October 2-3, 2015 - Minden, LA - Beaver Dam Campground at Caney Lakes Recreation Area

October 2-3, 2015 - Minden, LA - Beaver Dam Campground at Caney Lakes Recreation Area

Friday, October 2, 2015

 We left the campground at 9:45 this morning and headed west which took us along the Barnett Reservoir where we discovered there was a beautiful drive on the Natchez Trace Parkway.  We were so glad the GPS headed us in this direction as it was a beautiful drive for several miles.  We followed the bank of the Reservoir for most of the drive and discovered they have a beautiful bike trail here that evidently is quite well known by bicyclists. 

Natchez Trace Parkway
 

Barnett Reservoir
 

Barnett Reservoir along Natchez Trace Parkway

 

 

In no time we were crossing the Mississippi River and driving into Louisiana.  One thing we noticed right away was the change in the landscape.  In Mississippi there were lots of pine trees and the land immediately turned flat and open as we crossed the River into Louisiana.  While pine trees did come back into the scenery as we moved on west it was interesting how it changed so drastically right at the river.

 

Bridge between Mississippi and Louisiana.  Notice the flag on the bridge to the right.

Entering Louisiana.

 

We ran across a few cotton fields soon after that and I snapped a few pictures.  These were a little better pictures than the previous ones I shared.

Cotton Fields.

 

As we passed through Monroe, LA I was reminded that our son Marc had mentioned the Duck Commander store was here, of the Duck Dynasty fame.  We discussed the possibility of driving back here to visit if the drive isn’t too far.  

About an hour later we arrived in Minden, LA.  I had read about their historical district on Trip Advisor so I was expecting something really nice but was pretty disappointed.  I really didn’t see any shops to visit.  The road to the campground took us right through some of the downtown which isn't much fun if you hit it when it’s busy.  It’s one thing in just a vehicle but entirely different when pulling a 36’ RV behind you, but as usual Dean did a great job of maneuvering Bentley through the twists and turns.

We are staying in the Kisatche National Forest at the Caney Lakes Recreation Area in the Beaver Dam Campground. 

I have to say Louisiana had the worse roads of any state for the longest period of driving we have done.  It started on the east side and was that way all the way to the west side and in all of the towns we visited.  The drive to the campground seemed like it would go on forever and of course we had to drive slow due to the condition of the road.  Once we turned on to the park road I realized we might have a problem here as it did not appear we would have a signal for our phone or any internet service at all. 

We finally decided on site 20, since many of the sites had reserved placards on them.  I called early that morning to see if they had plenty of sites.  The ranger advised they had many sites available so we were surprised there were so many reservation placards as you can only reserve so many days prior.  Our site is pretty nice here, being both level and on gravel.  We have a view out the front door of nice pine trees where we can see glimpses of Caney Lake.  It is a nice large gravel spot with both water and electric hookups.  They provide a grill, fire ring and a picnic table for each site.  We found when setting outside sometimes you could pick up a signal on the phone but it was not constant and it did not work inside at all.  Originally we planned to spend four nights here but due to the lack of phone signal we decided to cut our stay here by two nights and we will go on to Bullard, TX a little sooner.

 

Our view from Bentley's front door.

 

Our site, #20.

So here is our bad news for the day – ha, you thought it was the lack of phone and internet signal, right?  Nope, this tops that.  I was putting the slides out in the living area.  I watch as both go out to be sure nothing has moved during our travels that might be in the way of the slides as they go out.  As I looked from the dining side back to the kitchen I looked down at the floor and the roller evidently is not working again.  Something had caught the vinyl flooring and ripped it back several inches in a big V.  You can only imagine how I felt seeing that, especially since we thought that problem was behind us.  There isn’t anything we can do about it now so we’ll go back to putting the metal plate down and Dean trying to lift the kitchen side of the slide as I bring it in and take it out until we get home and Deryl can look at it.  Oh well, at least we can get it in and out.  I’m thankful for that.

