Relaxing travel day

I woke up earlier than usual on this travel day. I made us a smoothie, then I made Jim some eggs, as I continued to get ready and put things away. We rearranged a few things differently as things were bouncing around more than we had anticipated with these bumpy roads. There was light rain as we plan to pull out. Jim was a little worried pulling out but it went quite well as I watched. Going around our neighbors golf cart was the trickiest part as they watched their the ones that had a fire going continuously while we were here which I stood by and said hi and bye to them again. It smelled and felt so good I didn't want to leave, Jim said bye I told him he would starve without me they laughed. And then we left heading towards Columbus, Texas. The only driving problem we had was missing a turn. We were exiting on a service road that they call farm-to-market FM. The GPS that Jim has on his phone, and the RV Garmin GPS do not agree. So that's been an issue. It's hard to trust the new Garmin RV one. So the GPS said as we were on the service road to make a slight turn to the right. We were over too far we would have had to cross two lanes of traffic and there was cars behind us so we missed the turn. We kept driving on the service road until Jim found a place that we could pull to the right and recalculate on the GPS. He makes it look so easy, turns out we weren't that far off the beaten path. Once we got on the back road that we were looking for turned out to be a wonderful drive very relaxing and not a lot of traffic and  seeing the local Countryside, the ranches with a lot of horses and cows out. Then we found a nice big gas station and pulled in to go to the bathroom and grab lunch. When we pulled out there was a camper next to us and had the same idea. We arrived here at Colorado River Thousand Trails. Long driveway coming in and we were greeted by a herd of deer that were laying off in the field.

We parked and got registered it's a huge piece of property but only about a hundred and fifty sites and they said we could get one with electric and water but there is no sewer sites available. They're very nice and there was a guy that just checked in and told us a site that was empty that he found when he was driving around. So we headed right for that site. Turns out it was nice flat we backed in a little too far and sank. He pulled for a little bit and it was okay. We got set up we talked to some people that were walking by. Playing with the satellite took him awhile, he played with some stuff and reset the box and then it worked, yay.! So we drove down to register our site which is A38 and they were having an ice cream social at 3 so we tried a cone. We drove back the long way and looked around a little more. Then I got ready for dinner I had gotten pre-made beef lasagna for him and turkey spaghetti for me so I heated that up added some more sauce for dinner. We watched a little TV and then around 11:30 we went outside looked around , beautiful Texas night, there was a couple people out, looked at the sky, can't believe we're in Texas.

Relaxed at home

December 29, 2018
Jim was up first this morning again, I made him breakfast English muffin bacon and egg. We watch some morning news on television. We took a walk all around the campground, quite a large place, we did the one Loop went into the family center where they were cooking lunch food.

it looks like a larger version of the one I had at work.

Then we walked around the pool and hot tub.

We walked down to the huge lake and saw the boats and how flooded it was.

Then we came back had lunch. And we went and took a drive got Diesel for 2:59 a gallon it was a regular pump it went really slow, took forever not like the diesel truck stops do. Then we came back got propane and took a little drive around. Propane for a 40 lb bottle in PA was $27.00 here it was 35.00. , I washed our sheets, took a nice long shower and wash my hair. Jim went outside and torqued all the tire lugs, and put stuff away. Jim played with the satellite and tried to get it but  it never did come in. I made tacos for dinner. I turned on the lights on the Christmas tree and looked at it during the evening while we watch TV. Trying to decide when we're going to put it away.

