Thursday, April 9
We awoke to a cloudy and somewhat cooler morning, though it was still pleasant outside. After a breakfast of Mother's homemade quick breads, and fruit (banana, orange, apple, grapes, and strawberries), and getting ready for the day, I walked briskly for about 20 minutes around the campground, picking up large pinecones as I went.
At one point, I asked one of the campground staff what the weather prediction was for today, and he said it was supposed to start raining in about an hour. So we hurried around and broke camp.
It was a chore hooking the truck to the camper, because we'd been assigned a space that had a sharp downturn right where the truck and camper came together. Hubbie had to pry the truck off of the ball last night when he set the camper up. This morning, he had to drive the truck up onto some boards, in order to raise the front end enough to lower the back end, so he could, with my guidance, back the ball under the cup.
Hubbie complained about this at the registration desk, and was told that according to their computer information, this is the same space we'd used a few years ago, so they thought we'd want it again. But now they've flagged it as not suitable, so when we make reservations again, they'll assign us a flat site.
We were on the road around 9:30 a.m. At noon, we stopped at a rest area for a lunch of PB&J sandwiches. Here, the air was fragrant with "eau de cattle," since pastures of the bovines were close by.
About an hour before we reached Dallas, we began seeing small patches of Texas bluebonnets along the median and sides of the highway. By the time we reached the Dallas bypass, we were seeing large patches of these lovely periwinkle blue wildflowers, along with some very pretty pink flowers that I have not yet identified.
On the way, we passed a huge building, called the Villa Maria, which we supposed must be a resort. Also, a billboard declared that the "King Ranch is larger than the State of New Hampshire."
Nearing the Dallas bypass, we crossed an enormous lake, it's green water white-capping in the wind. The lake, called Lake Ray Hubbard, is enormous, covering 22,745 acres.
We managed to get on the bypass, and then onto Highway 45 to Corsicana, without incident, and arrived at the campground about 3 p.m. The temp was in the 80s by this time, and I can only imagine how this paved and white shale campground must be in the heat of the summer, with only one small tree per campsite for shade. In fact, while Texas is noted for its endless land mass, it is not noted for it's stately trees, at least not in this part of the state.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in leisure pursuits...Hubbie reading his novel, Mother working word games, and I recording the day's activities on my laptop. I was glad to find that this campground has WiFi, but I didn't access it, because I got a warning window that it is unsecure.
Supper was leftover meatloaf, with microwave baked potatoes, and no-salt English peas. Later, we played three games of Skipbo...I won two, and Hubbie won one. By this time, we were tired and ready to hit the hay.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Texas Trip, Day One
Texas Trip, Wednesday April 8
Left home about 9:30 a.m. The morning started out cool, but soon became sunny and warm, with the temp reaching into the 80s by mid-afternoon.
At one point, a flock of Canadian geese, white undersides and black-tipped wings shining, flew against the blue sky overhead, as a jet, too far away to hear, glinted in the sunlight, leaving a vapor trail streaming behind. Red clover, and yellow blackeyed Susans decorated the medians along the highway.
Mother had given Snoops a sedative before we left, which, instead of calming her and making her doze, just made her more hyper than ever. She frantically tried to chew her way out of the carrier, but she settled down finally.
At noon, about an hour away from Texarkana, we pulled into a vacant lot to have a lunch of deli turkey and baby Swiss cheese sandwiches, with lettuce, and Mother's homemade chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies for dessert.
We arrived at the Texarkana Koa about 2:30 p.m. After we set up camp, we went down State Line Road, which divides Texas and Arkansas, to the courthouse, where we did snapshots of us standing by a sign dividing the two states. A billboard along the way declares "Texas...so big, it takes up two states."
We also toured the war memorials near the courthouse. The memorial to World War I notes the names of the area's fallen, beneath which is a list of the "coloreds" lost in the war. At that time, segregation was obviously practiced even in listing their fallen heroes.
Back at camp, we visited the registration center, where there is an exhibit of RV art...paintings of campers through the years. At the gift shop, I bought a couple of postcards…one depicts a “Texas traffic jam” (a herd of longhorn cattle).
Hubbie drove the truck back to the campsite, but Mother and I walked. She stayed at camp, then, while Hubbie and I ran to the WDCS to buy tea bags and ice cream, among other things. We picked up a bunch of sweet potatoes at 30 cents a pound while we were there.