We took a walk around the loop of the campground.  Dean took a look at the reservation placards on some of the sites to discover most of them were old – as much as a month!  We passed up some nice spots because the reservation placards were there.  That was a bit frustrating.  Oh well, the one we have is fine, however one of the spots we had looked at had a really beautiful and open view of the lake. 

I wanted to find a laundromat so we could hit Bullard with everything clean.  We headed into town and after literally driving all over Minden, we finally found a laundromat.  Our first try took us to the far west side of town and we never did find a laundromat, then a second selection took us to the east side but it turned out to be a cleaners.  I went in to ask where a laundromat was located and they sent us on east and then back south, then back west.  After 30 minutes of driving around we finally found it.  I will say even though it didn’t look that great from the outside or inside, the machines seemed to be clean and the dryers worked better than any others we’ve used in other laundromats on this trip.  In less than two hours we had everything done and we headed back to Bentley.

After dinner of macaroni with meat sauce we settled in for some TV (fortunately we picked up several local channels) before heading to bed.

 

Saturday, October 3, 2015

I woke up about 6:30 this morning.  I read some on my Kindle since I was unable to get online to read my daily RV blogs. 

After breakfast we discussed our plans for the day and we decided we would drive back to West Monroe, LA and visit the Duck Commander headquarters.  The drive was still bumpy but not as bad without Bentley following us.  I’m not sure what I was expecting but more than what was there.  It was a large metal building that was pretty plain.  Here are a couple of pictures I took.  Their large trailer with pictures of the Duck Dynasty crew painted on the side was sitting out front.

 

Duck Commander Trailer in front of warehouse.

 

Store entrance

 

Us in front of warehouse/store building.

Upon entering the store, a young lady immediately asked us to step over to a site where they handed Dean a “toy” gun and asked us to pose for a picture.  We looked around the warehouse which was mostly T-shirts, sweatshirts, memorabilia and of course the various Duck Commander duck calls.  It was interesting and I’m glad we went, but really not what I thought we would see.  We did buy the picture of us for a souvenir.  Since we purchased it we also received the rights to email it to others and or post it to Facebook.  I emailed it to myself and then sent it to a few family members.  Here it is for everyone else to see.

 

I took this selfie as we were leaving in front of the building and then we headed out to find some place to have lunch.  We decided to take local highways back to Minden rather than the Interstate.  We stopped in Ruston, LA at a local Popeye’s.  Dean told me it was my turn to pick out where to eat.  I really like Popeye’s, especially their red beans and rice. 

We enjoyed the drive back and passing through the small communities.  We set outside for awhile before I made our dinner of taco salads.  We spent time figuring out our route to Bullard for tomorrow before heading to bed. 

 

Thursday and Friday - September 30, October 1, 2015 - Brandon, MS

Wednesday and Thursday - September 30, October 1, 2015 - Brandon, MS

 

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

We left Rainbow Plantation at 9:45 a.m.  Dean was dreading the drive around Mobile and we worked on the route for over an hour or more once we returned from our movie and dinner.  The drive went quite well and was really pretty easy.  It always looks worse on the map than it is once we actually drive it. 

 

 

 

 

 

From the bridge that routed us around downtown Mobile, AL. 

Lots of barges passing through here.

A ship docked to unload or reload.

We had to make a bathroom break along the highway, and a large Chinook helicopter landed on the field across the highway from us.  Really neat!

We have seen a number of trucks loaded with pine trees logged from the forests in this part of the country.

He did great as always and once we were through Mobile it was smooth sailing all the way to Goshen Springs Campground on the Barnett Reservoir near Brandon, MS. 

What a pleasant surprise!  This campground is wonderful and we would not hesitate to stay here again if we are ever in the area again.  The sites are level concrete and wide enough to park your vehicle on.  Each site has a picnic table and nice trees and bushes have been planted between each site to provide privacy.  All sites are full hookup.  As you drive into the facility the office, laundry, and bathhouses are all located together with a very nice swimming pool.  Right across the parking lot is a nice boat ramp and several boat slips.  There is a canal that leads out into the reservoir.  There are many RV’s here and several park models.  It appears a number of people live here and many must rent by the month as half or more of the RV’s are currently empty with their boats or other watercraft sitting on their campsite.  Many of the sites have the mobile pagoda type tents at the back of their lots and decorated with lights, plants, etc.  For the most part everything is very tasteful and manicured looking. 

