The Final Leg – 2010

Thursday’s trip from Denton to Carthage was under sunny skies with a rare, very brisk tailwind. The only unexpected event was the Oklahoma tolls have increased so we spent $32.50 to get from Oklahoma City to Missouri.

Upon arriving at our dealer, we checked in with service and plan to have the coach there at 8 a.m. Friday morning.

Once settled in the park, we walked The Girls and marinated a big rib eye steak we had bought at Fischer’s Meat Market in Muenster earlier this week. It was awesome.

Friday we drop the coach off at eight and head to breakfast. Before our food arrived, the service manager calls to say it will take about 15 minutes to fix the slide and we won’t need the $300 part he had ordered (just in case). Love that service! We relaxed the remainder of the day and enjoyed the cool fall weather.
One last Mexican dinner at Cabo del Sol in Joplin since we enjoyed it so much just a couple of weeks ago. This will probably be our last Mexican food until we go west again.

On the road early Saturday heading east into the rising sun and Jim says “Guess it’s time to go home; we only have two more coffee filters.” We are starting to see faint fall colors as we cross Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky. Tonight we will stay in Clarksville, Tennessee at a park we have been to many times. It is easy in and easy out.

Cutting our trip short by a couple of weeks seemed the prudent thing to do. The Girls have done really well, but we can tell each day is getting a little harder for them. Thelma is having trouble negating the stairs because of her arthritis. And Louise’s congestive heart failure, now two years since diagnosed, has progressed. We are just happy we were able to do as much as we have and taken them back out on the road.

There is a definite chill in the air Sunday morning as we leave northern Tennessee. It wasn’t long, somewhere between Nashville and Chattanooga, before it starts to rain and continues through Atlanta and well after we pass Macon. The entire world seems to be on I-75 and the weather is awful. But, it’s the visibility is much better sitting up high in the RV to see traffic.

We’ve decided to stop for the day just south of Perry at a nice little park we have stayed at before and the rain continues. Another easy in – easy out place to spend the night.

Monday is our final day for our 2010 trip. It rains all the way to Florida I-10. Moments later Jim utters “Oh no” as the love bugs start hitting the windshield. After two days of pounding rain, the windshield was squeaky clean. Where’s the rain when you need it?

The trip took us over 3,000 miles in six weeks and we have observed that the economy, as seen from the RVer’s point of view, is not all that bad. Our dealer’s sales are up, the RV parks where we stayed were full, and the restaurants were crowded and fuel stops busy.

It was good to get back on the road after spending last summer in Naples. But it has been a bittersweet trip because we feel it is the last trip for the four of us.

Chapter Ten of our 2010 Trip

Denton, TX Sunday Sep 18th to Sep 23rd

Saturday morning we were up early for our trip to Dallas Destiny RV Park near Denton where our friends, King and Cathy live. They are retired full-time RV’ers and have just built a home. The morning was foggy so we took it easy on all those two lane country roads.

All was going fine as Jim maneuvered around curves and up and down the hills. Then, one of those noises you don’t want to hear – things crashing and breaking. Evidently I (Sheryl) missed checking the latch on the refrig and all the top shelf was on the floor, pickled jalapeno peppers, beer and broken glass. We smell like a cheap bar. Thank goodness for microfiber clothes and a roll of paper towels.

When we arrive in Denton at started to get settled we discovered that our headboard slide would not extend so we were relegated to a very small bedroom. The good news is we could retrieve clothes from the closet and only one cupboard was blocked. Neither of today’s oops could daunt us, so in our traditional fashion we are out to dinner at a local Denton restaurant which was outstanding.

Sunday: This morning we met King and Cathy at their beautiful new home and enjoy a wonderful brunch at their club at Robson Ranch. Back to the coach to tend to The Girls and then we head for Dallas to tour the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza where the assassination of JFK is chronicled. Then a tour of downtown and we are ready for a quiet evening.

Monday: First thing was to telephone all the mobile RV repair people to set up an appointment – no luck they were either out of town or too busy. Jim even drove over to Buddy Gregg’s as they are a new Newmar dealer, but all of their technicians had gone to another dealer as a result of a new owner taking the dealership. A call to Coachlight, our dealer in Carthage, Missouri, cinched our plans; we will return to them as no one in the Dallas area could do the job.

