October 4-10, 2020 - Last Few Days in Oswego, Moving to OK City for Oklahoma Heartland Rally

October 4-10, 2020 - Last Few Days in Oswego, Moving to OK City for Oklahoma Heartland Rally

Sunday, Oct 4 - Today was my Sunday to entertain my sisters.  Cindy and I attend the same church here in Oswego.  I picked her up prior to church.  Immediately after church we picked up Crystal and Jody (and Cindy's daughter Nikki) for a trip to Neosho, MO to see our niece and Cindy's daughter, Melissa and her family.

It was a beautiful day.  We made a quick stop at Sonic in Baxter Springs to get something to eat before we continued on with our trip.  We visited with Tim, Melissa, Hannah and Kennedy for about an hour or so, before we returned to Oswego.  We had the opportunity to visit together on the trip there and back, so it was a good day for us to get caught up.

Monday, Oct 5 - I had a list of things I wanted to get done today.  One was to make reservations for our stay in Texas for Jan-March 2021.  I contacted Cottonwood RV Park and Delia was able to fit us in next to our Heartland friends who have stayed here for several years.  All in all there will be 6 of us parked together, which will be nice.  Of course we have several other people staying in the valley located in the towns from Harlingen to Mission that we will visit during our 2.5-3 months there. 

I finally got our September expenses input in the computer.  It was a fairly good month for us.  We will be traveling for nearly two weeks so I called about reservations at two locations during that time and, thankfully was successful in obtaining sites.  

Dean was at the garage a good part of the time preparing for the move as well.  He needed to put the hitch back in the truck since he took it out to move Haleigh's things back to Oswego.  I went along to assist.  He bought a come along from Marc when they moved from Parsons.  Dean rigged it up in the garage so that he can remove the hitch by himself.  After moving the truck, he uses a table he built that he can easily scoot it underneath the hitch, then lowers it with the come along to sit on the table, that he can then move out of the way.  It works great for him to lower it himself, then store the hitch until we need it again.  My job was to let him know when the hitch was over the inset in the truck so he'd know when to stop.  He's always done this by himself before.  He told me it sure made it go quicker since he didn't have to get out and check it so often while doing it on his own.  

Dean and I drove out by the city's RV Park this evening and enjoyed watching these three small fawns running and playing together.  We stopped to watch them for several minutes.  I'm sorry for the picture quality.  We had a pretty sunset too.

Tuesday, Oct 6 - I spent most of the day preparing for our move tomorrow...mostly laundry, and a little grocery shopping.  

We replaced the tires on Bentley today.  Dean ordered tires through the FMCA tire program and had them sent directly to Robison Auto here in Oswego.  Dean put the spare on one side of the RV, and took three of the tires to have them mounted, leaving only one new tire and the better of the four old ones to be mounted as a spare on the last visit.  It went well.  I'm sure glad he warned me before raising one side of the RV at a time.  It's a weird feeling to feel your home move and slant to one side while inside. 

With forecasts of some cooler weather and knowing we would be gone for nearly two weeks, I went through clothes stored at the garage and some that were under the bed, to be sure we had warm clothes if they were needed...and I'm sure glad we did.

Jaxson playing soccer.

Grandson Jaxson had a soccer game this evening in Parsons.  We met Marc at the soccer field and enjoyed visiting with him, while watching Jaxson on the field.

Wednesday, Oct 7- Saturday, Oct 10, 2020 - Oklahoma Heartland Rally

Wednesday morning, we were not in a rush to leave, trying to time our arrival in Oklahoma City between 2-3pm.  It was a wonderful 58 degrees when we left Oswego at 10:18am and a HOT 86 when we arrived at Roadrunner RV Park in Oklahoma City, OK at 2:24pm.  

Above:  newly planted pecan trees near the Arkansas River
Below:  grove of mature pecan trees near the Arkansas River, south of Tulsa, OK

Top: McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigational System Sign
Below:  looking west as we passed over the bridge

Making our way through Tulsa, OK on I-44

We will spend the next five nights at the Roadrunner RV Park in Oklahoma City, OK to attend the Oklahoma Heartland Rally.  We haven't seen any of our Heartland family since we left Mission in mid-February earlier this year, so we are looking forward to visiting with them. 