 

 

This is the office,

The boat slips and boat ramp are in front of us to the left of the water. 

This is the back of the office area where the pool is located.

Here is a shot of an empty site, that is right behind us.

Bentley and our truck.

Trees and bushes to help provide privacy between sites.

 

It was 3:30 before we arrived.  By the time we had things set up we were pretty much worn out.  We took a walk around the park, about 1.5 miles.  When we returned I made a half sausage and half chicken pizza for dinner.  We watched some TV and headed to bed pretty early. 

 

Thursday, October 1, 2015

 

 

After coffee and breakfast we decided to run into Jackson.  We have a few things we wanted to get at Sam’s and again, we need more groceries.  We needed to wash down our big patio mat.  We put it out in Summerdale since we were there for several days.  With the sandy soil they had and the heavy rains, the sand really attached itself.  We tried to shake it off some before we left but it was still too damp and just didn’t want to “let loose”.  So before we left this morning I helped Dean unfold it and lay it out on the grass so he could wash one side of it.  Then we laid it over the picnic table to clean the other side and left it there to dry while we were gone.

We found Sam’s and it happened to be right next to Bass Pro, so guess where we headed next.  We had a good look around but found nothing to buy.  By now it was after noon, so we happened to spy a Logan’s just down the road.  I had a salad and Dean had their yummy fried cheese, cheeseburger.  I’ve had one before and they are so good, but I'm really trying to be good.  The salad was okay, not what I expected but it was good.

Since we’ve been back I’ve made a few phone calls to make some appointments for when we return home and trying to update the blog posts even though I cannot post them until October 3^rd or later. We are practically out of our data plan and I refuse to buy any more gigabytes this month. 

We will head to Minden, LA tomorrow where we will spend 4 nights.  We really don’t know too much about the park or what we’ll do, so stay tuned to find out more.

 

 

Friday-Wednesday, September 25-29, 2015, Rainbow Plantation - Summerdale, AL

Friday-Wednesday, September 25-29, 2015, Rainbow Plantation - Summerdale, AL

Friday, September 25, 2015 – Rainbow Plantation RV Park

Today is my sister Jody’s birthday.  She is the baby of the family and just shy of being 6 years younger than me.  I am very blessed to have three sisters, Cindy, Crystal and Jody (Carla Jo).  We all live in Oswego and we get together every Sunday afternoon from 1-3 except on the 5th Sundays of the month.  I host the 1st Sunday as the oldest and we work down to Jody hosting on the 4th.  It really didn’t start out with the intent of just us getting together.  It really centered around going to visit my paternal grandpa and then my dad on Sunday afternoons each week.  We did that for many years.  When Daddy died in 2008 we decided we should continue to do it, knowing Daddy and our mom, who we lost in 1993 would approve of us staying close and spending time together.  Of course sometimes one of us is gone and can’t make it due to family birthdays, other family commitments or travels (like me).  I’ve really missed my time with them and look forward to getting together with them when we return home.  By the way, whoever is the host for the week also provides a dessert.  One of the best parts.  Haha!

This morning is Dean's regular day to eat breakfast out so we decided to try a place recommended to us by our neighbor Pauline here at Rainbow Plantation.  It is the The Biscuit King, a local place just a short distance from the park.  It was in a large, square metal building.  There is a sign just inside of the door, directing you to the counter to order before selecting your seat.  We picked up a menu and soon made a decision.  Dean ordered his normal breakfast of eggs, sausage patties, hash browns but today he decided on a biscuit instead of the normal wheat toast.  I had a ham and cheese omelet, hash browns and a biscuit.  The breakfast was delicious, although the biscuit was a bit dry for me and I only ate half of mine.  Dean ate half of my omelet because it was just too much food for me, but we would definitely recommend this place.  He thought the biscuit was pretty good, so it was a matter of opinion, I guess.

