Monday, October 8, 2018 - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - Traveling to Oswego, KS (Hillside RV Park); Grandson Logan

Monday, October 8, 2018 - Traveling to Oswego, KS (Hillside RV Park); Grandson Logan


We left Binder Park shortly before 9am this morning.  It was 1:30 when we pulled into "Our Home Base" - Hillside RV Park in Oswego.  

So another change in travel plans at the last minute brought us back to Oswego, 2 weeks early.  Our oldest (and first born) grandson, Logan is leaving for the Navy tomorrow (Oct 9).  The more we thought about it the more we decided we really wanted to see him before he left and since it really didn't change our plans that much, it wasn't a difficult decision.

Today was an absolutely beautiful, warm day - much different than yesterday.  If it had to rain, I'm thankful it yesterday and not today.  It was a nice easy, relaxed drive.  I only took one picture while we were on the road, as we left Mindenmines, MO and entered Kansas.  

We made a quick stop in Pittsburg to pick up our mail, and then I sent a text to my dear friend Carol to see if she wanted to have lunch one day this week.  Carol was my Deputy Clerk for 29 years and became a very good friend during that time.  She was selected for my former position when I retired, and is doing a great job.  We both enjoying getting together even if it is only an hour and a half a few times a year.  Her husband and I were in the same high school class, her kids grew up with our kids, her sister and mine went to school together - so we have a long history together.  It's always great to catch up with each other.

I called Todd when we arrived to see if he wanted us to park in any special place.  He was mowing and came up to meet us.  There was only one spot that we could not park, so we pretty much had our choice of the empty sites.  As we were visiting Dean and I commented on the Big Horn (same RV brand as ours) parked right at the corner where we met him.  He told us they were full-timers and were here for his wife to attend a class reunion as she grew up in the area.  While we were still talking Lawrence and Celeste drove in.  I tell you - it truly is a small world!  They are meeting friends in Parsons at The Kitchen Pass for dinner tonight.  One friend is an aunt to my step-sisters, and the other friend is the grandpa of my daughter-in-law's niece and nephew.  I mentioned my maiden name of Blackledge, and she said she went to school with a boy whose last name was Blackledge.  She was in the same class with my cousin, Johnny Blackledge, who passed away a year or two after their graduation.   

I hope we get the chance to visit with them again before we leave.  They were a very nice couple - I say that all the time about RVer's, don't I?  For us, it has certainly been the truth!!

It was a little before 3:00 before we finally finished setting up.  It was hot and humid - however, the temperatures are supposed to drop tomorrow, and should be closer to what we have been used to this past month or so.  We got here just at the right time.  

We are having dinner at our local restaurant, Mi Pueblo this evening to wish Logan well and give him a send off from some of his family and friends.  A bonus to having this little get together I got to see grandkids Kamron & Jaxson, and their parents, son Marc & DIL Jennifer, two of my sisters and their husbands.  My sister Cindy, and her husband both had to work.  Our pastor, his wife, children and his in-laws attended.  Misti & Marc's Aunt Becky and family also attended.  It was fun catching up with everyone.  I think Logan enjoyed it.  

Daughter-in-law Jennifer, Logan, Son Marc
Grandchildren Jaxson & Kamron

My Sister/Aunt Jody, Logan, Uncle Mark

My Sister/Aunt Crystal, Logan, Uncle Lonie

Uncle Rex, Cousin Derek, Logan, Aunt Becky, Cousin Emilie, and Cousin Chanler
(Becky is Misti & Marc's Dad's Sister)

Logan's Aunt Becky brought a little surpirse.  Below is a drawing Logan did for his Cousin Derek (above) when he enlisted in the Army.  I think they said Logan was around 10 or 11 when he drew this.

Friend Josh (son of our Pastor and his wife, Roger & Tish Daniels) and Logan - Josh is also joining the Navy (not at the same time though) 

Nancy, Logan & JR (Tish's parents)

Tish, Logan, Pastor "Roger" D

Nana, Logan, Papa

Logan & Mom

After dinner, we went over to Misti's and were able to spend another hour or so with Logan before we headed home.  I had hoped we'd see Haleigh when she got off work, but Misti said it would probably be 9 before she would make it home.  We were pretty tired and left at 8.  It seems only yesterday Logan was just a little babe entering this world, and now he's a young man entering a whole new world.  Our love and prayers are with him.

Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - BUSY, BUSY Day

I have several things I want to take care of while we are here.  I set down and made a list soon after I had my first cup of coffee poured.  It wasn't long and the washer/dryer was getting a good workout.  I needed to go to the grocery store to get a few food items. You can't walk in and not run into someone you know - let's see, there was Liz, Karla, Glenn and Nancy.  It was good to see each of them.  It's always fun coming back to Oswego and running into family or friends around town.

Carol was nice enough to pick me up for our lunch date so I could leave the truck with Dean.  Besides, it's hard to park the dually at Pizza Hut!!  As soon as we walked in I spied my dear friend Betty, so I had to go over and give her a hug.  She follows the blog faithfully and always brightens my day with her comments.  It was so good to see you Betty!

