Wednesday, April 16, 2014 Ft. Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, Texas

We got around pretty early this morning since we needed to be ready to leave by 8:45 or so.  Megan called and wanted to know if we could come over a little earlier.  We had plenty of time so that was not a problem.  We picked her up and headed to Matt's headquarters where we visited with him for a while prior to the ceremony. 



Matt at his desk the last time as Commander.

The change of command ceremony was held outside.  Last week it would have been a nice warm day and the shade would have been much appreciated.  Today however, with the recent drop in temperatures it was a bit on the cool side, but not unbearable.  The ceremony was very nice and Matt did an outstanding job with his speech.  He had really nice comments for his soldiers.  I've added a few pictures of the ceremony.

 

 Changing of Commanders - Passing of the flag.

Matt giving his speech where he commended his soldiers.

Aren't these roses beautiful!  They gave these to Megan during the ceremony.

 



Afterwards we had lunch at McAllister's.  We really like this place.

Following lunch, Megan had a routine doctor's appointment so we parted ways for awhile, and we came back to the RV.  I updated the blog (previous posts) and a few things around here.  They came by after the doctor's visit and we hung out here until dinner.  Matt's unit honored him at a dinner at Giovanni's in Copperas Cove just west of where we are staying at Ft. Hood.  We have been there with Matt & Megan before, and as then - it was very good.  I ate so much I felt like I waddled out. 

Following the meal, they presented Matt with a framed banner of their unit and several had comments about Matt.  They were all very favorable.  They talked about his integrity, how he always wanted to do the right thing, his fairness, and a female soldier stated if she had a daughter in the military that she would wish her daughter to have a commander like Captain Peine.  As a mother, I can't think of anything more complimentary to say about your commander than that.  It was apparent they would miss him. 

Matt and Megan stayed at the house to visit for awhile afterwards.  It was a good day.  By the way, the doctor appointment outcome:  Baby is in position but nothing to indicate Joshua is ready to see us quite yet - few more days; but they did move up the date from April 27 to April 25 to start labor if Megan does not go into labor before then.   So we expect to meet little Joshua by April 25 unless he becomes anxious to meet us sooner - we can only hope!!!  Needless to say Joshua's impending arrival seems to be our topic of choice every day!  Papa and Nana are almost as excited as Mom and Dad!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 Ft. Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, Texas

We have a busy day ahead of us this morning!

Dean decided he wanted to go eat breakfast today rather than our normal Special K here at home!  Yea!  We weren't sure where to go so I Googled breakfasts in Killeen, Texas.  Found a website where a number of restaurants serving breakfast were listed.  Hallmark Restaurant sounded good and it was fairly close so we headed there at about 8:30.  They have a number of skillet dinners that sounded very good and we were really tempted; but since we seem to be getting more frugal with our money all the time, we went with the special for the day.  For $3.99 we had 3 pieces of bacon, two eggs, home fries and a nice big biscuit.  What a deal!  It was pretty good.  All in all our breakfast was less than $11 and we were quite full!

Next on the list was laundry.  Fortunately a Laundromat was very close.  We spent the next two hours getting that chore out of the way.   We were able to check our emails and Facebook in between washing and drying chores, so the time went fairly quick.

A stop at O'Reilly's to purchase some exhaust fluid for the truck and then our final stop at Walmart for a few groceries, Fish Oil and some birthday cards.  We headed back to the RV.  By then it was almost noon.  We made some sandwiches and ate some of the corn dip left over from the pot-luck dinner at the rally. 

We invited Matt & Megan over for dinner tonight as they have not yet seen the RV (at least the inside - Megan did see the outside yesterday).  I made chicken and rice which I knew was one of Matt's favorites so I had to get the chicken and sauce in the crock pot.  We rounded that off with brown rice and a salad with some add-in's of tomato, avocado, hard boiled egg, cranberries, walnuts and Parmesan cheese.  I decided to make an apple crisp for dessert.  We still have a little ice cream left over from our dinner with Larry & Verna that I want to get used up.  They arrived at about 5:30 and after a tour of Bentley we set down to dinner.  We had a nice evening catching up.  Matt's ceremony as outgoing commander is tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.  We will go by and pick up Megan and drive to Matt's headquarters where the ceremony will be held.  They left about 9:15 or so and we headed to bed soon after that.