It wasn't too long after we arrived, while Dean was still outside getting things set up, one of our hosts, Barbara (her and her husband Orville are the OK Chapter Leaders) stopped to give Dean a schedule of the events for the week.  It will be a busy but fun time.  The rally does not begin until tomorrow but later in the evening we gathered at Orville and Barbara's rig to visit outside with those who like us, arrived early.

Thursday evening we gathered at the rally room for a meet and greet, and were provided with a meal of hot dogs and chips provided by the Chapter.  Each year there is a 50/50 raffle, with half of the ticket sales going to the lucky winner whose ticket is drawn and the other half going to the Chapter to help offset costs of the rally. 

Beautiful kitchen area just off of the large meeting room.

Friday - Each morning beginning today, several gathered in the rally room for coffee and pastries.  At 10:00 Barbara provided a craft project for those who wanted to participate.  Our craft today included painting the tips of pine cones, then adding them to a small mason jar.  With a small piece of styrofoam in the bottom of each jar, we added paper string around the inside of the jar to hide the green foam, then hot glued a pretty piece of ribbon around the jar.  We inserted our painted pinecones and a small scarecrow in the jar to top it off.  I'm not much of a crafter, but it it fun doing it alongside others.  The tables were nice, large tables giving room to spread out.  

Working on our project.

A few finished projects

Several participated in the craft session.

We were on our own to do what we wanted until 4:30.  At that time we caravaned to Hidalgo's Mexican Restaurant in Moore, OK - just a few miles south on I-35.  Corbin and Flora asked if we would like to ride with them, since parking will be tight.  We took them up on their offer and had a great visit with them to and from the event.  The food was amazing and we had a great time visiting with friends.  I've never seen so many cheese and salsa choices given with the chips.  There were two kids of tomato salsa (regular and hot) a "yellow" cheese dip, avocado cream dip and a white dip (maybe a mixture of cheese/ranch).  They were all very good and of course everyone ate a ton of chips prior to our meal because of the dips.  In addition they had fresh, warm tortillas to eat as well.  Dean and I chose salads and I'm sure glad we did.  Many people took food home with them.

Waiting outside the restaurant to go in.  

When we returned to the park, the rally hall was open for games or visiting.  We stayed to play LCR (Left, Center, Right).  As always it was a lot of fun, with lots of laughter but neither of us won either of the two games.  There were several people playing which made for a fun evening.

Playing LCR (Left, Center, Right)

Bob Curry took pictures of each couple attending the rally.  Guess who?

Saturday I told Dean to go on up to the rally hall and visit this morning.  I am making bread pudding for our group meal tonight.  Two of our Heartland members love bread pudding, and today I'm going to add raisins, which I do not like, but I know they do....and it means I won't be eating it.  As much as I love it, we have to start cutting back.  We do really good, then we are around all this wonderful, tasty food.  The woes of attending rallies.  Lol!  While the chapter is providing brisket, pulled pork, baked beans and potato salad, we are asked to bring a side dish or dessert.  I laid everything out that I would need to make (except the cold items) so when we return from our trip to a local RV Center, I can get it made in time for our meal at 5:30.

At 10am, we caravanned to the Oklahoma RV Center, again located in Moore.  We arrived around 10:30 and spent the rest of the morning into early afternoon going through the various brands of RV's they had on display.  We always enjoy looking (although we have no desire to upgrade, as we love the layout of Bentley).  They did have several new options in the units, that I would love to have - number one a real 4 burner stove and regular oven - yet, it's not enough to want a new rig.   If an exchange of my old oven could be made to our rig - I might be tempted to do that.  Lol!  While there were a few things that caught my attention - there were way too many things in Bentley's floor plan that I prefer more that were not available in these new ones.  Not only that Bentley is paid for!  I think we've done a pretty good job of keeping him taken care of and he has many, many years left in him - hopefully for a very long time.  Even though we plan to build a house in a couple of years, we will still travel with our RV groups and to see our kids.  Now that five of them are away from our immediate area, it's all the more reason to keep Bentley for trips to see them.

The RV Center had a food truck available for us, and lunch was on them.  It was very nice of them to do that for us and the food was good.