This evening we are back at King and Cathy’s for dinner with them and their neighbors. Dinner was a collaboration between King and Sheryl. The Girls got to go so we were able to spend a relaxed evening together.

Tuesday: Muenster, Texas was today’s destination. It is a small town north of Dallas where we found Fischer’s Meat Market featuring many German foods and beverages. They have been there since 1927. The highlight was the Glockenspiel and we arrived exactly at 10 a.m. to watch and listen.

Wednesday: Today’s destination is Fort Worth. Our first event was the 11:30 a.m. cattle drive right down the brick main street. We’ve never seen such big horns before. There was a laughing horse and a big steer complete with saddle you could sit on for $5. After a little shopping, we headed to Joe T. Garcia’s to meet RV friends who live in Fort Worth and are our neighbors in Breckenridge. Garcia’s is a must when visiting the area and it was suggested we order ‘family style’. We had plenty of good Mexican food to last us the rest of the day. It was fun to see Bill and Sue since we haven’t been to Breckenridge since 2008.

The Girls stayed at the American Pet Spa while we were in Fort Worth. They had their own color television, walks in the garden and, if they had wanted, there are two salt water pools for their enjoyment. It was a beautiful place with horses, rabbits, birds; you name it and I think at least one was being boarded.

Back to the coach, hook up the tow and plan to head north through Oklahoma City tomorrow morning.

Chapter Nine of our 2010 Trip

Blue Eye, AR
Sunday Sep 12th to Sep 18th

The drive from Carthage to Outdoor Resorts of the Ozarks only took a couple of hours. We went through Springfield and just south of Branson we turned onto a two lane county road with 20 mph hairpin turns and a bridge just wide enough for two cars. If a truck was approaching us, our mirrors could crash if we were too close. It reminded us of the bridge over the Mississippi at Cairo. Fortunately nothing was coming our way. We went through the town of Blue Eye, population 36, and finally saw a sign for the resort, what a relief to know we were on the right road.

Outdoor Resorts is a secluded place for us to relax and explore northern Arkansas, a place we haven’t been before. Only 32 miles north is Branson with all of its restaurants and attractions. We are using one of our dealer’s three lots right on the lake, it’s a beautiful setting. This must be the off season because only about one-third of the park has motorhomes.

Monday we drove to Berryville and Green Forest, AR in search of an alternate route when we leave on Saturday. Anything is better than crossing that damn bridge again. The road is actually better to Green Forest so we will go that way to Dallas, and the best thing, it shortens our trip by three miles. And that’s a half a gallon of fuel, so the saving is $1.46.

Tuesday found us meeting our good friends who live and work in Branson. Jason is an entertainer and has a show every night from 7 to 9 pm, meeting for dinner is out. So, mid-way between us is the Big Cedar Lodge where we met for lunch. It’s an historic lodge and only 411 miles from Des Moines. Can you believe it; Sheryl had the chicken livers with mashed potatoes and gravy as an appetizer. The only problem was that it didn’t have bacon. Trish suggested the Smoked Trout with horseradish sauce; she has been there before and knows how good it is. Jim played poker this evening at the clubhouse; he lost $5, but wasn’t the first one out.

Wednesday we were on the road to Eureka Springs. It’s a Victorian village that had a reputation for its healing springs. So, in the 1870’s it became a destination for people seeking good health and was frequented by people from Chicago and St. Louis who built their summer homes here (they didn’t have RVs then). So, it was a tourist trap then and nothing has changed. We visited the Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railway depot but did not ride the dinner train. The fare was $13 and another $35 for "Chicken Eurekan". We didn’t want to find out what that was.

On the way back to Outdoor Resorts, we stopped in Berryville to get some groceries as stores are few and far. Berryville is the biggest town in the vicinity with a large Tyson facility. In the countryside we had noticed many chicken houses with a small Tyson sign and now we know why. After lunch we took a short ride to Permission Hill which had been recommended to us. They grow all kinds of berries and shitake mushrooms. They had just picked a tray of mushrooms so we had to buy some. Their blueberries are as big as marbles and very good.

Thursday was a quiet day to catch up on office and home things. Jim had to make a trip to Home Depot in Branson to get a microwave light. He could have gotten into a ton of trouble as all his favorite stores were conveniently clustered for easy shopping.