More tomorrow!

Monday, April 14, 2014 - Ft. Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, TX

We left Durant about 8:30 a.m. this morning.  The wind was really strong but fortunately it was from the north/west and we did not have to drive straight into the south winds we would have faced yesterday.  At times as we had to change direction it was a bit rough but mostly it was a good drive.  The scenery was very nice along this road.  We went out of our away a bit and it probably took us 30 minutes to an hour longer however we just do not enjoy the interstates.  There were large areas of Texas bluebells along the roads.  They are really beautiful.  I did not get any pictures but hope I can get some in the next day or so that I can share with you.  We were surprised that as dry as Texas is that it is so green here.  The different shades of green were beautiful on the hillsides, especially as we drew closer to Killeen.  From a deep dark green, to a bright yellow green (per Crayola crayon colors).  Cacti began to pop up here and there with fewer and fewer crop fields, but more and more horses and cattle.  Closer to Killeen we seen quite a few sheep as well.  We noticed quite a few pecan trees in this area as well.

We arrived at Matt & Megan's house about 3:15 today so it was a very long drive for us.  We really like keeping the driving to a maximum of three hours for a day - so we were really tired.  Pulling an RV is quite different than just pulling into a convenience store, fast food restaurant or other similar places along the road.  We made two stops along the roadside for bathroom breaks and a third one to get fuel and another bathroom break.  I made sandwiches and brought some chips and almonds along with a couple of bottles of water. 

We visited with Megan a bit, and then we drove about 15 minutes or so to the Welcome Center on base to obtain a temporary pass that will allow us to come and go on base.  Megan drove us over.  After sitting in one area at the Welcome Center for about 20 minutes, they told us we could go next door and obtain the pass quicker.  We had to take a number upon our arrival at the first area - we had 2 numbers to go when we left the first building.  Upon arrival at the second building, we had to take another number - we had about 5 in front of us!.  Not sure we saved any time, but we were soon at the counter and obtained the necessary paperwork.  So back to Matt and Megan's we went to get the RV.  Upon our arrival at the base entrance nearest the RV Park we had to pull it into a large Quonset hut and they inspected the RV and the truck.  We finally made it to the RV park where we pulled into the last available space.  By then it was nearly 5:30.  Megan headed on home to make supper and we got the RV set up.  This was our second pull-through space - and it wasn't any easier to get in to than the last pull-through.  We were too close on the left to put the slide out, and then too far over on the right and off the concrete pad.  After an attempt or two to fix that, Dean finally just pulled out and drove through a second time.  I think we agree, backing in seems to go better for us!  HA HA  About an hour later everything was set up, slides out and we headed back to Matt and Megan's.  Megan fixed a wonderful dinner - grilled salmon steaks, brown rice and sauteed green beans.  It was very, very good.  Megan has given us an entirely new perspective on salmon! 

We visited a bit and then we headed back to the RV.  Matt had early PT the next morning and we were both exhausted.  I think Megan was pretty tired too after all the running around she had to do with us today.  We had not seen them since October and so even though we expected Megan to look a little different at full-term pregnancy it was still a surprise when she opened the door.  She had changed a bit since last October when she was barely showing.  They have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday so we are excited to hear what the doctor has to say about Joshua and his impending arrival. 

Not much news today but hopefully more interesting things to report in the upcoming days.

Sunday, April 13, 2014 Choctaw Casino RV Park, Durant, OK

It is a windy day here in Durant.  With thunderstorm warnings and chances of hail and heavy rain, and winds that would definitely cut down on mpg we decided it was easier to stay another day than fight that.  I received notice on my phone a short time ago that we are under a tornado warning until 8 or 9 p.m.  We'll keep an eye on the weather but the clubhouse bathrooms would provide good shelter in case of a storm and they are quite close.