The inside was interesting.  There were 3-4 different saddles hanging around the inside with several pictures painted on the walls.  There was a kid’s play area and a small stage where it was apparent they held music events.  There were both round and rectangular plastic tables covered with colored vinyl making them quite easy to clean-up.   It was just a really neat looking place but very basic.  After breakfast we headed back to the campground.

When we arrived Thursday we inquired at the office about RV repair companies and for recommendations.  Bill advised there was a guy in the park we might try and if he could not take care of our needs he mentioned a couple of companies nearby.  Dean called the gentleman (Pat) that lives here in the park.  He agreed to stop by this afternoon to see what work we needed and if he thought he could make the repairs.  You might remember a roller fell out of the slide where the “kitchen area” is located.  The roller missing should be under the refrigerator, the heaviest part of the slide.   While the slide is working okay, it is dragging on the floor and has slightly marred my flooring.  We have been putting a metal plate down and then Dean has to push the slide upwards as I put it out to keep it from doing further damage.  The other issue we have is with our water pump.  If we are not hooked to a water connection while at a campground, we must fill our water tank and then use the pump to provide water for cooking, bathing, etc.  The pump started running intermittently when no water was being used, and now runs quite a lot when the pump is on, so it is not holding pressure.  We cannot find any leak, but to be on the safe side we have stayed in parks with water hookups since this problem started, until we can have it checked out further.

This morning I took the opportunity to clean Bentley – running the vacuum, dusting, cleaning the shower, etc.  We didn’t want to leave in case the repairman Pat stopped by to take a look at the problems with Bentley.  It was a beautiful day and once I was done with my work on the inside we set outdoors.  Our neighbor Pauline walked by with each of her dogs and we visited some. 

Pat stopped by after lunch and took a look at our RV issues.  He said he could jack up the slide enough to get the roller back in and indicated we would need to have the pump replaced, as they no longer even try to repair them.  He returned a little before 3:00.  He and Dean were able to get the roller back in.  The bracket on one end that held the roller in place was bent.  They were able to get it bent back and Dean believes it works better than it ever has.  What a relief!  There is still some work that might need to be done with the rubber that was damaged by the roller messing up and we will wait and address that with our dealer when we return home as well as the pump.  We can do without the pump for the remainder of our trip.

We stayed around Bentley this evening.  Dean grilled some pork chops and potatoes and onions and I steamed some broccoli and cauliflower for our dinner.  It was very, very good.  We watched some TV and called it a night.

 

Saturday, September 26, 2015

I recalled something I’m not sure I ever shared in previous posts but it has to do with teeny, tiny little pests called ants.  We were talking to Patsy, the park host at the Old Salem campground one late afternoon when we were getting ready to head out to see Greensboro, GA and to check out the local Goodwill store.  I remarked how much we loved the campground and how peaceful it was.  She said yes the only downfall is the ants and how you have to be careful about not getting them in the RV.  I made the remark we’ve not had any problems with them and I sure hope we don’t.  Mistake….because when we returned, we had ants.  In the bedroom, the bathroom, at the front door outside all around the kitchen, behind our loveseat.  Everywhere we looked there were ants.  I mixed up a concoction I found on Pinterest of baking soda, powdered sugar and water.  I cut the bottom off a few plastic water bottles and placed some of this mixture in each one and set them around several locations in Bentley.  We went to Lowe’s and bought a spray and some comet.  Patsy told us that comet was what they used on the ground and on anything they had that touched the ground to prevent them from getting in their RV.  I used the spray numerous times over the next several days and we finally eliminated the ants.  I had to do a good vacuuming and cleaning of the pantry and cabinets.  By the way the concoction mix I found on Pinterest was a dud!  We are now ant free and have been for several days.  The spray worked wonders to eliminate them and we now spray the tires and anything that touches the ground to be sure we do not have that problem again.  It gives me the willies just thinking about them.  I felt like they were crawling on me for days.  Finally, we haven’t seen any since we’ve been here.

