Walking and Enjoying the Lake

 

Living with 30 amps is not what I like to do. As hot as it has been we need two AC’s going all the time…but on 30 amps there is no way.

We ran the bedroom air last night and turned the living room off. I put it as low as it would go and found out that it does get cold! I guess we could have hung meat in there last night. I have to been cool when I sleep…being the bear that I am requires cold temps to get me to sleep.

I really overslept this morning…it was 6:30 when I rolled out of bed! Yes I know that is late for this guy. We always try to get up early so we can enjoy as much of the day as we can squeeze out. This morning was no different…we had to have our coffee and then it was time for our walk. This park has the nicest trails to walk. They are all paved and wind their way around the entire park. We spent a big part of the morning walking all the trails and discovering the surrounding woods.

Where did everyone go? Man this place clears out fast on Sunday.

Some high dollar living across the lake from our site

This is our front yard. Not bad for a poor boy.

This is a real nice calm cove to launch the boat in. Maybe when we come back here I will have more time to do some boating.

We started off not too far from site #20 and headed off to see what there was to see. We saw many rabbits and squirrels and birds of every kind….lizards that Sherri would squeal “Snake”. No dear just a lizard. They do not have any attack snakes at this Lake. When you are on a paved path you can pretty well tell if there is a snake waiting to attack you. I don’t think that comforted her much but she did calm down some.

Early morning is about all the time you have to walk and enjoy the trails. Sherri and I both can’t wait until fall gets here and even winter will be nice here. Until then we will just have to put up with this hot weather.

Well tomorrow morning we hitch up and head to Mississippi. We have to be in Jackson on Tuesday. Sherri works there Wednesday and Thursday and the rest of the time we are off to see the sights. We want to go down the Natchez Trace and see what we can find. More on this adventure….

Somewhere in Time

Picking up the Trailer

I did not sleep soundly last night. Staying in a motel room is not my thing but it is a necessity this week due to the trailer being in the shop and Sherri working here in West Texas. It was about 6:30 when I heard Sherri get up and head to the shower. I was still tired but I knew I had to load the truck up and get ready for that 11:00 check out.

We got dressed and gathered up all the stuff that I would not need between then and the 11:00 check out time. I would have to stay in the room until Sherri returned from work and if it was after 11:00 then I would have to check out and wait in the lobby. I left some food and drink and the computer in the room and then I went down to eat some breakfast.

Sherri left at 7:00 and I came on back to the room. I watched some TV and played on the computer. I had a chance to look up some things and read some emails. I would like to take this time to thank all of you that comment on my journal each day. I enjoy writing my journal and it does me good to see that people do read it.

Sherri got back about 11:15 and we checked out of the motel. I called Explore USA to see how they were coming with our trailer and was told that they were replacing a drive motor on the bedroom entertainment slide and that it would take them about 4 hours to get it finished. Sherri and I decided to go eat lunch and then make a run through the mall. We might even catch a show at the cinema located in the mall. We drove from Decatur to Lewisville and went to Cristina’s Mexican Restaurant and had lunch. Then from there to the mall to look for me some more shorts.

After failing to find any shorts on sale we decided to walk down to the theater to see what was playing and found it to be closed up. I guess they are out of business or there are no shows left? Oh well by this time it was getting close to the trailer getting ready so we just left from there and went to the dealership to check on their progress. They had everything done but they had forgot to change out my dump switches in the service bay. We had to wait on that to get done and while waiting we just walked around and looked in some trailers.

View out our Arizona room side. That is the lake in the background.

View out the back window…nothing but forest…and lots of privacy

Side back view of the road we came in on. We have lots of shade here and good Verizon Air Card. Lucky to get a spot at all this late in the week.

They finished up about 4:30 and we were hooked up and on our way. We had stopped at Hickory Creek COE on the way to the mall and secured us a site. We were glad that we did that because by the time that  we got out of the service bay and arrived at the park they were just about full. We would have had to take the dregs if we had not pre-registered. Our site is #20 and it is OK…but it is only 30 amp! Oh me only one AC at a time here and we have to be careful not to overload. We are just inside the green so we will eek through this weekend and then we have to move on.

That is about it for today….