We got around this morning and headed to the clubhouse to say our goodbyes to those that are leaving today.  Larry Keever, Oklahoma Heartland Chapter Leader, caught us and said I want to show you something.  He had a magazine "Better RVing.com".  It had a picture of a Heartland RV identical to our floor plan.  He is the same gentleman who stopped to see if they could look at it yesterday afternoon with his wife.  He was looking through the magazine this morning.  When he seen the floor plan, he told us he wondered where have I seen this before and then he realized it was our rig!

Bob Curry a member of the Texas Heartland Chapter wanted to get our picture for the rally information they will have posted so we posed for that.  We were the only couple he had failed to get (you don't think we were hiding - do you?).

Then we visited with Jay Coffman for awhile.  Jay is the Regional Director for Heartland Midwest area and is over Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas states (and maybe some others).  We visited about getting an active Kansas group started as they currently do not have one.  Not sure I want to take anything like that on but something to think about down the road.  We do hope to attend more rallies.  We have had a good time and met some really nice folks.  Oklahoma has a fall rally in Thackerville, OK at another casino.  They told us their RV Park is as nice as the one we are in and it is only $20 per night for the special rally rate.  This one is $25.  But with full hookups, cable TV and Internet it's a pretty good deal. 

Once we got back to the rig it was about 10:30 or so.   I got on line to see if the casino had any good restaurants.  WOW - they had about 8.  Gilly's had burgers so we decided to go over and have lunch and get our $10 free play card.  The 1/2 bacon burger and fries were great.  We shared one so that was a pretty reasonable priced lunch.  Afterwards, I went to a $.01 machine to play and Dean left to find a $.25 machine or something that would pay a bit more.  I got up a bit (as much as you can on a $.01 machine) and cashed out with just shy of $5.  You have to use the money they give you on your player's card - you can't just cash it out.  Once I had my $5 cash voucher I went to find Dean.  He had just cashed out with $41.  I gave him my tickets and said here play this and see what you can do.  He found another machine and got it up to $14.  I told him to go ahead and play but not to go below $10.  All in all when we cashed out we had won $51.  That will pay for tonight and tomorrow night's campsite.  What a deal!

We left and took a bit of a ride around Durant.  I tried to get some pictures of the horse statutes they have downtown but that didn't work and Dean wasn't too thrilled about driving around the block AGAIN, so we came on back.  We are going to eat at an Italian restaurant tonight with the remaining club members who stayed over another day.  They are leaving at 5:00 p.m.

Once we get back from dinner, we will go ahead and get everything ready to leave with hopes of pulling out by 9:00 or so tomorrow morning.  We are taking a different route, going slightly west of Ft. Worth down 281.  It's a tad bit further but no heavy traffic and will be all new scenery.  We talked to Matt a short while ago and he has paid for our spot at Ft. Hood RV Park so we have a spot to go tomorrow.  We'll meet Megan and she'll go with us to the base so we can get our temporary pass to come and go as needed.  It is a very reasonable rate as well and again has full hook-ups.  It's the closest place we could find to their house and the price is the best we could find as well. 

Just a quick note about dinner.  We ate a La Roma.  Dean and I both had chicken fettucine.  It was some of the best we have ever had.  Their rolls were also very good.  We had a wonderful time visiting.  We have really enjoyed our time at the rally.  Everyone was so nice and very helpful.  We look forward to running into our new friends on the road with Bentley.

Saturday, April 12, 2014 Choctaw Casino RV Park, Durant, OK

Even though it was about 68 when we left the 5th wheel this morning to head to the clubhouse for breakfast, it felt fairly cool outside.  It is VERY windy today.

We had a yummy breakfast casserole.  My goodness it must have been 4-5" thick.  I could not believe how good it tasted.  I found out yesterday the Resort has free coffee and cappuccino in the lobby every day so I ran in and got a cup of cappuccino as well.  It was excellent.