Friday our friends from Branson came down for lunch and meet The Girls. We had a picnic lunch overlooking the lake and continued to catch up. It was great to have more time with them. The park had a wine and cheese get together at 5:00 p.m. and there was a small crowd. It actually turned out to be dinner as they had all kinds of food.

Chapter Eight of our 2010 Journey

Carthage, MO
Tuesday Sep 7th to Sep 12th

We have been here for a week and are still trying to find out why people in Missouri pronounce it Missour-AH. We have another week to figure that out.

As we arrived, the tornado warnings flashed across our TV. Sheryl immediately took a shower and changed into her Chico’s night ware; she wanted to look good if we had to go to the shelter. Okay, false alarm, all is fine and so is Sheryl.

The coach went into the service bay at 8 am sharp Wednesday. There were four items but the main issue was that the front two AC units did not have the air flow that the rear unit had. We took the dogs to the Vet to board for the day and were off to find a few things. Had lunch and were back to the dealer mid-afternoon and, to our surprise, the coach is back at our site, all hooked up. We had an unexpected and pleasant surprise, our manufacturer, Newmar Corp, covered the cost to fix the AC even though we are out of warranty.

We planned to be here three days for service but everything is done. This is why we have a dealer 1,000 miles from Naples. They did such a good job on the AC that I had to buy Sheryl two sweaters.

While having dinner with friends, they told us that Bonnie and Clyde’s hideout was close by, so after dinner on the way back to our coach, we went by their house. They rented this stone garage apartment in April of 1933 and their stay resulted in a shootout where two police officers were killed. The current owners rent it for $100 per night.

We always like to go to Carthage’s historic town square; something is always happening and today was no exception. The Model T “Hillbilly Tour” was visiting the Civil War Museum. The square was full of these great old cars. The owners were having a good time and were so friendly. One couple had a back seat and said, if we could get in, we were welcome. After careful consideration, we passed or we might still be touring with them.

The Girls got groomed so they’ll be looking good and all set for the remainder of the trip. The motorhome lifestyle seems to really agree with them.

Last night we decided to have an early dinner and decided on a new restaurant in Joplin. We actually thought we wouldn’t get our Mexican-food fix until we hit Dallas. Surprise, Cabo del Sol was wonderful and Sheryl has a leftover box in the refrigerator to look forward to having.

Chapter Seven of our 2010 Journey

St. Louis, MO (Part II)
Sunday Aug 29th to Sep 7th

The primary reason for our visit to St. Louis was to attend the National Narrow Gauge Model Railroad Convention which was held in St. Charles. In addition to the normal educational and informational clinics, there was a ballroom full of over 200 manufacturers and dealers with all their tools, kits and new products for the Holiday season.

Every afternoon was open to drive to local model railroader’s homes and check out their layouts. This was particularly fun as we met up with friends from Cape Coral. We all came away with new ideas. Friday afternoon was particularly exciting as we were headed to a local manufacturing company, Micro Engineering, to see how they make tracks, switches, and bridges.

One of those afternoons while visiting homes, we stopped for fuel only to have our car battery die. The car isn't even two years old. After much aggravation with roadside assistance person (mostly non-assistance), we got the very nice store clerk to jump the battery and we were off to buy a new battery which took all of five minutes.

We are comfortably parked at one of our favorite RV parks and just ten minutes from the convention location. In the many years that we have stayed at this park, this was the first time we unhooked the car and got acquainted with the area. St. Charles is a charming, historic town situated on the Missouri River. It is Victorian with a cobblestone Main Street lined with restaurants and shops and a beautiful old depot and park along the river bank. This area is all about Lewis and Clark and their expedition.

Tuesday is on the road, Historic Route 66, heading to our dealer, CoachLight RV, in Carthage, Missouri where we have a very short list of things to be checked out or repaired on the RV. While here, we’ll catch up with friends who have retired from motor homing and live a few miles south on a big farm.

Installment Six of our 2010 Journey

We prefer to travel on Sundays as the traffic through big cities is usually lighter. Also departing at 7 am finds little or no wind and this morning found a beautiful sunrise. The drive to St. Louis took us seven hours including fuel and rest stops for us and The Girls.

Instead of going through Indianapolis as our mapping program directed, we went through Louisville on I-64 which is a lot smoother road than I-70. It’s worth driving the fifteen extra miles. We arrived at our RV Resort in St. Charles, MO early afternoon just in time for a nap, another reason for leaving early. It is very nice to be in a park that has all concrete and grass.

