warm, and warm is good! According to The Weather Channel we may run out of warm soon - so any day it's 60+ we are happy!
We did not get in a hurry to leave, but still managed to pull out of the campground a little after 9. The RV that was parked several sites behind us, pulled out literally minutes before us, so we had to wait in line at the dump station. Fortunately he did not take long, and 20-25 minutes later we were leaving as well.
We took SH-177 from Sulphur all the way to Ponca City. What a nice drive it was, most of it on a four lane highway, and even when it switched to two lane, it was still better than the Interstate (35), especially since it cut 30 minutes off our drive. We did get a few sprinkles here and there but never had any significant moisture.
We are staying at Lakeview Campground near Kaw Lake, about 7 miles east of Ponca City. Kaw Lake is a Corps of Engineer Lake and we look forward to driving around and checking out the facilities while we are here. Lakeview Campground is small, but offers Full Hookups (FHU), a small laundry and wi-fi. For the next few days FHU's are important as I need to get caught up on laundry after going 5 days without a sewer hookup. I would say most of the people staying here now are full-timers that work in the area. The cost per night is $25, which isn't bad for FHU's, and they do offer a break if you stay for a week or longer.
We stopped in Ponca City for a few reasons. We plan to visit friends of ours who live in Ponca City, we met through our Escapees Chapter, Stan and Linda; and we plan to have breakfast at The Pioneer Woman's Mercantile in Pawhuska, OK tomorrow. Dean happened to watch her show with me one morning when she was preparing breakfast that is served at her restaurant. After seeing the meal, he decided he wanted to go there. Now, I am not about to turn down a request like that, so here we are.
Stan and Linda are coming to pick us up at 4:30. We are having dinner at Boomerang Diner. It's a chain restaurant in the Oklahoma area, and interestingly enough one of our Heartland group just posted about trying out the same restaurant (only in OK City) in her blog yesterday. I was really tempted to try the "Hot Hamburger Plate", a 1/4 burger on Texas Toast, piled with French Fries and Brown Gravy" - but I held myself back and just went with the 1/4 cheeseburger and fries. It probably had all of the calories I needed and it was very good.
Afterwards Stan took us on a tour of Ponca City. He was born and raised here and was an excellent tour guide, showing us many impressive sites in this beautiful city. I was so impressed with everything this community has to offer and can't wait to share some pictures and information with you. However, it will be in a different blog post. I did not have my camera with me last night, and I want to take the time to stop at some of the sites to take some really nice pictures that you just can't do in a drive by. There are a few places I'd like to take the time to get out and visit as well. Actually there are several places I'd like to visit, but we'll probably have to limit it to just a few this trip. It will give us a reason to return, right?
With our tour done, we returned to Bentley. I had made some brownies so we had just a touch of chocolate for our dessert, and more importantly a great visit with a couple we just met for the first time last fall but have already become good friends with - all through this wonderful life of RVing. Thank you Stan and Linda for spending your evening and sharing your community with us, and for the great conversation. We thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks at our first Escapees rally of the year, if not before!
We love staying at CCC parks. They are always so lovely. Makes the trip so much for special when you have a private tour guide...lol
ReplyDeleteYes it does! We had a great a time together!
DeleteGlad you arrived at Ponca City safely. How nice it is to connect with fairly 'new' rv friends as well as longtime friends. Sounds like a nice place to visit.
ReplyDeleteYour meals sound awesome! I'm starting to skip the heavy carb stuff so have to get creative again in a restaurant.
Take care and travel safely!
Yes it is nice to connect with all friends Patsy. I feel so blessed to have some great long time friends, but I'm amazed how quickly RVer's connect and build such great friendships.
ReplyDeleteI have really tried to eliminate the carbs and do well for quite awhile and then....well, I just have to work back up to it. I started doing planks about 2 weeks ago and I can't believe how much they have helped. I have a LONG way to go, but I've already tightened my belt another notch.
I think you will be heading out again in a day or two. Safe travels to you and Bill.
We will be headed up your way later this year. I can't remember exactly where you are so I don't know if we'll be anywhere near you, but we are going to pass through Canada somewhere either north or south of the Detroit area to Niagara Falls. Our son lives south of the NY side on Grand Island.