So today we set outside for a while, kept busy around Bentley and went to the grocery store for lunchmeat, veggies and such.  We have decided to try out a local restaurant for dinner tonight, Big Daddy’s Grill.  It’s just a short distance from the park and Pauline told us it was very good.

Before we ate, I wanted to head to the beach as I had something I wanted to be sure to do before we left the area.  My high school friend Carolyn, who also lives in Oswego started collecting pictures from different family members and friends who would write her name in the sand on beaches and send them to her.  I wanted to include one from Gulf Shores, AL.  We had not yet been on the beach and wanted to do that anyway.  How can you go to a city with a beach on the ocean or Gulf and not walk the beach?  I always forget how tiring it is to walk in dry sand.  It seems like you take 4 or 5 steps but feel like you only move forward one.  It surely is great exercise for your legs. 

Unfortunately we arrived as the tide was coming in and the way the beach is, there wasn’t a lot of room to write in before the water would come in and erase part of what I had written.  I wrote her name with Gulf Shores below it.  I had to redo her name twice before Dean could get the picture taken.  But we got it done.

 

 

A shot of the beach as we walked from the parking lot.

Carolyn - Gulf Shores, AL

I love watching the waves come in on a beach!

This is looking back towards the main street.

Looking east toward Orange Beach, AL in the distance.

 

We decided since we were here we would just drive on east toward Orange Beach and see if there was anything else interesting.  Again it was mostly very large multi-storied resorts along the beach.  There was a state beach with beautiful sand dunes along the highway and a large parking area where you could pull into access the beach along the Gulf.  You were cautioned not to walk on the dunes or disturb the sea grass.  We did not get out, but just drove through. 

Sand Dunes in State Park

Beautiful multi-storied resort on beach. 

Orange Beach water tower.

We took an alternate route home that bypassed all of the traffic and went directly to Big Daddy’s Grill for dinner.

A shot of the international waterway as we drove by.

It was in a very nice setting along the water.  They provided both indoor and outdoor seating areas.  We chose to set outside.  The weather was perfect.  It had a very nice vibe to it with overhead lighting strung along the trellis and great old 70’s and 80’s music playing.  There was a nice sand playground for the kids to play in while waiting for their food, or to keep them busy while parents and or grandparents finished their dinners.  We arrived shortly before the sun started to sink so it had great ambiance.  Our food was delicious.  We both chose the fried shrimp basket.  The meal came with coleslaw and hushpuppies and one side of your choice.  I chose sweet potato fries and Dean had onion rings.  The coleslaw was not as good as we had in Andalusia but it was still quite good.  It was a very nice and relaxing dinner.

My dinner of fried shrimp, hushpuppies, coleslaw and sweet potato fries.  Yummy!

You can see the sand play area just below the sitting area on the deck.

 

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Originally we had planned to leave here tomorrow (Monday), however the weather was calling for significant rain starting later today, with heavy rains for Monday and Tuesday.  After we had breakfast, and took care of our morning chores we decided to take a look at our planned route and see how it would impact our travels if we stayed here until Wednesday.  We have decided to head northwest from Summerdale to Jackson, MS rather than to head west along the coast in order to shave a couple travel days off.  We would have to cut some of our stops short and would prevent us from really seeing the area so we would rather wait until we can return to explore properly.  (I love that about traveling in the RV – it’s not like a week’s vacation that you have little to no leeway with a change of plans). We will then go on to a small community east of Shreveport and from there to Bullard, TX for the Heartland rally.  This works out really well for us and we think it’s a good revised plan.  I called the park office to see if we could stay an extra two days and they said it would not be a problem.  We also had previously decided we wanted to arrive at Bullard a couple of days early so I also contacted that park to see if that would work and it will.  We will only be about 120 miles from Waco, Texas while at Bullard.  I absolutely love the show Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines.  Their business is based in Waco and I would love to visit their store Magnolia, so the day after we arrive we are going to drive to Waco and do just that.  Unfortunately their new store is not opening until the end of October so we won’t be able to visit there but hopefully we can take a drive by and see the site at least.