Somewhere in Time

The Adventure Continues

 We ate at the Texas Cafe next door to the Petrified Wood Gas Station. If your ever in Decatur this is located on Business 287. Prices are reasonable and the food is good.

Last night I was up and down with an upset stomach from eating 10 lbs of fried shrimp. I really was up and down but I did not eat 10 lbs of shrimp….close….but not quiet that much. Sherri too was not feeling good last night. We ate Chinese yesterday but I don’t think it was bad…I think we just ate too much. After the Chinese food we stopped and Braum’s and ate an ice cream cone. I had chocolate almond and Sherri had a hot fudge cone. OK maybe it was the fact that we gorged ourselves that made us sick??

We got up about 6:30 and got ready to go downstairs to eat breakfast. Sherri had to get ready for work and I just had to get ready for breakfast. We arrived at the buffet about 7:00. I had a waffle and Sherri had a bowl of cereal.

About 7:30 Sherri caught a ride with Rick and Becky and left the truck with me. I decided it would be a good time to get the oil changed so I looked up the nearest Dodge dealership and took the truck there. I got right in and in about 1 hour I had new oil…new air filter and a new fuel filter. I felt so clean!

Before leaving for the Dodge dealership I told the maid to please tidy up our room. Yesterday I just got fresh towels but today we needed trash emptied and more toilet paper. When I returned everything looked real spiffy.

Sherri just called me and she is finished at work and Becky and Rick are coming by to get me to go eat. I have already eaten but I will go and have some desert. Better get ready for their arrival…more later.

OK so I ate more than desert! Can I help it if these people are trying to make me obese!…Maybe more obese. We went to the Texas Cafe which is next door to the Petrified Wood Gas Station. Yes and I had to go back and take one last look at the cabins and their garages…HE HE I know I can’t get a car in them. I ate a salad and drank some water and I am about to pop. Tonight I will have to eat something light. We will see what tonight has to offer up…

Somewhere in Time

Decatur Adventure

The Texas Tourist Camp and Petrified Wood Gas Station stand like relics from that by-gone era on the east side of Decatur, an old Chisholm trail town.

This morning when I heard Sherri moving about I opened my eyes and wondered where in the world I was. I had forgotten that we were now in the motel room and not the RV. That is always a surprise when you wake up in a new place.

I got up and saw that Sherri was getting ready to head down stairs to the breakfast bar. We had planned on meeting some of the other employees down there and have breakfast before they all went to work. I hurried to get myself ready and then we both went down to eat. Rick and Becky were already there having their breakfast and we got ours and sat down to visit. Sherri works with the nicest group of folks you could ever meet and we enjoy eating and visiting with them all.

Soon it was time for Sherri to leave for work and we went back to the room to get her keys and then she was off for the day. I settled down to make a plan for the afternoon when Sherri would return. We also have to work in dinner and surely a Wally World run.

Don’t ever say that Speedy can’t find some adventure where ever he goes. While surfing the net I found this old gas station/RV park/cabins/restaurant. Back in the early 20’s this place was popping with the main highway going through here. People traveling from Ft Worth/Dallas to Wichita Falls and all points north and West would stop here for the night to gas up and eat and even rent a cabin for the night. All this came to and end in the early 60’s when the Interstates and the main roads all moved leaving the gas station and lunch house far off the beaten path. They say Bonnie and Clyde stayed here once…but didn’t they stay everywhere?? Well it could be you just never know being they ran all the back roads around this part of the country.

Yes this might have been “The Cabin” you just never know. Don’t you think the petrified wood on the outside just makes this place POP! And look the cabin has it’s own garage! WOW your own garage now that is worth renting this place!

Here is the garage…don’t think I could get my truck in there…

Through this gate past many a weary traveler looking for a place to lay down for the night. Behind the cabins was the camp ground. I don’t think I could pull my trailer in this way either. 

You know I pumped many a gallon of gas through pumps like this. Now they are on display…antiques? Notice all the petrified wood stuck on the outside of the gas station.

Now that Sherri she sure is a joker…Had me stand under this sign I didn’t think she would ever take the picture and all the cars slowing down to see what I was doing.

The town was originally called Taylorsville after The Mexican War Hero Gen. Zachary Taylor, but was changed in 1858 to honor Stephen Decatur… Revolutionary War naval hero. The town was platted by early settler Absalom Bishop who became a member of the Texas Legislature.

