We are at Kenwood RV Park - our home until next April

85 degrees and Air Conditioner running here at our house in La Feria, TX as I start this at 4:30 pm.

We got here about 3:30 yesterday (Saturday) - were on the road 14 days, pulling the travel trailer.  Got to see my brother Roger and his wife Carolyn in Lincoln, NE as well as their daughter Julie and Julie's son Steve, who, with his wife Mellissa and 4-month old daughter Emma who just returned to the US from Germany where Steve has spent 3 years in the Army.  Also visited with Roger's daughter Angie and her son Michael; and Roger's son Keith with his wife Becky and girls Tiffany and Jessica.  Then we spent one afternoon playing Pegs-N-Jokers with Harold and LaRhoda Neher near Hiawatha, KS.  Went out to the bean field where their son Tim was combining and we moved a couple pickkups for them closer to where they were currently running.  (They were in a 300 acre field so had moved quite a bit of distance from where they had started that morning)
From there we went to look at J C Penny museum and Phyllis got some fabric in Hamilton, MO and stopped at Walt Disney's boyhood home museum in Marceline, MO before spending a night in Kirksville, MO where we ate supper with granddaughter Emily and her BF Vince and the next morning, while Vince was at work (Em didn't report for work until late in the day) we ate a Brunch with Emmy for on last visit until next summer.

We got to Cape Girardeau, MO in afternoon on Thursday and ate supper at brother Don & Vicki's place.  Spent the next day with them and drove out to where Don's daughter Jenn is staying while she is recuperating from Kidney surgery and starting dialysis and also planning what she will do about chemo on her stage-4 cancer that has affected several parts of her body.

Saturday we drove to Branson, MO (actually camped in Hollister, MO at an Escapee Park) and went on the Belle of Branson boat for dinner and show.  On Sunday we drove around the area and in the late afternoon went to supper/show at the Dixie Stampede.  We had intended leaving Branson Monday morning, but had talked with several other people at the shows and they had seen Moses and sure recommended it.  Even though we said, we will come back sometime, we decided to just do it now and got tickets for it and an a Capella show; cancelled some of our plans for Bentonville, Arkansas and enjoyed both shows, one Monday evening and one Tuesday evening.  When we picked up the tickets Monday we were "given the opportunity" to listen to presentation about time share programs.  We have no interest in them, but were offered $150 to listen to the 2-hour presentation.  So did that on Monday morning.  Paid for much of the 4 tickets we had just picked up.

Wednesday we headed for  Marshall Dry Goods in Batesville, Arkansas where Phyllis bought some fabric for herself and a lot of fabric, from the wholesale side, for the sewing ladies here in the park.  We then went on to Searcy, AR where we visited 45 minutes or so with Bonnie Uphoff at the hospital.  Her husband, Everett, was in ICU and not doing well.  They used to spend their winters here in Kenwood RV Park on the same row as our house in another mobile home.  Phyllis talked on the phone with Bonnie a few moments ago and she said Everett wasn't expected to live through the night and if he did it was recommended the family "unplug" him from the machines tomorrow.  We got to North Little Rock, AR were we spent he night right on the Arkansas River and right across from the Clinton Presidential Library.  We walked the bridge over the river almost to the library.

Thursday we drove to Tyler, Texas - getting there in time to tour the Brookshire Museum before it closed at 4 pm.  This is sponsored by the Brookshire Grocery people and is located near one of their distribution warehouses as well as a grocery store.  Stayed at another Passport America park there (Passport America offers single night stays at 1/2 price if you are a member.  Usually runs from $11.50 to $17 per night -- though the Escapee's park was only $20 a night with their membership)

Friday we beat it on to Cleveland, Texas - north and a little east of Houston - in time to have lunch with Ernest and Evelyn Baker in their new home they just moved into in May.  He was the minister for many years here in the park, though they have travel plans this winter and won't be staying here.

The new Baker house.

Walk going around to back of house - garden at upper right of photo

Back of house

Our rig at end of driveway - taken from front porch

Front Porch

Leroy, Phyllis & Evelyn

Evelyn setting lunch

Evelyn, Phyllis & Lynn on the front porch

Leaving them we made it to Victoria, TX that evening to another Passport America Park.

With this our last night out with the trailer for some time,
we dumped the tanks for the last time.

We stopped in Rockport, Texas to eat at a seafood restaurant I had found highly recommended on the internet.  Paradise Key Dockside Bar and Grill

Boat coming into dock just below our seating area with fresh shrimp

Bringing up a bucket of fresh shrimp

Phyllis is sitting at our table in left center of picture

Close-up of shrimp they were weighing on the boat

Family tying up at dock.  They came up to restaurant
and ate at the table next to us.

This was a pricey place ($40 for lunch, including tip) but was quite an experience for us and we relaxed a bit before we made the last couple hour drive to our place.  Phyllis had 5 of those jumbo shrimp and I had a grilled Mahi Mahi Salad

All the cactus plants have grown, though the bougainvillea plant
doesn't look the best

Wow! These "little" pin-cushion guys have grown

5 years ago this fence was completely blank when we bought here

That 15' cactus and 25' tree were each
6" tall when I planted them about 5 years ago

Pulled up beside our mobile home so can transfer "stuff" from
travel trailer to mobile home

Trailer parked and pickup back up to front of "Texas Room" for unloading

Have Dish hooked up and switched to local channels here in the Valley.  We drained the 40 gallon hot-water heater and refilled before we let it heat up.  Found out from years past that it took several weeks to get rid of smell otherwise, so this is well worth the time.  Got the clothesline pipes up on the back porch, uncovered the end of the dryer vent.