We made another run to the grocery store for a few things, and after we returned I fixed a simple lunch.

Dean had a little accident with his phone a few weeks ago and cracked it pretty good. It works but he’s had some problems with it that we suspect are related to the cracking.  We decided to visit the local Verizon store that was a few miles down the road.  He still had a Samsung 3 so it was a good upgrade for him from a 3 to a 6.  I’m jealous because of the phone capabilities, specifically the camera, but mine is working.  Yesterday Dean spent some time with my phone and backed everything up and then reset mine to the default and reloaded everything.  At the same time he installed a larger SD card to give me more storage and it is working better, however, I am disappointed to find out it will not allow me to transfer most of my applications to the SD card.  Therefore, I am still pretty short on storage.  I can see a new phone in my future but will try to hold out for a while.

When we returned we were both playing with our phones most of the afternoon, trying to get our apps back on, etc.  We were worse than two teenagers! 

Not too much later the rain started, and it rained all night long.  I made breakfast burritos for dinner and we watched Forrest Gump, one of my favorite Tom Hanks movies.

 

Monday, September 28, 2015

I was up about 6 this morning and it was still raining but it quit an hour or so later.  It is still overcast and it is expected to rain again later today.   According to the local news, Mobile, AL had over 10 inches last night.  That’s not too far away.  After breakfast, we walked up to the office to pay for the two additional days we are staying.  We chatted with a nice couple who are also park hosts here.  They originally lived in Maine but have been full-timing for 16 years.  They used to travel to Branson annually where they workkamped at another Escapees park there, so we had a nice chat about Branson. 

After leaving there we walked over to the clubhouse to check it out, including the laundry facilities.  I am not sure if I will try and do some laundry here before we leave or just wait and find a laundromat in the next town and do it all there.  There are 4 washers and 5 dryers here. 

It’s about 2:00 as I write this and it has never started raining again as they predicted.  Dean is out washing Bentley off.  While we were at the office paying for the extra nights he also asked about washing of RV’s.  They said yes, we could wash our RV, our vehicles, etc. as long as we didn’t just leave the water running while scrubbing, etc.  Bentley had so much road grime and bugs on him it will be nice to see him looking a little nicer. 

We pretty much hung out here at Bentley today.  It never did rain.  Tonight Dean and I actually watched TV in separate rooms.  That really doesn’t happen often but I am a dyed in the wool Dancing with the Stars fan and even though he enjoys watching it too, he wasn’t going to pass up Monday night football with his Chiefs playing.  Our neighbor here, Pauline is a big Green Bay Packers fan.  She has been wearing Packers shirts and has a big old Packers flag in their front yard.  Hmmm!

 

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

After breakfast this morning, we decided we would visit a couple of flea markets down the road.  One is quite large and looks like it might be interesting.  As we drove in – there was an open sign at the far left end but the sign on the door near where we parked said they are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  We then realized there was another business on the left end.  Oh well, such is life.

We drove on down the road and saw another place so we pulled in.  As we walked in the door I noticed they had a couple of shelves of Rada knives.  I happened to notice they were also marked down 20%.  We walked through the entire place and I came back to the knives.  I have wanted to buy another paring and slicer knife to put in Bentley as I just have a cheap one.  I have 3 Rada knives at home, 1 paring and 2 slicers.  I bought these from the Oswego Grange Club shortly after I started working for the City in 1974 and I am still using them.  They are the sharpest knives I own.   I kept going back to this really nice set that also included a chef’s knife, bread knife, paring knife, vegetable parer, slicing knife and a carver that was $58.  With the 20% off, plus tax I was able to get it all for $50.   (Note:  I used the chef’s knife last night, Wed, and I love it.  Man is it sharp!)

We came back for a little lunch and I suggested we see a movie.  We both thought the Intern looked pretty good in the reviews we have seen, so we got around and headed out to see it.  Since this will be our last night in the area, we also thought we would have dinner out.  A gentleman we talked to at Camping World the first day we arrived told us about Lulu’s, Jimmy Buffet’s sister’s restaurant.  He told us it was really good and a fun place so we decided to try it out. 