Back at camp, I heated the leftover stirfry and rice for supper. Then we relaxed…Mother and Hubbie read our state’s newspaper, while I wrote this trip narrative on my laptop. Then Mother and I went for a walk around the campground, after which we enjoyed the campground swings for a while as the evening cooled down.
Later, we played three games of Skipbo...I won two and Hubbie won one. Then we enjoyed banana splits, using the vanilla fat-free, sugar-free ice cream we picked up at the WDCS, with chocolate syrup drizzled on top.
After that, we were plenty ready for bed.
Left home about 9:30 a.m. The morning started out cool, but soon became sunny and warm, with the temp reaching into the 80s by mid-afternoon.
At one point, a flock of Canadian geese, white undersides and black-tipped wings shining, flew against the blue sky overhead, as a jet, too far away to hear, glinted in the sunlight, leaving a vapor trail streaming behind. Red clover, and yellow blackeyed Susans decorated the medians along the highway.
Mother had given Snoops a sedative before we left, which, instead of calming her and making her doze, just made her more hyper than ever. She frantically tried to chew her way out of the carrier, but she settled down finally.
At noon, about an hour away from Texarkana, we pulled into a vacant lot to have a lunch of deli turkey and baby Swiss cheese sandwiches, with lettuce, and Mother's homemade chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies for dessert.
We arrived at the Texarkana Koa about 2:30 p.m. After we set up camp, we went down State Line Road, which divides Texas and Arkansas, to the courthouse, where we did snapshots of us standing by a sign dividing the two states. A billboard along the way declares "Texas...so big, it takes up two states."
We also toured the war memorials near the courthouse. The memorial to World War I notes the names of the area's fallen, beneath which is a list of the "coloreds" lost in the war. At that time, segregation was obviously practiced even in listing their fallen heroes.
Back at camp, we visited the registration center, where there is an exhibit of RV art...paintings of campers through the years. At the gift shop, I bought a couple of postcards…one depicts a “Texas traffic jam” (a herd of longhorn cattle).
Hubbie drove the truck back to the campsite, but Mother and I walked. She stayed at camp, then, while Hubbie and I ran to the WDCS to buy tea bags and ice cream, among other things. We picked up a bunch of sweet potatoes at 30 cents a pound while we were there.
Back at camp, I heated the leftover stirfry and rice for supper. Then we relaxed…Mother and Hubbie read our state’s newspaper, while I wrote this trip narrative on my laptop. Then Mother and I went for a walk around the campground, after which we enjoyed the campground swings for a while as the evening cooled down.
Later, we played three games of Skipbo...I won two and Hubbie won one. Then we enjoyed banana splits, using the vanilla fat-free, sugar-free ice cream we picked up at the WDCS, with chocolate syrup drizzled on top.
After that, we were plenty ready for bed.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Tuesday, April 7
After sleeping late this morning, I had a cold cereal breakfast...a combination of puffed rice and puffed corn, with banana and milk, and a slice of wheat toast, with strawberry preserves. Then I hopped on the treadmill.
We didn't get a hard freeze last night after all, so Hubbie went out and gathered up all the old bedsheets and tarps that he'd covered the shrubs and flowers with. I'm glad the meteorologists missed the mark, because I feared for the strawberry crop. I'm a fiend for our local strawberries, which will be ready to pick in the next couple of weeks. I just can't get my fill of the luscious fruit while they are in season.
Once I was ready for the day, I continued gathering last minute items for the camper, while Hubbie ran errands. Around 11 a.m., Mother and I met our haircut appointments, where my hairdresser said her husband had an adventure yesterday.
Her husband, a Drug and Task Force agent, was attempting to apprehend someone for parole violation, when the person jumped in his truck. As he fled, the agent tried to shoot the truck tires, but the truck spun out, spraying gravel at the agent, who in falling to the ground, broke his right wrist, either on the patrol car as he went down, or on the ground when he hit it.
Now, the agent will be unable to work for 12 weeks, and since he can't use his right hand, he needs a lot of help with everyday living activities. I'm sure this is going to be an interesting experience both for the agent and my hairdresser. Thank goodness, though, the situation isn't worse. I'd be on pins and needles all the time, if I had a husband who worked in law enforcement. This incident was the top story in our local newspaper tonight.
After lunch, Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for a few items. While I was there, I picked up a carton of jewel boxes for the photo CDs I've recorded. The stack of 100 CDs that I got at the wholesale store is economical and convenient, except for storage.