Following breakfast they had a drawing for special door prizes.  We purchased tickets for items such as a double folding chair, a portable ice maker, and various other things you would use for camping in a 5th wheel or motor home.  Dean really wanted the ice maker and wouldn't you know we missed it by one number.  Unfortunately when we bought our tickets the winning ticket had already been sold - since it was the number just prior to our first ticket.  Oh well, you win some you lose some.

Camping World gave the group a number of things to be given as additional door prizes.  We won a foldable foot stool which we will use when our fold steps are not quite low enough to easily step into the rig; and some cup/trays you can use when camping or at home.

An RV dealer in the area brought in 2 - 2014 models for viewing.  Everyone walked down to tour those afterwards.  As nice as they were and even though both had features I liked ALOT - I still prefer my floor plan over either of the new ones and would not trade just for the features I liked - as I could add those in my current 5th wheel. The number one improvement would be shades that just pull up and down versus the accordion type.  The accordion type are hard to get up and down when they are behind furniture that is not easy to get to.  I like lots of light so I want all of them open for the day.  I would also like to have slide covers - it's like a shade pull out over your slide outs.  It protects the roof to keep debris from falling on them and also limits the amount of water during rains, and it help keeps the unit cooler when it gets really hot outside.  We will probably add the pull over the slide outs down the road but the window shades are expensive and a convenience not a real need.

We came back and fixed a sandwich and just hung out here until about 3:15 or so when we would leave for dinner.  More on that later.  I had a bit of a headache and laid on the couch most of the rest of the day and even catnapped a bit, I think.

About 2:50 or so we got a knock on the door from Larry & Donna Keever, President of the Oklahoma Heartland Chapter asking if they could look at our unit.  Donna really liked the layout of our rig.  We visited with them awhile.  They are a very nice couple and Donna is a Jayhawker.  She is originally from Independence, Kansas and went to school at WSU.  Always fun to meet another Kansan!

After the Keever's left, we got ready to go eat dinner.  We were to be in line to go eat at B G Catch in Kingston by 3:15.  BG Catch is a buffet restaurant.  It opens at 4:00 and I guess you must be there at 4:00 if you want to get in right away because when we got there, there were already 15-20 people waiting in line outside.  By the time our group of about 30 people or so arrived, the parking lot was really full and lots of people had to wait for us to leave before they could go through the buffet.  The food was delicious - especially the fried catfish.  It was perfect.  They also had peel and eat shrimp, fried shrimp, chicken strips, corn fritters, hush puppies, Cole slaw and beans.  For dessert they had peach cobbler and what tasted like homemade ice cream.  VERY VERY GOOD! 

We were back home between 5:00-5:30.  It is just now 6:37. 

We have decided to stay here another day because the weather is calling for thunderstorms tomorrow.  So we will have everything ready to pull out on Monday night and leave about 9:00 a.m. Tuesday morning and drive through to Killeen.  It will be a long day but we think it's better than trying to fight rain.  It will probably take us about 5-6 hours.  If we leave here at 9:00 we should be in Killeen by 3:00 or so. 

Not sure what we'll do the rest of the evening.  I'd say go to the casino, but Dean said we might have to do that tomorrow because he's getting a little stir crazy.  I know we could not stand to do that tonight and again tomorrow.  We never win so we would either not be there long or we'd lose more money than we cared to do.  HAHA.

 

Friday, April 11, 2014 - Choctaw Casino RV Park, Durant, OK

Woke up to overcast skies this morning and about 61 degrees.  We got around this morning and had our breakfast and I did some more cleaning in case anyone wanted to look at our rig.  We were meeting at the clubhouse and then would walk as a group to take the rig tours.  I think we toured about 10-12 of the different Heartland 5th wheels parked here for the rally.  I was proud of ours.  No one had seen this particular floor plan and they loved the big windows we have in our rig.  With the windows open it seems so much larger than it is.  There were some perks to some of the others, especially the longer units.  Our neighbor's is 40' long and ours is 36.5'  It is amazing how much more will fit in 3.5' of space.  I've decided that maybe going without a washer/dryer is the way to go to have the extra space.  Surprisingly only 2-3 of the couples have washer/dryer units in their rigs. 