This is the county courthouse here. I have found that most all the county courthouses in Texas look alike. One would wonder if one guy came along and designed them all? Oh well we just enjoyed looking around this old town and you know something….it did not cost us one dime to look and we had fun doing it. Don’t tell me you have to have a lot of money to have adventures.

Anyone remember these days? If you do your my age and I know how old you are….

One of the buildings around the court house square.

There is so much old stuff around these towns. My goodness you could spend the rest of your life seeing memorabilia within a few miles of your own home. I am so glad the Sherri and I are having this opportunity to travel together and be paid to do it.

Tomorrow I think we will try to find some more sites to photograph. I have been looking for some stately homes in the area but none have come up…so we will just try to find some other adventurous places to visit. Until then I want you all to have a wonderful day…

Somewhere in Time

Arrived in Decatur Texas

This morning I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the roof of the RV. What a wonderful sound it was. We have been so hot and dry here…the rain will cool us off. Then my thoughts went to having to move today to the RV dealership to get our warranty work done. OH NO! I have to hook up in the rain.

Well as things would have it the rain stopped about an hour after I woke up and the cloud cover stayed around to keep the temps down…all is well here now.

We got everything loaded up and all the stuff packed away for the short trip. On top of the usual stuff that you pack away we had to pack all our clothes for the rest of the week. We will be staying in a motel and we need all our clothes and bath stuff.

The trip to the dealership was uneventful and we arrived there about 11:30 am. I checked in with the service department and they went over all the stuff we had to have fixed. Most all the items that we had to have work done on were items that were in need of repair the day we picked up the unit. Being that we live in our RV we made a list of things when we did the walk through and decided to wait to have them fixed after we had used it a while just in case we found some other items. This turned out to be the best idea because we did find some other things along the way that we added to that list and now we can have them all taken care of while we are in Decatur in the motel. I love it when a plan comes together. They should be through with all the work by Friday and that should allow us time to pick up the trailer and move to a new location the same day. We have no idea where that location will be now…but hopefully by Friday it will be revealed to us and we can head in that direction.

 

This is the view off our balcony here at the Comfort Inn. We are located where the West begins here in Texas. The high ground meets the low ground right here. Off in the distance is the low ground.

I am not sure what Sherri’s schedule is today. She may be working anywhere from 4 to 8 hours. She said that she would be calling me to let me know when she might be back home. If she is here early I plan on going on an adventure somewhere. Not sure what kind of adventures there are around here but I bet if I look deep enough on this computer I can find something.

Sherri is looking up her store she will be working at and also trying to find us a place to eat tonight.

OK I guess I better get to doing just that. The cleaning crew should be coming soon also to clean the room and I need to find somewhere to go until they finish. Sure not like staying in our own space. Hopefully there will be something to write about….

Somewhere in Time.

 

Hickory Creek Arrival

 I just could not bring myself to roll out of bed this morning. It was 6:30 and the sun was just starting show over the trees to the East. With one giant lunge I rolled myself out of the bed and on to the floor. Pulling myself up I made it down to the kitchen to make some coffee and then showered and dressed. This was going to be a moving day and I had to get my stuff together so I could pull out of here at least by 11:00 am.

Coffee was brewing and I was typing by 15 till 7 and all was well. Sherri was stirring shortly after I sat down at the computer so I saved my post and sat with her to visit and drink coffee. We had about an hour of time with each other before our little buddy came down the stairs and crawled up in my lap. He was ready for some hugs and chocolate milk. He got both and then I turned on the cartoon network and he was entertained for some time.

We messed around for a while ate some breakfast and then slowly  but surely started getting things put away and ready to travel. I headed outside and got all my moving prep done and then started to dump the tanks and stow the hoses and cords. I then backed up to the trailer and locked the hitch in place raised the landing gear and pulled the chocks.

