Back on AFterwards

I made it to Lamb's Yacht Center around 4:00 this afternoon.  It was still over 80 degrees so I went over to Jacksonville NAS to see if I could store the RV on-base during the winter - no luck.  I'll have to look around town to find another location.  After dinner, I took a look at the boat.  The long hot, humid summer with out any tender loving care had a very big impact.  The outside was dirty and the inside was moldy.

It took me over an hour to clean out the refrigerator and transfer the food from the RV to the boat.  It took me another two hours to clean up my bedroom and bath.  Now its time to shower and get some sleep.  It's been a long day but a very good one.

Suwannee Valley Resort (28 - 30 Sept)

I got a fairly early start (7:30) and arrived here around 3:00 in the afternoon.  The resort is near I-10 and  just outside White Springs, FL.  The have a nice club house and pool area.  They even have a red-neck golf course.  The picture below show the third hole (stake), golf ball (tennis ball) and golf club (stick with flattened beer can).  You definitely have to be drinking to enjoy the experience.

They even have a bar next to the swimming pool and they serve dinner on Friday & Saturday nights and breakfast on Saturday & Sunday.  It's a very relaxing place to spend a few days.

The Rest of the Maxwell AFB Visit (26 & 27 Sept)

Spending time with Scott and Barbie was great.  They are wonderful hosts; lots of good food (BBQ, sushi and raw oysters) and drink.  Scott took me trap shooting with 12 gage shotguns.  We warmed up with a box of shells at a trap range (targets were launched from a single machine).  I think I broke only 3 or 4 out of about 20 targets.  Then we moved on to a skeet (targets were launched from two machines in different directions) range consisting of 12 shooting stations, 4 shots at each station.  I was amazed that I was able to hit some of the targets.  It was a lot of fun, but a 12 gage shotgun does have a little bit of a kick and my shoulder was sore by the end.

Maxwell AFB, AL - Day 1

Early to bed, early to rise and early to arrive at your destination.  I stopped for breakfast at Denny's around 8:30 and still made it to the Maxwell AFB gate by 2:00.  Then the fun began;  I took a tour of the base.  The directions to the RV camp weren't very clear.  The first two times stopped some one for directions I only got lost.  I finally ended up at the end of a dead-end road that led to the federal prison.   Luckily, the guard was very understanding and knew where the RV camp was.  I finally got the RV parked and setup around 3:30.  It started raining while I was working out at the base gym and it looks like the rain is going to continue for a while.  I'm beginning to think the rain is following me across the country.  Oh well, the rain makes a nice noise on the RV's roof and it lulls one to sleep.

Lakeside RV Park - Livingston, LA

I didn't get a very early start this morning, so I didn't get here until nearly 5:30.  I did make a little bit over 350 miles.  It was slow going.  Until I reached the TX/LA border, love bugs (what ever they are) were committing hair-kari on the windshield.  I had to stop every two hours to clean them off.  It was getting hard to see the traffic for the bugs.  It's about another 330 miles to Montgomery, AL; so I'm going to try to get an early start in the morning so I get there in the early afternoon.

The Rest of the Week

I had a great week visiting Carrie!!  However, each of the weekdays were very similar.  Get up around 6:30; make a pot of coffee then sit outside and read for an hour of so.  The have breakfast and run a few errands.  About 1:00, I would go over to Gold's Gym and work out.  Carrie and I would go out to eat each evening then go back to her apartment and chat while watching TV.  On Thursday night, the rain that was dumping on NM and CO finally reached College Station.  It rained buckets all day Friday.  On  Saturday and Sunday, we went out for breakfast and supper and goofed off in between.  In all there was not too much to write home about, but, for me, it was a very good week.

Aggieland RV Park - Day 1

BBQ --- Steak  Such a big decision.  Well the BBQ was closed on Sunday and Mondays; so the winner was Sodolask's Beefmasters.  When I looked at the menu it listed a 14-16 oz sirloin for $12.99 then a small sirloin for $18, a medium sirloin for $24 and a large sirloin for $32.  I asked what a small sirloin was??  She replied it was about 32 oz.  I didn't have the courage to ask how big the large was.  And I thought the steak was better that the one at the Big Texan.  I also have to comment on their special appetizer for those of you who enjoy a healthy diet.  You need to try an order of chicken fried bacon.  It's to die for and after an order, your arteries may want to clog up and let you.

Some of you who have been following my blogs may wonder if all I ever think about is food.  The answer is almost yes.  There are a few other things, but I forget what they were.

Traders Village - Dallas, TX

It's been a great three days in the DFW area with Laura.  She lives in a great location - lots of very good eateries within walking distance.  We had Mexican on Thursday evening, BBQ on Friday, Italian on Saturday and all-American on Sunday.  The breakfasts were also just as good.  On Friday we went to see "We're the Millers" at the Inwood Theater.  A truly great place to watch a movie; couch like seating and you could even buy a beer at the concession.  Laura and I went to a very big RV show in Dallas today.  Looked at the 26HE Winnebago Vista, 26HE Itasca Sunstar and 31UL Jayco Precept.  The Jayco was on sale for ~$85K.  Both Laura and I agreed it was the best of the lot by far.  Laura really liked the 40" exterior TV and the 8 cu. Ft. refrigerator.  I'm staying the Traders Village RV park.  In the afternoon we went to the Traders Village flee market.  It's advertised as the largest flee market in Texas.  We walked around for 1.5 hours and saw about a third of it.  I bought a 1600 thread count, 100% Egyptian Cotton, Twin sheet set for $15.  I think it was hot off the truck.  I paid $45 for the same brand at the BX on Kirtland AFB.  Here are a few pictures.  The first is looking down just one of 6 streets running N/S.  There are also over 10 running E/W

You can find almost anything from tacky dresses, car hoods & tires, motor scooters, saddles, bullet proof vest, skin tight jeans to show off your rear end and even a large statue of Jesus.  Of course you can also get the all the usual tools and other misc. junk.

And finally, today, we relaxed after breakfast and watched some television.

Decatur, TX

Traveling across west Texas is truly miles and miles of miles and miles.  About the only break were the rest stops.  Texas does have excellent rest stops!!  I did get a much earlier start today, but not too early - 8:30.  Because of the early start I arrived at the Wildwood resort in Decatur around 2:30.  It's a little off the beaten path, but well worth the drive.  I spent a couple of hours laying around the pool, reading and talking with the other residents.  Yes, I did wear a hat and slathered myself with suntan lotion.  The resort had two pools and both had volleyball nets.  From what the residents told me, water volleyball is a very popular activity on the weekend.  There is a 5-Km trail in the area so I'm going to try a run in the morning before heading into the DFW area.  Here are a few pictures of the resort and the trail.

Small Pool

Large Pool

Office and Community Center

5-Km Trail

5-Km Trail

Amarillo

It was a bit hectic this morning trying to get all of the last minute packing done and I had a problem with the supplemental breaking system in the Honda.  I had to take it by the dealer for some quick trouble shooting.  Once again it was operator error;  I didn't push the breakaway cable far enough into the receptacle.  I finally left town around 11:30.  After that it was an easy drive to Amarillo.  I arrived at 5:30 and went out to the Big Texan for a steak - not the 72 oz. one.  The steak wasn't bad but it wasn't the best I've ever had.  Well it's nearly 10:00 pm and the bed is calling.  TTFN