We did the typical tourist things like visiting the Arch. As we entered the underground visitor’s center, we had to go through metal detectors, just like at the airport. Five security staff made us take everything out of our pockets and place it in a plastic tub, as if we were taking a flight. We then went through the metal detector. Jim made it through fine but Sheryl’s titanium hip set the alarms off. A few more security people arrived, and after an explanation, all was fine. The good thing is that they didn’t strip search her and we didn’t take our shoes off. But, Sheryl asked that they scan the hip again because she liked the sound of her great new hip! Think of the cost to keep this National Monument safe. There are two entrances so double the number of security people standing around, our estimate there are about thirty.

Once inside the visitor’s center, we went through the Westward Expansion Museum, we were impressed and it would have been easy to go around another time. Click on the picture to see the slide show.



The best thing about the whole “arch” experience was that we discovered St. Louis got the idea from McDonalds.

Episode Five of our 2010 Journey

Cincinnati, OH
Friday Aug 20th to Aug 29th

We arrived one day early just so Jim could relive the summer heat in the Ohio Valley that he remembers growing up. We pulled into Indian Springs Campground, a park that we have come to for ten years. It’s a comfortable setting on a lake located on State Line Road between Indiana and Ohio. We settled in and had a relaxing dinner.

Saturday - Since we have been on the road a week household tasks are in order. Sheryl did laundry and cleaned so Jim got out of her way and went shopping. Afterwards we went to Evergreen Cemetery to research some of Jim’s ancestors and had lunch at Dixie Chile. It is probably the foremost “Cincinnati Chili” parlor in Northern KY, check it out at: http://www.dixiechili.com/

Sunday – It was another research day, even though the weather was hot and humid, we visited the cemetery where Jim’s paternal ancestors are buried. The graves of everyone but his grandparents were located so we’ll have to return during the week when the office will be open.

Next, the neighborhood where Jim's father grew up and where three maiden aunts and a bachelor uncle lived together from about 1910 to the late 1960’s. The house has been maintained and is in good condition. There were people sitting on the porch so Jim explained why he wanted to take a picture. They were extremely interested in what Jim had to say and ask about events in the house because they said the house haunted. They invited Jim in, but he declined.

Our dinner plans are with college friends and wives at the Hofbrauhaus in Newport, KY. It is a fun place and we had a very entertaining and attentive waiter.

Monday is a trip with friends from Fort Myers who summer upriver in Ohio. The destination is EnterTRAINment – a rail enthusiasts dream. And, the good news, it is indoors under a/c. Check out our photos of this interesting place at our Photo web site: http://albums.phanfare.com/slideshow.aspx?i=1&db=1&pw=855jAb9I&a_id=4804136


Tuesday we go to Mariemont, and have lunch at the Inn with clients. This village is so charming and has an interesting history. It was the vision of Mary Emery and is Tudor in style. This evening we are home for dinner and decide on pizza; the special was a large one for less money than the medium one. You guessed it – large for us. It was more than we could manage so Sheryl took half to the couple across from us who are from North Fort Meyers and invites them for cocktails Wednesday. It is great to make new friends!

Today, Wednesday we are off to Louisville to have lunch with two couples we met in the 1970’s when Jim joined the model railroad club and was starting to build his layout in our basement. We had a wonderful time catching up and Sheryl missed the Hot Browns. Have you noticed yet, trains and eating seem to be a common theme?

Thursday is cemetery searching again and this time we are joined by Jim’s cousin and her husband who have driven almost two hours to met us. After finding the gravesites, we are headed to Dixie Chili for our second time this visit. This evening finds us at a small café in Bellevue, Kentucky to have dinner with high school friends. The weather has turned more like fall so we opt to sit outside.

Friday we are on the road in the Explorer headed toward Lexington, Kentucky to another charming town, Midway. We had lunch with college football teammates and their wives. It was a sizeable group in more than just the number of us.

Saturday and our time in Cincinnati is coming to an end, but before we depart, we are off to Mason, Ohio for lunch with Jim’s cousins. We had a great time and vow to get together more than every 20 years. We are back at the motorhome in time to have farewell cocktails with our new friends from North Fort Meyers.

Sunday morning we are awake early and on the road at 7:00 a.m. for our drive to St. Louis and more trains and food.