Soon we were off and running down the highway. We made it to Hickory Creek in about 1 hour and 45 minutes. We have one of the best sites in this campground…site number 91. The view from this site is great and it has the “It” factor. If you ever stay here reserve site number 91…but don’t reserve it when I am going there…HE HE

My daughter arrived about 30 minutes after we got set up. Kris was so happy to see her and he was ready to go home. We will miss him in about a week…HE HE

After they left Sherri and I just sat down and looked at each other and then a big grin came over us and we commented how quite it was…GEEEE I could really get use to this. Sherri pulled her computer up to her and I laid back in my recliner and I think you could have heard my eyelids slam shut!!! Wow what a power nap!

OK it is about 6:41 and we are heading out to walk around the lake and take some pictures. I will be back soon and finish this post out

What a view out the back window…this is the “It” Spot…here at Lake Lewisville. We can put the boat in right behind the trailer.

The Arizona room provides a good view of the lake too. Sherri enjoys some alone time on her computer….no kids pushing the keys…

One more view out the Arizona room windows. Man I could stay here a while….too bad we have to leave Tuesday morning.

Pictures say 1000 words….so these should keep you busy until I return…

Somewhere in Time

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Laundry Day

Saturday morning the sun is already up and I am just climbing out of the bed. We are in Canton at the Mill Creek RV Ranch Resort. Really a nice place and the kids love it because of the playground and swimming pool.

Sarah goes home today and we have Kris one more day and then he goes home. Sherri and I will be getting a good rest next week…or I will be getting a rest Sherri has to work. She will only be working half days so she will be able to catch up on some of the things she has had to put off while keeping the kids. I will have to clean the the RV inside and out. With the kids here we have not been able to clean much.

The plan is to take Sarah home and then go out to the barn at the lake. I want to get the electric hooked up to the barn. I have to get it ready to park the RV out there. We hope to stay there some to save some money along. This will allow us to travel more if we can stay out there for a week or so and not pay rent and cut our diesel consumption in half.

We got the culvert in the ditch but it got hot too fast and I did not get to hook up the electric. We had Kris with us and he was not much help….if you know what I mean. He started pulling things out faster than we could put them up. Oh well we did get some things done and then it was time to get back to the AC at the park.

Today is also laundry day and believe me we have plenty to get washed. The kids go through a lot of clothes and towels. They have a nice laundry here so we packed it all up and went over there to get our wash done. Good thing we went when we did because it took us a good while to finish all that we had. While Sherri was washing I took Kris to the playground. Now he is fast and I was worn out very quickly chasing him around the jungle gym and swinging and then down the slide. This lasted for a while and then he wanted to go swimming so I had to take him to the trailer and get swim suits and then back to the pool. Where does all this energy come from? We swam while Sherri washed the clothes. The pool closed at 9:00 pm so Kris and I had to get out and go home to shower. Wow what a long day….Poppa is tired and Kris will not give it up. Finally he laid down with his Maw Maw and passed out.

Sherri and I had a little time to visit and then it was time for us to call it a night. We will be up early to get ready for our travel day. I will return for an update…

Somewhere in Time

Arrived In Canton Texas

The morning was calm after the storms last night. Today was a hitch up and move day. We are headed to Canton Texas. We will be staying at the Mill Creek Ranch Resort for two nights. On Sunday we go to Hickory Creek COE for two nights and then the trailer goes in for repairs on Tuesday morning.

We got off about 10:30 and the trip was uneventful except for all the potty stops we had to make along the way. When they found out that they could go to the potty in the trailer along the way they had to pee every few minutes. As things would have it we would be on the road for 15 hours for a 4 hour trip…This was not going to happen so I had to curtail some of the stops. We made the trip in 4 and a half hours and got parked with no problems.

This is a high end park at $35.00 to $5o.00. The only reason we are staying here is that we have a free night coupon we got several months back. This means we can stay here for $17.50 a night. This is not too bad but at full  price we would not even consider staying here.

After getting hooked up the first bit of business that had to be seen to was getting Kris and Sarah to the swimming pool. I did not swim but Sherri took them in and I watched. They enjoyed the pool and water fall. Kris is doing real well with his swimming.

When the dip was over we came home and got dressed for the run to Wally World. We needed to get a few things. While at the store Rodney and Becky called to let us know that they were on their way to Canton to meet up at the park. We finished our shopping and went back to the trailer. Shortly they arrived and we visited until almost 11:00 pm. We said our good-byes and told them that we would see them in the morning. I needed to get my culvert rolled into the ditch so the county could cover it next week while we are in West Texas.