Can't believe we're in Texas

Jim was awake before daylight, harder to sleep in this Walmart parking lot. We did have  neighbor's though the second night, when we got there there was a fifth wheel from Quebec, and later a motor home from Wisconsin and an Airstream from South Carolina. We were the last to leave. Of course the first thing was get the generator going, I made egg sandwiches on English muffins, we got ready to leave. Jim torqued the tires. We left just after 8 which I think is the earliest so far. We headed towards Texas. The road was terrible, so bumpy, no wonder everything bounces loose. We stopped for fuel at a Flying J and headed back out again.  Then we drove looking for a place to pull over to grab our lunch out of the fridge. It was a big fuel station, nice spot to relax for a minute, grab our lunch and kept on trucking. Then we headed to Lake Conroe RV Park. Following GPS on Jim's phone, I don't know if I mentioned but we got an RV Garmin GPS before we left but they don't match up, and it's hard to trust it, and it keeps freezing up as we try to use it. Anyway we pulled into the RV Park, and it didn't seem like a Thousand Trails, turned out it wasn't. Was very wooded and muddy we had to go all through the back to get back out again. Luckily the guy had us follow him in his golf cart so we can find our way out. In one turn there was  cement blocks with boards in them to make a little mini fence, some guy moved them for us, which was really nice of him. That was so scary. I didn't get a chance to get any pictures,  too much going on to get out of there. Before we got back out on the road we recalculated our GPS and said Thousand Trails this time. It was only about 17 miles away. We checked in at the guard shack,  $3 a day for electric here also. The place is huge, really big not sure how many sites are here. So we were trying to decide which way to go. We pulled into the first little Loop to the right and got down in and there, and there's no place to turn around and we had to back out of the area, and kind of turn around and pull into an empty site after a guy had to move his truck that was leaf blowing the area. That took some doing. We got set up, I vacuumed did three loads of laundry all the fun stuff. Jim grilled a couple burgers for dinner, and I made a salad. We watch some local news on TV. Jim went to bed early, I did a couple hours later.

A day full of unknowns

Woke up in the Walmart parking lot, first thing, check and make sure the inverter is  still running. It had shut itself off because of low voltage. Jim started the generator up and got everything going. We made coffee, we didn't eat anything. So much of our day is unknown, because of our tire situation. Is it safe to drive on with the lugs broke, the place they recommended us to go was six miles away, how is that drive?? Jim called the number they gave us L&M Tire. He did check the tire to see if the lugs were tight. So we got ready and left after he talk to them. We got there safely they showed us where to back in. About five guys came out to look at everything. They pulled the tire off and hub and check the rest of the wheel which was okay.
They told us where to go to get the parts we needed at LeBlanc Trailer Sales. So we went over there, we took the Hub along to see if we just needed to replace the studs or the whole hub. The guy that worked in there Terry was very nice and said we should check all the bearings and hubs on all the tires. So we bought enough to do all that. We took everything back that we bought, by now it was pouring rain and they told us a restaurant we could go to called, Old Tyme Café, so we headed over there, only a few blocks away. Jim had breakfast of biscuits and gravy and sausage and loved it. Here's a picture of the steam table they were serving from, with all the Louisiana Local Foods on it.

Not sure what everything was. We stayed in there a little while, it was pouring rain and they were having tornado watches in the area. Our phone did come up with flash flood and tornado watches. Scary!  Then went to Lowe's so he could find a torque wrench so he could tighten are lugs as we travel.

    

When  we got back we moved the camper into the garage because of the rain. Then we  sat in the truck for a while. we got hungry and wanted to go for lunch. They told us about a place two blocks down the road called the fire house. 

                                                                                                 We had fish sandwiches and shared FF. Then we walked back to the fifth wheel. Then we went inside and waited a little longer. I was talking to a woman inside that came in for tires. Shortly after that it was ready. We paid the bill and Jim couldn't believe how much it was. Or as he says how much it wasn't, we were in there for hours. And it was only $187. To replace all the bearings on all four tires, And repack them. Then we pulled the camper out of the bay and headed back to the same Walmart to spend the night again. There was already another fifth wheel here and a motorhome pulled in just after dark.   We pulled in got the generator going again to charge everything back up. Went back into Walmart to ask permission again. There's a few grocery items that I wanted. Came back out I made dinner for Jim, I cooked some hamburger and the leftover yellow rice, and I heated up some turkey chili for me. We watch TV took showers and called it another night in Walmart.                                                                                