For the rest of the afternoon, we did this and that related to the trip. Supper was stirfry and rice, which was very tasty. There's enough left to have for supper tomorrow night, too. Later, Hubbie and I spent our quiet hour in separate pursuits....he reading a new novel, and I writing this blog.
After that, we watched "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown," followed by last night's and tonight's episodes of "Dancing with the Stars."
We'll leave in the morning on our trip to Texas, although we are in no particular hurry, so we'll get up when we want to and leave at our leisure.
We didn't get a hard freeze last night after all, so Hubbie went out and gathered up all the old bedsheets and tarps that he'd covered the shrubs and flowers with. I'm glad the meteorologists missed the mark, because I feared for the strawberry crop. I'm a fiend for our local strawberries, which will be ready to pick in the next couple of weeks. I just can't get my fill of the luscious fruit while they are in season.
Once I was ready for the day, I continued gathering last minute items for the camper, while Hubbie ran errands. Around 11 a.m., Mother and I met our haircut appointments, where my hairdresser said her husband had an adventure yesterday.
Her husband, a Drug and Task Force agent, was attempting to apprehend someone for parole violation, when the person jumped in his truck. As he fled, the agent tried to shoot the truck tires, but the truck spun out, spraying gravel at the agent, who in falling to the ground, broke his right wrist, either on the patrol car as he went down, or on the ground when he hit it.
Now, the agent will be unable to work for 12 weeks, and since he can't use his right hand, he needs a lot of help with everyday living activities. I'm sure this is going to be an interesting experience both for the agent and my hairdresser. Thank goodness, though, the situation isn't worse. I'd be on pins and needles all the time, if I had a husband who worked in law enforcement. This incident was the top story in our local newspaper tonight.
After lunch, Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for a few items. While I was there, I picked up a carton of jewel boxes for the photo CDs I've recorded. The stack of 100 CDs that I got at the wholesale store is economical and convenient, except for storage.
For the rest of the afternoon, we did this and that related to the trip. Supper was stirfry and rice, which was very tasty. There's enough left to have for supper tomorrow night, too. Later, Hubbie and I spent our quiet hour in separate pursuits....he reading a new novel, and I writing this blog.
After that, we watched "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown," followed by last night's and tonight's episodes of "Dancing with the Stars."
We'll leave in the morning on our trip to Texas, although we are in no particular hurry, so we'll get up when we want to and leave at our leisure.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Monday, April 6
Br-r-r! It was windy-cold this morning when I went to water aerobics. I thought I was done with wearing a winter hat and gloves until next December, but I certainly wore them today! Thank goodness, the pool was moderately warm. And since only 18 of us showed up for the session this morning, there were parking spaces available in the lot closest to the gym.
When I got back home, Mother came over and put color in my hair, in anticipation of getting haircuts tomorrow. She was very surprised that I went swimming this morning. But since this was the only morning during the next couple of weeks that I could attend water aerobics, I braved the cold and went on.
I finally heard from my friend in Texas, who said she hadn't returned my call because she was on a weekend trip to Houston with a friend. I'd called her land line, because I didn't know her cell phone number, so she didn't get my message until last night. Anyway, we arranged to get together on Friday. So we'll leave here on Wednesday, stop overnight over the border of Texas, and then continue Thursday to the town where my friend lives. We'll camp overnight there, and meet her Friday.
We'll stay in that town Friday night, too, then move on to the town where Hubbie's aunt lives, and spend Saturday and Sunday visiting her. From there, we'll go to another town to visit my high school friend for a few days and tour the area before returning home by the same route.
Predictions are that we'll have a hard freeze tonight, but by Wednesday, the temp should climb back into the 70s. Today, though, Hubbie spent quite a bit of time covering budding and flowering plants and shrubs with old bed sheets to keep a killing frost off of them. I'm afraid, though, that flowering trees, like our dogwood, which is just now in bloom, will suffer.
Since the weather has been so atypical this spring, we've packed all sorts of clothing into the camper....from summery capris and short-sleeved blouses, to winter wear...hoping to cover every eventuality.
We've worked hard today to get stuff done for the trip. While Mother and I organized things at home, Hubbie ran errands....getting a haircut, stopping mail and newspaper delivery, going to the vet for meds for Shih Tzu and Snoops, etc. Shih Tzu needed another round of cough medicine, and Snoops needed a tranquilizer to keep her calm during travel.
I've alerted all organizations we belong to that we won't be attending meetings next week, and we've ordered extra prescription meds for Mother and me, to be picked up tomorrow. Also, tomorrow, we'll hire the two neighbor boys to come and feed the cats while we're gone, and ask all the neighbors to keep a watch on our house for any suspicious activity.