The Intern was a really good show.  It had a good plot and Robert DeNiro is just such a great actor.  He still has it, that’s for sure!  We laughed a lot and to me those are the best kind.  We agreed afterwards this was one of those shows you could watch over and over and always look forward to seeing it again.

We arrived at Lulu’s a little before 5:00.  Our first thought was it was a bit early, but we are so glad we decided to go at that time.  That place filled up so fast I was shocked.  They had live music and he was pretty good.  Their food was excellent.  I had smoked pork tacos with chips and salsa.  Dean had grilled shrimp and fries.  It had a great vibe.  The overhead garage doors on two sides were open to a large patio area.  Around the patio was a large bandstand, sand area where kids could play with playground equipment and many seating areas in different spots around outdoor setting.  It was right next to a marina and the international waterway so you could watch the boats and barges come and go. 

Tomorrow we will get around and head out for our next stop in Brandon, MS, just outside of Jackson, MS.

 

 

 

September 24, 2015 - Rainbow Plantation - Summerdale, Alabama

September 24, 2015 - Rainbow Plantation - Summerdale, Alabama


Thursday, September 24, 2015

We were up pretty early this morning and ready to leave at 9:45.  I think we were both anxious to get on toward the coast where there are a lot of things to do and see.  We've enjoyed the quiet and the relaxation, which we needed, but we are ready to get out and about more now that we have recharged a bit.

Another cotton field - a little clearer picture this time.

We have discovered that as much as we thought we would enjoy traveling the back roads and going through the small towns that we have come to appreciate the Interstates more than we ever imagined.  We don't have to go any faster than we want to - typically 60 on an Interstate, we don't have to worry about trees, it is always easier to find a place to stop for bathroom breaks (rest areas, side of the road on exit or entrance ramps or truck stops) and there are no rough railroad tracks, and if you do have a problem there is always a shoulder to get off of the road.  Isn't it funny how you get a totally different perspective once you do something different than what you think you like? 

We had another exciting drive today.  About an hour after we left the campground our tire pressure monitoring system started beeping.  The back tire on the passenger side of Bentley was showing a drop in pressure.  We finally found a place we could pull over (of course it was a two lane road with no shoulders).  Dean got out his tire pressure gauge and sure enough it was down quite a bit.  He got the air compressor out but he wasn't able to get a lot of air in it as we had no way to plug it in, but enough it got us to the next town where there happened to be a tire repair shop right at the edge of town.  I kept checking the pressure on the tire as we drove the 17 miles from where the tire pressure monitoring system went off, as I was praying that God would let us get there without anything else going wrong.  The pressure did not drop anymore during our drive so he answered our prayers!  We pulled in, talked to a nice young man, that soon had us repaired and we were on our way in about 30 minutes.  We had a faulty tire stem which he replaced and we were only out $20.  We both agreed it was worth every penny (and probably even more) to us.  At this point, we realized the money we had invested buying the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) was worth every penny as it could have saved us from eventually having another blow-out. The last one cost us a deductible and the insurance several hundred dollars worth of damage repair.

Not too long before we approached Summerdale, we passed by several things that really made me think about home - first of all Faulkner State Community College (my mother was born in Faulkner, KS), the very next community was Stapleton (my mother's maiden name).

Stapleton, AL water tower.

In Stapleton we saw "Blair Road" - my kid's last name is Blair; and the road we turned on to reach Rainbow Plantation was "Long Road" - my step dad's last name.  All of these were on Highway 59, the highway that goes right through Oswego, Kansas.  Hmmmm!  Maybe I'm missing home too!


We also saw this Monster Car along the road.  I thought the grandsons might enjoy seeing these.