Travel Day a Day Early

Got up this morning it was beautiful out. I made a smoothie, Jim some eggs and sausage as we started to get ready to move. We left around 9:36 and drove the same route pretty much that we took on our way to Gulfport. We stopped at the last rest area that we new of, grabbed lunch, and kept on trucking. By then we were in Mississippi. Total miles for the day was about 309. We went over a bridge that seemed like 20 miles long over the swamp. Then we stopped for fuel with a Walmart next door, went into the Walmart, sign said no overnight parking plus it was really tight so we had to back out of there. Back on the road. Went to the next Walmart,  rain was coming on and off. We pulled in and ask permission,  they said it was fine. Came back out, Jim was walking around the rig, he noticed the one tire was full of brake dust. Jim kept looking at it, and then he noticed two lug nuts were broken off. First time we couldn't park on the edge of the parking lot, we're kind of in the middle of cars on both sides of us, not as relaxing. I heated up some pre-made soup as an appetizer for dinner, and Jim went inside to the Walmart auto center to find out who can come fix the tire. He said the lady inside was very nice and gave him some phone numbers, they called and one guy he said come in tomorrow morning and we'll fix it. It's about six miles away, and we worried about driving on it like this. Jim started the generator, we put the two slides out, I made dinner parmesan cream sauce with pasta and the rest of our shrimp we had cooked the other day. Was really good, he put the TV on and watched the news, worried a little, we went to bed. And a few trucks pulled around us, which actually feels better.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.
Made Christmas green breakfast smoothies, cheese omelets and sausage and leftover biscuits from last night's get together. Jim went outside and started working on replacing the seal for the second time on the slide. I started cooking for our Christmas dinner. I made a cornbread casserole, cornbread stuffing, orange creamsicle cake, and cranberry sauce. Then we went for a bike ride. Came back got everything heated up and went to our dinner, it was very nice here's a few pictures.

Everyone had their table set  so nice. The park provided turkey and ham and then each table had like a mini potluck for each one so everybody can start eating at once, it was a very different and nice way to do it. Each table had pre-planned their menu we got here so late we sat at the staff table. We had two sweet potato dishes four corn custard dishes my stuffing and macaroni and cheese, two green beans casseroles with bacon, roasted potatoes, and a lot of desserts. We talked to a lot of nice people. When we got home put some stuff away and we went for a walk for about an hour. Came back and Jim started putting some stuff away, we're going to leave a day early to try to drive at least one day out of the rain.

Biloxi Mississippi day trip

Woke up, got out of bed, ran a comb across my head. I was up before Jim, woohoo. Made sausage and eggs and coffee, I did it all. A lot of decisions to make, deciding what to do, what to do. Decided to do a day trip to Gulfport / Biloxi Mississippi where our oldest son Thomas went to tech school with the Air Force  probably over 10 years ago.

Jim never got to see it but we brought him home with my parents in there fifth wheel when he was finished. We drove all along the Gulf Coast, pulled over I ate a salad I packed with chicken.

Jim was figuring out where to go next. We found the Base he was on first, we couldn't drive on it. We found a Burger King for Jim to grab a quick Burger. On our way driving back I found fresh shrimp off the boat, it was $4 a pound, we bought 5lb.

Stopped at Walmart yet again Jim bought three cases of beer for The escapees Bash coming up. Topped off the fuel tank with diesel that was 2.53 a gallon and they also had Pepsi for 99 cents. Then we stopped and picked up oranges that were sold along the road that our neighbor here told us about a big bag for $7. We came home had a lot of stuff to put away. When I started cooking shrimp I dumped a whole bunch of Old Bay on it with two cans of beer.

We ate some, froze some and Jim cleaned a couple big handfuls to make with a pasta and a light parmesan cream sauce in the next day or two. Then we got ready for our Christmas Eve party. I made Red Lobster biscuits mini size to Take Along. Finished wrapping my gift we went up to the party they sang a couple songs, they do a gift exchange. Everyone that had a gift we sat in a circle and a funny lady read this poem and every time she said left or right in it you passed your gift around.