When we returned we rested for a bit and I turned the air conditioner down so it would stay cool while I baked a little later.  We are to have a group picture at 5:00, and our meal will be at 5:30.  I put the bread pudding in the oven at 4:20 or so.  We walked over for the picture and then I came back to make the sauce to go on the bread pudding when it comes out of the oven.  When I walked into the meeting room I could not believe how much food we had.  The one good thing, is there will be plenty of leftovers for tomorrow evening.

After our meal and helping with cleanup, we decided to set outside at Orville and Barbara's this evening rather than play games.  It was a beautiful evening and I had a nice visit with Barbara.  

It has been a great week and a superb rally!  Many thanks to Orville and Barbara, and others who helped make it such a great success!  Today was the last day of the rally.  We are staying an extra day, as several others are too.  

 

Saturday, October 3 - 20, 2020

Saturday, October 3, 2020 - We Lead a Busy Life! - Annual Garage Sale; Hair Appt; Picture Time; Whoops - Tonight was Dinner at Mi Pueblo and Game Night

If you have followed the blog for very long, you already know we lead a busy life.  I like to think that it helps keep us active and even though we might occasionally get tired, we enjoy visiting with and/or helping our kids, family and/or friends if we can.

Today is Oswego's annual garage sale.  Misti drove to Oswego last night to stay with Haleigh.  At 6:30am Haleigh called to ask what time I would be there to pick them up to start our "rummaging" for things she can use as part of setting up her new home.  I picked them up shortly before 7.  We found a lamp, dishes, toaster, and a number of other things.  Misti found a couch for her apartment and I found one of these Igloo coolers.  It's either 2 or 3 gallons.  We had one years ago when Dean was coaching summer baseball but it disappeared somewhere over the years.  Every year I have to borrow one from my sister for our annual family reunion, so it will be nice to have one of our own and it was well worth the price of $2.  My only purchase of the day.

  

We finished up about 10.  After dropping them off, I headed home to shower before a hair appointment at noon.  Misti, Haleigh and I are having our pictures taken south of Edna, KS at 3:30.  

Marla was ready for me when I arrived at the shop.  I had her straighten it, 

Dean/Papa took this picture of us before we left.  

The drive to Edna was easy, and then we turned south to follow a paved road for a few miles, then we transferred to graveled roads.  It was quite a drive at a slower pace.  Not being familiar with the road, it seemed a long time before we finally reached our destination ... at least we hoped we had reached it at the end of a long road.  In the text Misti received it said to drive up to the barn at the back of the property so that is what we did.  We only noticed one vehicle parked out front and no one was outside.  A few minutes after we parked we noticed a lady walking toward us.  I asked Misti if that was the lady taking our pictures.  No, it wasn't.  She rolled her window down and we soon found out this was the place, the photographer is just using one of their old trucks to use as a background.  We waited about 15 minutes for her to arrive - by the way we were early, so we didn't mind waiting for her to get set up.  

What a day for the wind to blow and with my hair; it seemed to go everywhere.  I'm not sure what they will end up looking like but I hope she managed to get a few that are good.  Afterwards, we stopped at the convenience store in Edna.  Misti and I tried some of their mini tacos, jalapeno poppers and got something to drink.  Haleigh didn't want anything.  The tacos were good and the poppers were amazing, made a little different tan others I've had.

They dropped me off at Bentley - and this is where I messed up in the previous post.  This is what happens when you do not post daily...days get mixed up.  This is the night we had dinner at our local Mexican restaurant and then went to Cindy and Elmer's to play games.  

Recently the owners cut some trees down that blocked the view in front of this beautiful home.  The home was purchased at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis by R O Deming.  Here is a link providing a little history about Mr. Deming. http://www.ksgenweb.org/archives/1918ks/biod/demingro.html

The home was auctioned/sold in the last few years.  I do not know the current owners.  Over the years it has been used as apartments, a bed and breakfast and prior to the most recent sale, was used as a residence of the last owner, Cecelia Jennings, who lived there for a number of years before her health failed.  

After our dinner, as you already know from yesterday's post we went to my sister Cindy's house to play games.  Friday, our evening consisted of moving Haleigh in to her new home.