Got internet restarted from vacation today so don't have to be concerned about all the data that photos being uploaded take.

Went to Walmart this afternoon to stock up on some of the groceries that we had not brought with us in the travel trailer and are about settled in.

One other couple arrived, in a motor-home, today but there are a lot of empty spaces.  Expect it to pick up soon as people head south.

This is for Mary Jo and Oliver ---- We drove through Emerald Grove on way back from Walmart.  Place really looked spiffy and cleaned up:

 Know Mary Jo and Oliver miss coming to the Valley after having done so some 19 or 20 years.
This is their old stomping ground!

More later, Lynn

Victoria, TX - 238 miles from our Winter home!

80º in Victoria, Texas at 7:00 pm.  Arrived at Lazy Long Horn RV Park about 6 pm after stopping at a McDonald's to pick up couple of sandwiches to eat in the trailer.  Hooked up to cable and watching the start of the third World Series game.

We got to our friends Ernest & Evelyn Baker's place, just north-north-east of Houston about noon.  Had a great visit and lunch -- much from their own garden.  I took several pictures, but the WIFI we have tonight is so slow it will not up-load even one picture at a time.  That compares with the WIFI we had last night that was so strong and fast that I uploaded something over 40 pictures in less than 10 minutes.

Anyway, Ernest & Evelyn had been at our park many years in Kenwood and he had served as minister during most of them.  This year they are doing some travelling to California and then Israel in January so will not serve as pastor for the Kenwood RV Park this year.  They sold their mobile home in the park last spring, and sold their home in Oklahoma this summer and have moved into a new home on 6-acres by their son's place.  Really nice home with nice yard-work, etc.  They had garden out back that served them well.  In fact we ate zucchini and green beans from their garden at lunch.

We left their place about 2 pm and drove in some pretty heavy traffic in and around Houston, but it was all interstate and though had a little bit of stop-and-go was mostly pretty smooth.  Way too much traffic for my liking for driving in very often.

We should be at our Kenwood home shortly after lunch tomorrow and will take several days opening it up, flushing the hot water heater, getting all the window insulation down, unpacking the fully loaded back of our pickup, moving food from the trailer freezer and refrigerator into the house, etc., etc.

More later.  Lynn

Tyler, Texas

It is 75º here in Tyler, TX where we are at a Passport America RV Park for the night.  Was in the middle 80's during the day -- going to have to get back into short pants!

We left Little Rock shortly after 8 am and stopped in Hope, Arkansas for several hours.

This is the passenger station (Now serves Amtrak) in Hope
and is also a Visitor's Center for Hope and for life of
Bill Clinton, 42nd President who was born in Hope in August 19, 1946

This is under the National Park Service CLICK HERE for website

and this Park Ranger gave a tour of the house.

Born William Jefferson Blythe, III, he lived in this house for 4 years, then in another house in Hope and moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas where he graduated from school.

  We left Hope, AR just after 12 noon and drove the 170 miles to The Brookshire Museum  in Tyler, TX.  They close at 4:00 pm and we got there about 10 minutes after 3 so had a while.  "One of the most popular attractions in East Texas, Brookshire’s World of Wildlife Museum and Country Store offers a fun and educational adventure– for free! Life-sized replicas of a mother elephant and her two babies, along with a mother rhino, her baby and a giraffe, greet visitors at the entrance of Brookshire’s World of Wildlife Museum and Country Store. Inside this unique museum, more than 450 mammals, reptiles, fowl and aquatic species from Africa and North America are on display. The museum contains spectacular, realistic wildlife dioramas with educational information included for each of the animals. A visit to the Brookshire’s Country Store gives museum guests a nostalgic look at yesteryear by displaying grocery items from the 1920’s. Brookshire’s World of Wildlife Museum and Country Store offers visitors of all ages a first-hand look at wildlife, as well as a glimpse into the past; an experience that is unequaled in East Texas"  (This foreposted is from the website). 

We were only allowed about 30 minutes, but I took photos of most of the animals.  It is amazing the collection. 

These are Dik-Diks

Game played by monkeys!

samples of barbed wire

This, and below is a 1920
store

Iceman signs and tongs

Coffee grinder

Add caption

Notice 1920's prices

meat scale

Eggs being sold "in bulk"

Ladder to get items on higher shelves

An early "cooler" for displaying chocolate candy bars --
ice is put in the top chamber.

After leaving the Museum we got gas ($2.05 - had paid $1.87 earlier in the day) and then stopped for Chinese buffet.

Got to our RV Park about 3 miles north of north edge of Tyler about 6:30 pm.  Turned on Air Conditioner first time in our trip as it was 85 degrees.  Is 74 degrees now at 9:10 pm and will shut it off for the night.

Will head out by 8 am and be at Rev. Baker's place northeast of Houston by 11:30 am for a visit with them and look at their new "barn-house".

Lynn