Getting ready for a trip is a lot of work, but preparing ahead makes life easier on the road.
This evening, we watched a movie, and then the NCAA championship game between Michigan State and North Carolina, which NC won handily.
When I got back home, Mother came over and put color in my hair, in anticipation of getting haircuts tomorrow. She was very surprised that I went swimming this morning. But since this was the only morning during the next couple of weeks that I could attend water aerobics, I braved the cold and went on.
I finally heard from my friend in Texas, who said she hadn't returned my call because she was on a weekend trip to Houston with a friend. I'd called her land line, because I didn't know her cell phone number, so she didn't get my message until last night. Anyway, we arranged to get together on Friday. So we'll leave here on Wednesday, stop overnight over the border of Texas, and then continue Thursday to the town where my friend lives. We'll camp overnight there, and meet her Friday.
We'll stay in that town Friday night, too, then move on to the town where Hubbie's aunt lives, and spend Saturday and Sunday visiting her. From there, we'll go to another town to visit my high school friend for a few days and tour the area before returning home by the same route.
Predictions are that we'll have a hard freeze tonight, but by Wednesday, the temp should climb back into the 70s. Today, though, Hubbie spent quite a bit of time covering budding and flowering plants and shrubs with old bed sheets to keep a killing frost off of them. I'm afraid, though, that flowering trees, like our dogwood, which is just now in bloom, will suffer.
Since the weather has been so atypical this spring, we've packed all sorts of clothing into the camper....from summery capris and short-sleeved blouses, to winter wear...hoping to cover every eventuality.
We've worked hard today to get stuff done for the trip. While Mother and I organized things at home, Hubbie ran errands....getting a haircut, stopping mail and newspaper delivery, going to the vet for meds for Shih Tzu and Snoops, etc. Shih Tzu needed another round of cough medicine, and Snoops needed a tranquilizer to keep her calm during travel.
I've alerted all organizations we belong to that we won't be attending meetings next week, and we've ordered extra prescription meds for Mother and me, to be picked up tomorrow. Also, tomorrow, we'll hire the two neighbor boys to come and feed the cats while we're gone, and ask all the neighbors to keep a watch on our house for any suspicious activity.
Getting ready for a trip is a lot of work, but preparing ahead makes life easier on the road.
This evening, we watched a movie, and then the NCAA championship game between Michigan State and North Carolina, which NC won handily.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
We were up around 7:30 this morning, but I skipped my treadmill session. Most of the morning was spent in getting things ready for the trip. Mother came over around 9 a.m. and put a pork roast with carrots and onions in the slow cooker. The roast was good with mashed potatoes and gravy, and individual cups of applesauce on the side. We wrapped the rest of the roast for the freezer to take with us on our trip.
After lunch, Mother and I went for a short stroll on a new walking path that runs along the creek. We didn't go very far, though, before discovering that a wooden bridge across a ditch has broken and collapsed. So we headed back to the car.
Before we could leave, a guy parked beside us backed his vehicle out, angling to the right...and down a sandy embankment. No matter how much he revved his motor, the back wheels on the vehicle spun but got no traction. So I backed our van up (straight back, not to the right, where the embankment is), after which the guy was able to turn his front wheels enough to get traction and climb out.
Since Mother wanted to walk a little more, we went over to the college walking path. It was a beautiful and sunny, though windy, afternoon for a stroll. I took the snapshots above while we were there. A Hispanic family were also on the path...a woman jogging while she listened to music, and her husband, who jogged while pushing a stroller with a toddler in it. I think we've met this family on the path before...last fall. They greeted us as though they remembered seeing us, too.
After we got back, Mother went home, and Hubbie and I occupied ourselves in various activities. I read the Sunday paper and programmed the DVR for the week's shows. Then I called Daughter for a chat. I also talked with Granddaughter, who said Great-Grandson is walking now, at 10 months old. She said he can also snap his fingers. I can't wait to see him do both.
I talked with my high school friend in Texas, too, to let her know we'll be seeing her in a few days. She's very excited about our visit.
I haven't been able to reach my other friend to let her know our plans. I've e-mailed, and called her and left messages, but she hasn't responded. Once when I called, I left a message with her husband, but got no response to that call, either. I'm getting worried about her. I hope she's not having problems.
This evening, Hubbie and I settled for deli turkey sandwiches for supper, with bowls of fresh fruit to follow. Then we watched TV, as usual.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)