Jennifer - everyone loved the sign "This is the Life" that your mom gave us!  Here's a picture of our decorations - the one from Lou (Jennifer's mom) and one from Carol, my right hand for the 29 years I served as City Clerk - that says "This is our Happily Ever After".  You'll also see a small plant in the photo.  This is the only plant I still own.  I kept it because it was small enough to keep in the 5th wheel but it is also very special to me.  It was a Mother's Day present from our granddaughter Kamron when she was 2 years old.  I still remember her carrying it in and giving it to me.  Thanks sweetie!

(By the way if I have not already mentioned it, I think you can click on the pictures to make them bigger when you are reading the blog and get a much better view)

Dean hung out with the guys during the tour.  He enjoyed it I think.  Once I got back it was time for lunch.  I asked Dean if he wouldn't eat the left over pork chops from the other night or I was afraid they wouldn't be any good.  He jumped right on that.  I made a quick sandwich. 

At 2:00 they were playing sandbag baseball at the clubhouse.  That definitely perked Dean's interest as he is a big baseball fan (especially if it involves playing).  They divided everyone up in to 2 teams by letting each person draw a chip from a bucket that was marked with either an "A" or a "B".  We divided up and set in a row on either side of about a 4-5' wide aisle.  At one end of the aisle is a strip of blue tape.  You must stand behind this and throw 3 bean bags towards a board at the other end that has holes in it.  The holes are marked FOUL, OUT, 3 bases, 2 bases, 1 base or HOME RUN.  There are 3 chairs behind the board.  If you land with the bean bag half in/half out it does not count - it must go in the hole.  If it goes in the hole and comes back out it still counts if you land on one of the base runs.  If you hit the foul on your last throw you get another turn.  The A team beat the B team in the 10th inning and you'll never guess who ended up making the winning run for Team A - well, it was not yours truly but the other half of this great duo!  I unfortunately was on Team B.  Team B got a chance to come back but we didn't make it.  It was fun and took about an hour or so of time.  The winners received little pins that read:  1st PLACE; Sand Bag Baseball; 2014 HOC (Heartland Owners Club) Spring Rally; Oklahoma Chapter; Durant, OK.  Here's a picture of the baseball board.

We came back to the 5th wheel resting before a potluck dinner at 5:00.  I decided to make Mexican Corn Dip.  I thought about making a peach or apple crisp, but someone told me they usually end up with a lot of desserts.  Tonight it will probably be the other way around!

The meal tonight was delicious - lots of good food.  They had a speaker, Col. James Wilhite, USAR (Retired) who talked about a project he was in charge of in Afghanistan.  He was charged with building the National Military Academy  in Afghanistan and accomplished it in less than 6 months with very little resources.  He wrote a book about the project called "We Answered the Call".  We have purchased one and look forward to reading it.

By the way - there was plenty of desserts including a really yummy brownie, with frosting and lots of nuts.  Carolyn - made me think of yours!

Afterwards we headed back to our cozy home.  We called Matt and Megan to find out how things were going with their air conditioner.  It quit working earlier this week.  Fortunately they sent someone out to fix it - a quick fix and they are now cool again (it's already hot there) and Megan is as comfortable as she can be in the last week or so of pregnancy.  We will head that way when we leave Durant.  Our plan is to be at Killeen by Tuesday.  We'll split the distance up since we have about 350 miles to travel yet.  Not sure where we'll spend the night Sunday and Monday and will probably spend some time tomorrow looking at our options.  We prefer to stay at least two nights if we can.  It's not a huge amount of work to set up and tear down but enough we don't like to do it every day if we don't have to.   This is a bit of change in our plans by a few days.  We originally planned to arrive in Killeen on Thursday, April1 17.  However, Matt is leaving his command since they will be leaving the Army in a couple of months in order for him to attend law school this fall.  They are having a ceremony Wednesday morning, April 16 to recognize the change in command.  It was originally set for last week and we were not going to be able to attend; but due to the recent events at Ft. Hood the date was changed and fortunately that works perfectly with our travels.  We are really looking forward to being able to attend and be around when little Joshua arrives.  A new baby is always such an exciting event and it's never failed to be as exciting as it was with our first grandchild - which will be 15 years ago next month.  There's just something about the wonder of a new baby that is forever special!