At the end of the poem The Gift you had is the one you took it was fun Jim watched and laughed. Then we had our finger food, was really good we came back put the heat on watch a little TV I'm trying to clean up the mess in here, Call it a night.

Working on our home

Jim was awake before me, he made coffee, I was up shortly after that, I made us a smoothie.  He went outside to start working. So I made myself some eggs and sausage and went out to help. Not that I do that much. Jim changed out all the old screws to stainless steel screws in the underbelly and taped over them. And change the license plate light that was out. I told him to sit down and take a break for a minute and I made him his sausage and egg's for breakfast. Then he put on shorts so we can wash the camper. Today's high 72 degrees. I washed the side of the truck that was closest to the hose. After we were done washing the camper and truck, I pulled some premade food out of the freezer and a steak for Jim. I had salad and some pre grilled chicken he made his steak. While he was putting all the hoses away we also got an anal rod from Camping World and he change that too. Should have changed it a year ago it was as thin as a pencil. Then we got ready and went for a bike ride around the campground. Some people were sitting by the road and said where's your Christmas decorations. We were a little confused. We got back to the camper, in about a half an hour later there was a Christmas parade that went by with a really cool old car and decorated golf carts here's a few of the pictures.

I was decorating our little tree too and sitting right by it when they went past. We both took a shower I threw a load of towels in the washer. For dinner I made yellow rice and mixed vegetables in the instant pot, pot in pot if you're wondering, and we had pre grilled chicken with that. Jim was working on the blog putting pictures on, it was about quarter after 6, Then we went down to the ice cream not so social. It was supposed to start at 6 but the blog delayed us so we got there at 6:15 and no one pays us any attention, and finally somebody said something to us and they got us ice cream and cake but first they told us if you're not early you're considered late for activities there, alrighty then, lesson learned. Which truly it is Jim philosophy too,  he's always early . We had a nice walk back to the camper look to the Stars, watch a little TV and called it a night.

Gulf Shores Alabama

Woke up today and made blueberry paleo pancakes for us. I washed two loads of laundry and Jim went outside and grilled chicken. I ate some grilled chicken for lunch and I made Jim a sandwich and he grilled it outside. it was leftover chicken fingers from Ruby Tuesday's that I didn't let him eat because I wanted him to have a sandwich with it later. it was the chicken fingers provolone cheese barbecue sauce a piece of uncured bacon and grilled outside. Then we got ready and left for our next adventure. We went to the Gulf Shores, nice drive a lot to look at. We walked on the beach, quite a lot of people out.

Was a little Breezy but pretty warm. We went for a long walk, the sand was very firm and easy to walk on. When we left we did our shopping on the way back. Found Publix, it was the first  stop there we   mainly bought food that I want to make  for three different parties we're going to here.

 We stopped at Walmart for some food and beer. We stopped at Camping World for anode Rod and a light around the license plate that was out. Lowe's we needed a smoker cover, stainless steel screws for the panels that were falling down, and some black duct tape. We got back just as it was dark, beautiful sunset. I heated up the last of the turkey lasagna made some green beans and a salad. And Jim watched the hockey game.

Sweet Home Alabama

Today we're heading towards our Sweet Home Alabama and escapees Park for a week, unless we decide to move closer to New Orleans area. Jim woke up around 3:30, the motorhome that came in after us was gone. He looked to see how much power the inverter still had, he acted like he wanted to stay up, and I said NO go To Hell  back to bed. As usual he listen to me and was very glad 3 hours later when we woke up again. By then power was very low but not totally shut off. Fridge temperature was up a little but still on.  He fired up the generator charged it up it only took about an hour. Jim made the coffee  and I made him some eggs. He unhooked the fifth wheel and went and got diesel right next door because it was so cheap at 262 a gallon. Then he came back hooked back up and we took off. We stopped at our first rest area, we always walk around check everything out. Jim said we have a problem. Something  I do not want to hear. The access panel for two of the holding tanks had dropped down and insulation was hanging out. So we had to dig out some screws and his DeWalt and get to work again. Luckily it was an easy fix but it was freezing cold out. We went in the bathroom grab lunch and back on the road. Traffic was pretty light and we realized we hadn't done the blog from yesterday. So we did it on my phone going down the road. Which is really nice made the time go fast. We arrived here at our first Rainbow Escapees Park around 2.  We got set up, and realized on the other side the access panel fell down and he had to fix that too. Jim played with the satellite for a while, but he finally got it.