Not much more to report for today’s adventure. I am sure there will be more to come…

Somewhere in Time

Zoo Day

No alarm this morning. Sherri did not have to go to work and we planned on sleeping in. Sure enough I slept in until 6:00 am…got up made coffee and slipped behind the computer to post before my little house guest woke up. Now you do remember that Sherri and Paris Hilton stayed at the motel last night so I did not have to worry about waking them up. My little buddy had got up during the night and wanted to sleep in the recliner which as a good grandparent I allowed and he laid sleeping behind me while I typed away.

If the slumber fairy allows it I will finish my post before he gets up. I did get the entire journal entry done less the pictures before the phone rang. It was Sherri wondering what time our day would begin. We planned on eating over at the motel breakfast bar that morning and she wanted me to know when it opened and when it closed. I told her that Kris “Was” sleeping but now the phone ringing had woke him up and that as soon as I could get him dressed we would be on the way to pick them up.

Kris and I both got dressed and made our way to the motel for breakfast. We went straight to the room to pick up the girls and then down to eat some waffles and whatever. After breakfast we went back to the room to gather up the girls stuff and back down to check out. During all this I picked up some brochures on the area attractions so that we could plan a day for the kids enjoyment. Sherri got checked out OK and we went back to the trailer to unload their bags and while there we decided to head to Monroe LA to see the Zoo.

Everyone got loaded into the truck and Sherri set the Garmin for the Monroe Zoo and we were off. It is about 22 miles to Monroe from the Park…we had to stop off at the Super-One to get some cash and then we hit Interstate 20 east. In no time we were navigating through Monroe towards the Zoo…one wrong turn correction later we were in the parking lot and unloading the kids. We got our tickets to include the boat tour of the zoo and we were off. We got there before the temps got too bad and the boat ride turned out to be the best part of the whole day. As soon as we got off the boat and started our walk around the temps climbed and we began to feel it. It was not too long into our site seeing adventure that we decided to vacate the zoo and find some place cool to eat at.

Sherri has worked in Monroe before and knew of a Chili’s near by so we made out way there down the Interstate. We ordered and had a wonderful lunch….as wonderful as one can be with a very active 3 year old boy bouncing around. Now at the restaurant all he wanted to see was the little toy airplane hanging from the ceiling in the next room over. Like a good grandparent I promised him if he would act nice I would take him in there to see it. Well he didn’t and I did. OH well what can I say?

Upon completion of our lunch it was time to head back to Ruston and the park for some down time. By this time it was close to 3:00 pm and Sherri and I were about spent. Not only on our strength but our pocket book too. Our budget never included this kind of entertainment or eating out. Friday will not get here fast enough for either of us.

Have you ever noticed when grandparents start wearing down due to the kids they get cranky. Not necessarily with the kids but with each other. Why is that? I wonder how many long-time marriages have been terminated by keeping grandchildren?

We made it home and the kids played inside the rest of the day. They watched cartoons…whoopee! while Sherri played on the computer and I tried to nap. Yes I had my eyes closed but not much sleeping was done.

That evening the storms moved in and we lost satellite signal so we decided to call it a night. By that time both the kids had just about used up all their child powers….which like the Energizer Bunny keeps going and going…and they pasted out before we could really get them to bed.

Sleep tight little ones and I will see you….

Somewhere in Time.

Kris Wants No Part Of The Motel

This was the last work day and therefore Sherri was eager to get it over with. We visited for a few minutes and then she was off to work. I posted my journal entry and pictures and then turned to reading some journals that I had fallen behind on. It was so good to catch up with my friends and what they were up to.

Since I have been watching the kids every day…I find myself further away from my computer and closer to the cartoon network. I told a group of Sherri’s friends the other night how nice it was to set down and have an adult conversation with people. Not having to tell someone not to do this and that and repeating it several times before it was acknowledged! Reminded me of being  back at work. This all will end soon and I will be able to return to a life of relaxation.

We spent all day yesterday inside…only a short period of time when I took Kris out to feed the ducks…that had found their way back to our patio for the morning meal. I guess once you feed them you have them every morning until you depart the premises. One hot dog bun and we had to close the soup kitchen…Kris wanted to  empty the cupboard out but I would not allow that.