Following the phone call, we discussed going to the casino - but neither of us were very excited about that, so we decided to go ahead and get fuel and make a trip by DQ for some ice cream.  Yum! Yum!  While we were in Russellville we stopped at a DQ and we were horribly disappointed - first of all in the service.  I've never been in a more disorganized DQ EVER!!  It was a new store and set up differently than any we've ever seen before.  I'm not sure if that was the problem or the management but we've never had a wait like that.  We both ordered blizzards.  Neither was mixed well - all of the topping was right at the top in Dean's.  I ordered a mint Oreo (which I had never had before).  I could not taste any mint and there was hardly any "Oreo" in it at all.  We were a little apprehensive about going to another DQ we were not familiar with but Durant's DQ came through with flying colors!  I think that is a good thing- except we don't really need the extra calories.  I did begin getting the small though - it makes me feel better about my choice!  LOL!

On the way to get the fuel (Wal-Mart was $.12 less a gallon than a station a block away) I started getting sleepy and barely had my blizzard finished than I was ready to hit the sack.  My head barely hit the pillow and I was out.  See, ice cream is good for something!  :)

 

Wednesday and Thursday, April 9 & 10, 2014 Choctaw Casino RV Park, Durant, OK

Wednesday - April 9
Wednesday was pretty much a travel day.  We left Hot Springs about 10:30 and drove approximately 230 miles arriving in Durant, OK about 5 hours later around 3:30 p.m.  We got a late start because we had a really heavy dew last night and the slides were pretty wet.  You should not put the slides in while they are wet, or you will get it inside the rig, so we hung around a couple of hours longer than what we originally planned. 

Dean talked to a couple of the guys in the campground that morning and he found out we never want to call our "rig" a camper or trailer - it is a "rig".  We did not think we would have that much of a problem finding a site at the Hot Springs campsite since it was so early in the year.  He asked them about it - come to find out, it was the last weekend for horse racing.  I'm sure someone was glad that we left a spot open when we left today! 

I forgot to pack sandwiches before we left, so about half way we pulled off in a small town onto an empty parking lot.  We made a quick bathroom break and I quickly made some sandwiches, grabbed water, chips and Girl Scout cookies and off we were again.  I have to admit the drive on Hwy 70 from Arkansas to Oklahoma was much more Scenic to us that the drive down Highway 7 in Arkansas which is supposed to be a Scenic route.  It was pretty when you went by an area where there was a break in the trees into a valley, but most of the time you just saw tall pine trees.  Hwy 70 was through small towns, along side fields, pastures, ponds, old barns - the real countryside.  As I've mentioned before, everything is blooming and it is just so green, fresh and beautiful right now.  Renee, I could not help but think of Xander with all of the green beauty around us! 

Needless to say we were pretty tired when we finally arrived.  The first campsite where we've actually had a pull through (no backing), we thought this will be easy - and wouldn't you know it Dean had to back up twice before we were satisfied with where we parked.  We were too close on the left side and our slide would have gone into the bushes, and then we had to move back some if we wanted to put the awning out.  So far it's been too windy to do that, so not sure if that will end up mattering anyway.

Then we went to hook up and there is NO water hookup!  What?  Everyone else around us has water hookups - where is ours? We dug through the bushes next to us, knowing it had to be here somewhere - fighting bees, wasps and who knows other kind of bugs were flying around us.  I'm thinking oh no, not again!  Larry and Sandi will be rolling on the floor laughing at us after a third time of not checking first.  For the record it specifically says FULL hook-ups so I didn't think I should have to check.  So I dug around and found the sheet they gave us when we checked in at the office, found the office number and called to ask about it.  Oh yes, the receptionist says, you have water, it's in the bushes, just look around.  It's there somewhere.  Back we went, looking again!  Well, how about on the other side of the bushes in the neighbor's "yard"?  But, we have water and that is what matters! 