Misti and Haleigh are leaving for Kansas City to meet up with Logan when Misti finishes her classes today.  I ran a few errands for her this morning and then picked Haleigh up at school.  I dropped Haleigh off at their house to gather the things she needed for the trip, before I picked Dean up.  After returning, we got all of Haleigh's and her mom's things loaded, then headed out to meet Misti at Pizzo's Corner, north of Oswego.  They headed on to Kansas City after hugs, to be there for Logan's swearing in tomorrow; and Dean and I headed north toward Iola and Garnett, KS.

Dean's brother, Larry and his wife Sandi; his sisters Joyce and Marie, Marie's husband Jerry; and sister-in-law Connie have dinner together every second Tuesday in Garnett at a local restaurant, Trade Winds.  We decided we'd show up and surpirse them!  We arrived quite a bit prior to their meeting time, so we decided to drive through Iola on the way.  Dean's nephew Kendall just purchased a new business there, where he has worked for a number of yeras.  Dean wanted to stop in and say a quick hello.  We had a really nice visit with Kendall and his wife Teresa.  As we were leaving, Dean realized the woman working at the front desk where we came in was someone he had grown up with.  He told me later he kind of thought it was her, but he wasn't sure.  It was nice they had the opportunity to visit as well.

By the way, it started raining in the night here in Oswego and I think everywhere north of us as well - including Iola.  Both cities are located near the Neosho River.  With all of the rain, the river is out of its banks and there was water everywhere.  Fortunately the highways were open, but we did not take off on any country roads in case we found any of them flooded. I don't think it is expected to crest until Saturday in Oswego. It rained off and on all day long in Oswego, off and on during our drive north, and more on our way home.  

When we arrived in Garnett, we parked almost a block away from the restaurant (we were being sneaky so no one would recognize our vehicle, you see).  Now the way we understood it is, Joyce and Connie come down to the restaurant around 5:30 or so to save a table until everyone else gets there.  We arrived about 5:20, took a booth and ordered something to drink, thinking they would show up before too long.  Now another understanding was the rest of the familly members usually arrived by 6:00 - but 6:00 came and went, and still no one shows up.  That front door must have opened 50 times or more - did we ever see any of them?  NO!!!  Dean decided he would text his brother Larry, "Did you tell me you meet at 6:00 on the second Tuesday of each month at Trade Winds?"  We were just about to order something and then go on home, when Larry sent a text, "Are you there?  If so, we'll be right there."  Dean said, "Come on down."  So all in all, the surprise was on us - but we still ended up having a nice meal and a great visit with Larry and Sandi.  Maybe next time our visit won't be a surprise!!

It was a long, but very good day!

Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - Visiting our Favorite Cafe, Riverside Park, Getting Things Done

Dean decided we should visit our favorite cafe (and I agreed) for breakfast this morning - Circle L, here in Oswego.   There were so many cars out front we were afraid there might not be a place to set, but once inside there was plenty of room.  Who did I spy, right off the bat, but my friend Betty again.  We had the opportunity to visit a little bit today which was very nice, since we mostly exchanged hellos yesterday.  Betty recently went to see her children and grandchildren in Oregon.  Dean and I plan to head to the northwest next year.  Oregon is on our list so I have very much enjoyed all of the pictures Betty took while she was there, and that she has been sharing on Facebook this week. 

After breakfast, there was something we have not done yet since we've been back to Oswego - take a drive through Riverside Park.  We have a beautiful park that overlooks the Neosho River. With all of the rain, it's a good place to see how much the river has raised, and it was up quite a bit.  This weekend is our annual festival - Oswegofest.  Unfortunately, we are going to miss it to attend a grandson's football game in Wichita on Saturday.  We haven't seen our family in Wichita since June so we are anxious to see and catch up with everyone.  We'll be going back to Wichita again two weeks later to watch another grandson's football game and hope to spend several days in the area at that time.  

Back at Bentley....sounds like a book or a movie, doesn't it?......the washer/dryer was soon going again.  I needed to make some doctor appointments while we are in the area over the next couple of months, made reservations for a few campouts next year, figured out how to convert an Excel file to Google Docs, updated our October budget, and called Parcom to ask about a problem I'm having with my phone.  They suggested I bring it in so I'll probably make a trip to Parsons tomorrow afternoon.  I keep getting this message (Samsung account   Session expired.)  It goes off multiple times a day.  It's annoying because I don't know if it is a text message from someone or just this silly repeating message. It keeps telling me I need to login to my account, but will not accept my password.  I've tried a new password twice and it won't accept them either.  I googled it and every suggestion for a fix was on phones older than mine.  I hope they will be able to help me out.

Dean needed a haircut, so between us we took care of that.  Later I made a sausage/cheese pizza for dinner.  We really love these and they are so easy to put together.