We went and signed up for all the Christmas activities coming up. Christmas Eve bring a finger food and a gift, Christmas Day they're doing potluck tables so each table does their own thing, the club provides the main entree turkey or ham. And the day after Christmas they're doing a dessert or side dish. Just Like Home 3 days of eating. For dinner I heat  up a premade instant pot turkey lasagna I had Frozen.  For an appetizer we ate the rest of the fish and shrimp we had at Ruby Tuesday's. They actually made me a second one and I took it home because I said I didn't want parmesan cream sauce and they gave it to me anyway. We watch some TV and Jim went to bed first I went later. We decided to stay here for six days, through Christmas and get some more things done.

Rainy travel day

Rainy travel day, heavy at times. We left the Nashville KOA North headed towards Alabama. Traffic was heavy Nashville area and Birmingham, which we expected the rest of the driving wasn't bad.
We arrived at Walmart in Alabaster. We parked went inside to ask permission, they said no problem,  just park in the back. Walked around couldn't think of anything we needed so we went back out.
Jim leveled the fifth wheel as best he could while still staying hooked up. Then we tried to start the generator, which is in the bed of the truck. Our surge protector said faulty ground. Ok, now WHAT. By now we were starving  and there was a Ruby Tuesday's right next door ,  so we decided to go eat  and think about the situation .  He had a drink or two  wonderful meal  more money than we wanted to spend for our free site . So we made a second trip back into Walmart for some electrical supplies he said he needed. Came back out he worked some magic, went back into Walmart a third   time's a charm as they say he's amazing. And he fired it up again, Eureka it works. So we felt it was safe then to put our two slides out on the back side. I really wanted to cook something of course Too Late by then we had already eaten. Had the TV on tried to catch some weather. Talked to Tony and Sue charged everything back up, Jim went out and shut the generator down , went to bed around 10. Their time our time don't ask me which one.

Trolley Tour of Nashville

We woke up excited about our adventure for the day. I made us bacon egg and cheese sandwiches, we had our coffee and got ready for our adventure. Jim called for an Uber so we would be able to, as they say bar hop and he'd be happy. Our very first Uber ride arrived around 10:30. Takes about a good 20 minutes to get there he dropped us off.

We bought tickets for the trolley ride tour. The whole round trip ride has 15 stops, we rode a good half-hour and our first place we got off was Marathon Motor Works. They have a marathon car that was built before Ford there's eight left and there was four of them there, Ford Company put them out of business, here's some pictures.

A lot of cool gift shop areas it was a Hair Salon Spa in there all kinds of old tools, Jim love looking at, the machinery.

Jim also did a whiskey tasting there five different types of whiskey. Then we got back on the trolley and rode some more. We got off near the end and then went to eat lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. There were two guitar players in there, that is what brought us in, they were so good. The food wasn't bad either kind of pricey.

Then we did our bar hopping, I think Kid Rock's Bar  was the first one we went into and that place was hopping .

We went to the WildHorse, they taught a line dance there so we got to line dance a little,

there was another bar where a guy was playing Garth songs, called Big Shotz.

Then we went back to Kid Rock's Bar, different group was playing but it was really good.

Every place we went to the music was just incredible. By this time it was well after Dark,

we are die hard Survivor fans I realized it would be on in about an hour. So Jim called Uber, and it's amazing how fast somebody is there, they picked us up and we got home right before 8 I took a quick shower and a snack, Jim packed up some stuff outside because  we leave tomorrow and we watch Survivor and worked on the blog. Which ended one fabulous day in Nashville Tennessee.