We did get in another good nap about 4:00 pm and then Sherri returned home about 5:00. The house was mess to say the least. I had not had the time to clean anything with the two dragging out stuff faster than I could put it up. OK it can be cleaned later we had to plan dinner and pack up to stay at the motel. Yes Sarah had never stayed in a motel and she wanted us all to stay the night there just so she could tell everyone that she had stayed in one.

We ate at the Log Cabin again and once more the food was very good…service a little slow but food good. You know when you have little ones waiting on food and they are hungry…slow service is not an option. Kris twisted and turned and wanted to walk over and see the moose head mounted on the wall. OH please bring the food please!

Finally the food arrived and the day was saved. We ate and I took Kris over to see the moose head and all was well once more.

We took them then back to the motel to swim and spend the night. The swim went real good but when it was time to get ready for bed and spend the night there Kris would not have any part of that. No way…No how….No time was he going to stay in a motel room…He wanted to go back to the trailer and would not settle down until I took him back. So as things would have it I took Kris back to the trailer and Sherri and Paris Hilton stayed at the motel.

I got Kris to bed but he woke up about 4:00 in the morning and wanted to sleep down in the recliners. There was no way to calm him down except take him down to the recliner with his blanket and pillow. I had forgot what a simple life I use to have. Soon this will all pass and I will be longing for his return….

Somewhere in Time

Oh My Is It Friday Yet?

Sherri’s alarm was going off and I was trying to find it but she had it on her side of the bed. The whole time it was going off I kept thinking to myself….please don’t wake the children…please don’t wake the children. Why…you ask…I need a few minutes to drink my coffee and ease into the morning without my two buddies climbing all over me.

Lucky for me they slept right through it and I was able to make it down to the kitchen and put the coffee on and set down at the computer to post. Before my post I had to check on the availability for us to stay at Hickory Creek park on Sunday night and Monday night. We also have to make reservations at Mill Creek Ranch in Canton for Friday night and Saturday night so we can drop Sarah off in Wills Point. Mill Creek Ranch is located in Canton Texas and from what I can tell is a nice park. I will give you a complete run down on it come Sunday night.

We will be leaving Hickory Creek Tuesday morning and going to Explore USA to drop the trailer off for some warranty work. We have a door between the kitchen and the bathroom that has a broken keeper latch at the bottom. It was broke when we picked the trailer up in December of last year and it and a few other items had to be ordered and shipped to Denton’s repair facility. Those parts came in months ago but we have been on the road and unable to schedule any time to leave the trailer to get them replaced. Now that we will be going out west we can leave it there and we will stay in motels until Friday of next week when we can retrieve it and head east to Arkansas.

We have many places to go and see in the next three weeks. No moss will grow on us for some time. We were very fortunate to get site number 91 at Hickory Creek for Sunday night. It is a supreme site that you must try to reserve if you are staying there while in the Lewisville Lake area. It backs up on the lake and is in full shade most all of the day. It is a shame that we have only two days to stay there but I am sure that we will have the chance to reserve it for a longer period of time later in our adventures.

Yesterday was filled with feeding the ducks and riding around the lake with the kids. This is such a beautiful area to stay in. I love the kids but I can’t wait to stay here some day just Sherri and I.

Most of the day was spent indoors watching cartoons and then I was allowed to watch the History channel for a while. Kris finally laid down with me and took a nap! I slept too for about and hour and a half…Was that nice. Sarah played on the computer while we both slept. We ate some lunch and then watched more TV. Soon it was time for Maw Maw to return from work and we got ready to eat and go swimming at the motel pool. We stopped and ate at the Log Cabin Grill and Market on Hwy 33. We all had a salad with chicken and it was tasty. Then it was time to go swimming.

I did not swim but Sherri took the kids in and they had so much fun. Several of the people that work with her met us at the pool and we all visited while the kids swam. Two hours at the pool and we were ready to go home. We turned in shortly after our return to the trailer.

What an adventurous day this has been…I am sure it will all start over here shortly…I hear my little buddies rustling around in the next room. I need to brace myself for the fun and excitement that is about to spill into my life here….

Somewhere in Time