We arrived at Rainbow Plantation a little before 2:00 p.m.  There wasn't anyone at the office, but they had left information and several sites we could choose from.  We selected Site #72, a 50 amp site.  It was an easy back-in site and we were soon hooked up and ready to eat some lunch.  After lunch we walked up to the office to pay for our spot.  Bill Liebe, the office worker on duty was so kind and got us squared away.  As we were preparing to leave he said there is one more thing.  I said what's that.  He said you have to have an Escapees Hug and he gave both of us big hugs.  What a sweetheart.  It made me think of the first time I met my dear City Clerk friend Bill Goering, many years ago.  He did the same to welcome my friend Stacey and I as new City Clerks to our first conference.  We also met our next door neighbor here in the park, Pauline when she stopped in to pick up her mail.  What a nice welcome they were.

There was a nice breeze and we set our chairs outside for awhile.  We needed to find a grocery store as our food stock is getting pretty low.  After we lost quite a bit of food while we were parked in Greensboro, NC we haven't been buying that much at one time.  (NOTE:  I don't think I have mentioned that my daughter Misti called me one morning when she stopped by the house to tell me she could hear something beeping in our house but she couldn't figure out what it was.  I said check the refrigerator, and sure enough someone had left one of the doors lightly ajar.  We weren't sure if maybe Dean or I had done it as we were leaving or if someone else had opened it.  We actually were hoping it might have been Logan when he mowed, thinking he would get a drink while he was here,  as it would have been running for quite awhile if we were the culprets.  Fortunately for us, we were glad to hear it was Logan so it had only been 2-3 days rather than 2 weeks or so.  But, you guessed it, we lost everything that was still in the refrigerator at home too.  And again, fortunately I had cleaned it out pretty good before we left, bringing several things with us, so we didn't lose too much.)  The good thing is everything I have purchased since then for the RV I can just transfer inside so it won't be like starting entirely over again at home.  We will probably not use Bentley but another week or so when we make a trip to Wichita after we return home and then he'll be winterized until spring so it will all work out.

Our neighbors Pete and Pauline were outside when we got ready to leave for the store, so I went over and asked them about suggestions of good places to eat for dinner and breakfast, and also the closest grocery stores.  We visited with them a little while.  They are very nice folks from Wisconsin originally.  They full-time and will be staying here for at least another year while Pete recovers from cancer surgery earlier this year.  Our prayers are that he will soon be back on his feet and ready to travel again.  Pauline is a big Green Bay Packers fan.  We noticed the Chiefs play the Packers this Monday night.  Wonder who will be happiest after that game?

We left and headed back to the highway.  Originally we were going to find somewhere to eat and then purchase groceries and head back.  However, we decided we are so close to the coast why don't we just drive on down and check things out.  So that's what we did.  Gulf Shores is like most beach communities - lots of houses, rental homes/condos and hotels along the water with the beach behind them.  It is crowded and full of people but the beach is quite inviting and we will go back Saturday or Sunday to spend some time.  We'd like to get up really early for a sunrise or go later in the day and enjoy a sunset.  We'll see which wins out.

Gulf Shores Beach

Highway as you drive east/west along the beach.

I was surprised to see the intercoastal waterway here is large enough for barges to use. 

You can see the barge if you enlarge this.  Sorry, it's hard to get clear pictures when you are flying by.

There were so many choices of restaurants.  Since we just had fish and shrimp last night and we have been craving Chinese, we decided that's what we would look for.  We finally found a place and as we were driving up I was checking the reviews on Trip Advisor.  They were not very good but by this time we were tired and just wanted to eat, get groceries and go back to Bentley.  I have to say the food was quite good.  They didn't have my two favorite dishes but what I had was really well prepared.  I do plan to provide reviews for all of the restaurants and camping spots we have utilized once we get home.  They will have a good review from me for dinner tonight.

We stopped at Wal-Mart after that and quickly ran through grabbing a few groceries and headed back to the park.  We were pretty tired by now and just ready to chill for the rest of the evening.  See you tomorrow.

I am now caught up and hope to maintain the blog on a daily basis until we hit the rallies.  Then I will either post once or twice or all of it at the end of each rally.  We will be here until Monday, September 28 when we will head to Mississippi.