Friday, October 2, 2020 - We're Off to Ponca City, OK; Moving Haleigh to Oswego; Two Tired But Happy Grandparents

Friday, October 2, 2020 - We're Off to Ponca City, OK; Moving Haleigh to Oswego; Two Tired But Happy Grandparents

We left Oswego shortly after 8am, heading southwest to Ponca, City, OK.  Today we will be moving Haleigh back to Oswego.  When Misti moved several weeks ago, college classes at Labette Community College in Parsons had not yet started, so Haleigh moved with her mom.  In the meantime a house became available in Oswego and Haleigh recently rented it.  Fortunately she doesn't have that much to move back.  Dean took the hitch out of the truck and with the trailer we borrowed from Todd, the room in her car and the back seat of the truck I think we'll get it all back to Oswego just fine.

It was a beautiful morning for a drive.  We arrived at Misti's house near 11:00am.  Haleigh was already loading boxes into her car and only had a few left.  Dean took her bed apart, and by noon we had almost everything loaded and ready to go.  She ordered a pizza through Door Dash, and Misti joined us for lunch.  We finished up a few last minute things before we left Ponca City shortly after 1pm with Haleigh following us in her car.

We arrived at her house around 3 or so and had most everything inside by 4:30.  She had to stop to pick up the key from her landlord.  Dean put her bed together and we had all the major things set up when we left for home.  She just has to open all of her boxes and put those things away.

This is a big step for her.  We are really proud of her for all she is doing to get her own start in life.  She is going back to work at the G&W grocery store here in Oswego.  Her classes are all online, which gives her the opportunity to work whenever they need her.  She enjoyed her job there, the people she worked with, and the customers.  It works perfectly for her while she's going to school.

My sister Cindy called me earlier to see if we wanted to come over around 6 to play Wahoo and Pitch.  We went home and cleaned up, then headed to Mi Pueblo, our local Mexican restaurant for dinner.  My brother-in-law Mark came in to pick up an order giving us a chance to visit with him for a little bit.  My sister Jody was waiting in the car with their youngest grandson Hoyt.  

We had another fun evening with Cindy and Elmer.  The guys skunked the girls in both games tonight.  As always there was lots of laughter.  Tomorrow we have another busy day ahead of us.

Thursday, October 1, 2020 - Travel Day; Chores for us Both; Looking for A Trailer

Thursday, October 1, 2020 - Travel Day; Chores for us Both; Looking for A Trailer

I was up early this morning.  I was ready to get things done, packed up and get back to Oswego.  I need to do laundry, we have errands to run and I want to do some cleaning in Bentley.

It was shortly after 9 when we left Bernice Point Resort.  Our drive was an easy one today, traveling less than 60 miles.  I sent a text to Todd as we left Chetopa, letting him know we were one our way, and asking where he wanted us to park.  He responded he had several options so he'd let us know what was available when we arrived.  Fortunately, after we arrived, he had a spot that backs up to the large grassy area he owns to the south.  We like to open our back window so we can see a nice view.  It feels and looks as if we are in a country setting.  

We were setup by 10:25am.  I wanted to get laundry started right away as it has built up over the last week, since we were without a sewer hookup.  Dean headed to the garage.  He had things to do there.  He needs to take the hitch out of the truck and a few other things in preparation for a task we are doing tomorrow.

In between laundry I dusted the living/dining/kitchen area, and vaccumed.  I've been yearning for beef/vegetable stew, so later in the afternoon I added all of the ingredients to the Instapot, and 40 minutes later we were enjoying it for dinner, along with some saltine crackers.  

After dinner and the dishes were done, we headed to my cousin Skip's to borrow a trailer from him for our task tomorrow.  When we arrived, no one was there, and we could not find the trailer, so I sent him a text.  He said Todd has it.  What?  We just left there (Todd owns the RV Park).  Todd was waiting for us when we returned.  He said didn't I tell you I had it?  Neither of us remembered it, but it didn't really matter - it was here so that makes it easy to hook it up in the morning.

We returned to Bentley and enjoyed watching a little TV before heading to bed.

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 - Another Month Coming to an End!