Finally got everything set up.  We visited with our neighbors next door (we are on the end of one row) who are a nice couple from Houston, TX, and another couple from Rusk, TX.  They just had their state Heartland rally in Santo, TX and several of them came on up to attend the Oklahoma Rally here in Durant.  Many of them plan their travels around the rallies around the US.  Heartland is the manufacturer of our 5th wheel.  They have several different models, ours is a Big Horn.  They have chapters in most states, however Kansas does not have a chapter at this time, so when we signed up on the Heartland Forum, their Internet site, I chose Oklahoma as our home state since we are closer to OK than Missouri.

Anyway we are here in Durant, OK to attend the Oklahoma Chapter Heartland Rally. 

I intended to do a little laundry tonight, but it was almost time for American Idol.  I figured we could go up and do the laundry afterwards, but after I slept through about half of it - needless to say laundry went undone tonight.  See you tomorrow.


Thursday - April 10
All that sleeping before bedtime kept me awake half of the night.  I woke up and it was 6:45 - I have so much to do today - of all mornings to sleep in!!  I still like getting up between 5 and 6 am - it's my best time of day!

At least Dean was already up and had the coffee made, so that was a good thing!  After coffee, we had our breakfast and then we gathered up the laundry and headed to the clubhouse here at the RV Park.  This park is amazing.  It has 77 parking spots which are very nice.  Nice pull-through concrete pads, with grassy areas and bushes between each pad.  Each site has a nice picnic table and benches with its own umbrella.  The office building/clubhouse has a very nice and very clean laundry, large bathrooms with showers, a very large meeting room with full kitchen, camping supplies available for purchase, swimming pool, fire pit and a dog park.  You can also refill your propane bottles on site.  They provide cable and Internet as part of the price of the campsite - very nice features.  The daily rate with the rally is $25.  If we came in on our own the rate would be $45 or $50 a night.  Needless to say we would not stay here unless it was an emergency.  $25 a night would be about our max price but we prefer $10-$15/night or less when we can find it.

We had the laundry done in about 2 hours and I came back to run the sweeper.  Tomorrow they are having tours of the "rigs".  Not sure if anyone will want to look at ours, but I intend to be ready - just in case!  Then I had to get ready - well, there's another hour or so.

Finally, about 11:30 I am ready to face the day.  We ate a quick sandwich and then off to Wal-Mart.  Tomorrow evening they are having a potluck dinner.  I am making Corn Dip so I needed a couple of ingredients for that, plus it seems we run out of orange juice, cereal, milk and sandwich meat/cheese every other day  -  not really, but sure seems like it goes that fast.  We have been doing pretty well on our eating - until tonight.  We went to eat at another Mexican restaurant - which wouldn't be too bad except for the chips and salsa.  Just like Lay's - I bet you can't eat just one - you're right, we can't!  Next thing you know it's 2 and then 3 basket of chips.  We waddled out but as usual the food was really good!  I had pork tamales and Dean had a fajita burrito.  The food was as good as Jose's in Hot Springs - but the salsa did not compare.

This afternoon they held a meet and greet at the clubhouse.  We met several different people from TX, OK, IN, and a few other states.  They provided a listing of all attendees which is nice if you want to stay connected or have names of other Heartland owners to ask a question about your rig, you can go to the Heartland Forum and find these folks. 

Tomorrow they have a full day for us!  Not sure if I'll get a chance to write tomorrow night or not, so if you don't hear form me I'll catch up as soon as I can.

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday!  I know many of you are glad it's Friday and I'm happy for you too!  I remember those days.

One last thing, I mentioned getting up late this morning and thinking oh no, I have so much to do.  I was upset because I wanted to get an early start - and then it hit me - I do not have to worry about this.  I have no deadlines except what I impose on myself.   There is nothing to get excited or worked up about.   Carol, as Dr. Marche would tell us at City Clerks conferences I reminded myself  "Just let it go!".  I can finally do that and it's a good feeling.  I wish that for all of you!