Tuesday-Wednesday, September 29-30, 2020

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

We definitely stay busy and I guess at least that way the days do not drag by....that would be much worse.  This morning we found ourselves not doing much.  Sometimes we just need some down time.  I wanted to get the blog caught up and later today we are driving back to Oswego.  I even had time to read new updates for all of the blogs I follow

There isn't much to say about our morning - routine stuff only.  Dean watched TV and I worked on the blog - that's it!  Shortly before 1:00pm we headed north to Chetopa.  We picked up our granddaughter Haleigh who was staying with her Grandma (Susan).  Haleigh is buying her first car and we went with her to sign all of the documents at the bank.  She is excited to get a car of her own.   

I caught her with her eyes shut.  The older she gets, the more I see a resemblance between the two of us.

   

After leaving the bank, we drove to Chetopa for a celebratory milk shake (for her and Papa) while I chose a cherry Pepsi.  On the drive, we talked about her car and her move to her own house (rented) for the first time.  I think she's excited about these changes in her life.  She is taking classes through Labette Community College (LCC) online (due to the pandemic).

We drove through Riverside Park to check on the progress of the new playground equipment.  It's coming along very nicely but there are still several pieces to be added.  It will probably be popular at Oswegofest, an annual event, in a couple of weeks...assuming they get it finished by then...and I think they will if at all possible.

This weekend is Oswego's fall garage sale.  I would not have even considered going, but with Haleigh moving it might be fun to see what we can find, if she wants to go.  I mentioned it to her and we'll see how things go Friday after we move her stuff from Ponca City back to Oswego.  It will be another all day event - driving down - loading up (however, what we bring back will be only a small portion of what we moved for Misti and her) - then driving back to Oswego.  

It was about 4:00 when we left Oswego (after a quick pit stop at my sister Cindy's - I guess I drank too much Pepsi...lol!).  It was a nice drive back to Bernice State Park and I think I chatted most of the way.  Dean just listens to me and comments now and then.  As long as his comments make sense I guess he's listening to me.  Lol!

It's a beautiful day with temperatures of 78 at the moment (5:33pm).  I imagine it will start cooling off soon.  It was around 54 this morning when I got up.  I love the windows being open, with a nice breeze moving through the rig.  While I love spring, I think fall is my favorite time of the year. The pelicans are here.  While we have seen a few, we haven't had the chance to get out and walk the park.  It rained the first night and we were tired by the time we returned home yesterday.    The pelicans typically show up in the morning and occasionally we see them in the evening too.  The Annual Pelican Festival held annually here in Grove is coming up Oct 8-13.  It has been a big event in the past, but we won't be here to see what is happening this year.

Wednesday, September 30, 2020 

We took it easy this morning - doing a few chores around Bentley, but mostly just did what we wanted.  In the afternoon I had a doctor's appointment in Vinita, a follow-up, to go over bloodwork.  In addition I wanted to ask about seeing a podiatrist.  The toes on both feet, next to my big toes have a fungus.  A little over six years ago, I accidentally ripped the one on the right off, when I caught it on the ledge of the shower.  I had hoped it would grow back normally.  Even though they gave me medication to take that often works to allow the nail to grow back normally, it didn't work for me.  Now they have gotten so thick, they rub the top of my shoes and are sometimes uncomfortable.  I thought it was time to deal with it.

My appointment went well and I am scheduled to see their podiatrist on October 20th, so we'll see what he/she has to say.  

We returned to Bentley about 4:30.  I made another chicken alfredo pizza.  This time we put the cast iron skillet on the Blackstone grill and covered it with an aluminum pan.  The pan wasn't quite big enough and while it cooked, it didn't get the cheese browned the way we prefer it, but it tasted good nonetheless.  We need to find a dome of some kind, or a lid for the pan so it cooks a little better.  I wanted to try putting it right on the grill but Dean preferred this method.  It occurred to me later I should have made the pizza on one of my small sheet cake pans.  I think the lid would have fit over it just fine, so we've got a couple of options to consider for future pizzas on the grill.

We are moving back to Oswego tomorrow.  We've got a busy four days after we arrive, and then a few days to get things done before we leave again for a Heartland Rally in Oklahoma City.