Bastrop, Texas

Sunday, November 08, 2009 – to Bastrop , Texas

Heading south on I-35, we stopped for gas at the Flying J - $2.42 a gallon. The rest of the trip was on Rt. 77 south – all nice, rural Texas highways. We saw long horned cattle in the fields and a huge pecan grove.

Bastrop was founded in 1837 and Main St is on the Colorado River! We’re camping at Bastrop State Park and using our new Bluebonnet State Park Passes. We have full hookup at our pull-thru site. This park has a nine hole golf course and a huge swimming pool. It rained this afternoon and so we just stayed in and took it easy.

Monday, November 09, 2009 – Bastrop, TX- nice day in the 60’s

Don treated us out to breakfast this morning. The historic downtown area has a cute, old place called “Maxine’s on Main “. I had my first breakfast taco since last winter and Don had the special – eggs, sausage, toast & potato fries -$3.99. Our waitress was young and very nice.

We found the new Best Buy and Don bought a small TV so that we can see the news, but the antenna wouldn’t pick up the signal here in the park.

The Bastrop Library is new and very inviting. We spent time on-line – catching up.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 – Bastrop, TX

A beautiful day – high 76 degrees. Bastrop State Park was built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) back in 1936 as part of FDR’s recovery plan from the Great Depression. They built the cabins using local red sandstone rock and hand crafted much of the furniture that is still in use today. You can rent these rustic, but timeless cabins. I enjoyed walking around and taking photos of them. We drove the perimeter of the 3,550 acres thinking about the young men that built it without modern machinery. Amazing!

We took the small TV back to Best Buy for a refund – and then made a short trip to Wal-Mart.

We noticed lots of cars (mostly trucks here in Texas) at the Roadhouse Hamburger eatery and thought we’d give it a try for lunch. The food was very good and as “everything’s bigger in Texas” – we should have split one.

We walked off some of it by touring the Old Town Main St.. Lock Drug is an 19^th century – still operating – drug store and has an old fashioned ice cream parlor. I also took photos of along the Main St. and we bought apple fritters at the bakery. A very enjoyable town.

Waco , part 2

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Friday, November 06, 2009 – Waco – sunny with a light breeze

By looking at the Corps of Engineers map, I figure that Waco Lake is about 13 miles long. This lake has many parks and 3 of them with camping.

The Chisholm Trail went through Waco and the original suspension bridge (for cattle) over the Brazos River is still in use as a foot bridge.

We are very impressed and will certainly stop here again.

I got out the turkey roaster and am cooking pork ribs. Doing it outside, keeps the RV cool and I’m “cooking out”. I made a pizza for lunch in the convection oven.

We toured the Dr. Pepper Museum in downtown Waco in the afternoon. The museum is in the original 1906 bottling plant. Dr. Pepper soda was invented here in Waco back in 1885. Rating - Just an OK museum.

Saturday, November 07, 2009 – Waco, TX – another nice day.

This is our last day here – and it’s been a wonderful week. We found a real Barber Shop for Don’s haircut this morning. Then it was back to Sam’s Club for more shopping – there won’t be another Sam’s until we’re in the Valley.

We had lunch at Jason’s Deli – one of our favorite chain restaurants. Their sandwiches are almost ( but not quite) as big as Slick’s in Schenectady.

Back to the lake after lunch – to soak up some sun – and get a head start on packing up for tomorrow. My parsley, rosemary and geranium plants were happy to be outside this week – but back in the car (greenhouse) they go. God gave us a beautiful last evening send-off sunset.

Waco, Texas

2009-11 – Travel Journal

Sunday, November 01, 2009 – sunny, beautiful

We left Canton, TX this morning and headed west on Rt. 20 to Dallas – then south on I35E – to Waco, TX.

As we traveled, we saw a fox hunting along side the road – and much more agriculture in this fertile area. After several attempts - we finally found the Corps of Engineers Park – Airport Park – on Lake Waco. Don and I agree that this is the most beautiful campsite we have ever had. It’s lake front, with a covered shelter, a pull through site with water and electric. It’s so peaceful and quiet and beautiful here. 

The peace and quiet ended when Don spilled a half glass of red wine into his computer. I was blamed for putting the computer where it was – and the computer is ruined.

Monday, November 02, 2009 – sunny, warm, beautiful

In the low 80’s today. When we woke up – the electric didn’t work! No hot water or furnace – half the motor home was dead. No showers – bummer. I could make the coffee and we had cold cereal for breakfast. Then Don got to work and found the relay switch – outside – in back of the compressor (which he had to remove) – and voila – we now have electric! He also switched the wires around on the TV so that we can use the DVD’s. We don’t have any TV here, but we watched the original “Oklahoma” this morning!

In the car – we turned on the GPS and went to Burger King for lunch. Then to Best Buy and where Don bought a new Sony Microsoft 7 laptop computer. Next stop was the Laundry Mat – where I caught up on my pile of sheets, towels & clothes.

Back home to Waco Lake – we had to put on the air conditioning for a while. The sun is setting over the lake, as I write this. It’s much cooler and time to cook supper.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009 – Lake Waco – another lovely day.

I’m adjusted to the new time change and waking up just before 7am. Our little piece of Lake front property is so nice that we decided to extend our stay until Sunday. At only $10.00 a night – it’s the best of the best!

On the recommendation of the campground hosts, we went to Zeb’s for lunch. We split a very tasty hamburger and enjoyed their homemade potato fries.

We toured the Texas Ranger Museum – a history of the Texas Rangers. The Texas Rangers date back to 1823 – with 10 original men under the leadership of Steve Austin. We saw a 40 minute history film and Don enjoyed seeing all the guns.

We shopped at HEB – it’s good to be back in Texas and shopping at the HEB grocery store that has wine!

Wednesday, November 04, 2009 – Lake Waco

After all the rain that they have had here lately – this is a perfect Waco Week. Don just wanted a “day off” to enjoy our campsite, so we didn’t go any where. There’s plenty of sunshine, quiet and no wind – an amazing combination. In the morning, I did some ironing and cooked up the fresh cauliflower. I started reading “Audition” a Barbara Walters Memoir and I’m really enjoying it. No Wi-Fi – no TV – no problem!

Thursday, November 05, 2009 – another beautiful day in Waco.

Today we did some sight seeing. We wanted to find a Library for internet access.The first one that we went to - had moved. We found the next one in the old downtown section – a very 50’s design. The whole internet access was difficult and not much was accomplished.

By then it was lunch time and we went to McDonalds. The “dollar” menu is a great savings.

We toured Baylor University. Baylor is the oldest university in the state and the largest Baptist University in the world. I wanted to see the Armstrong Browning Library which has 59 stained glass windows and the largest collection of Robert Browning’s works. As we entered the second floor, we heard classical music being played by the students in the Meditation Room. The acoustics were marvelous in that room with such a high and rounded ceiling. Here’s photos from the Browning Library:

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The Mayborn Museum was our next stop on campus. It’s a Natural History museum and geared toward teaching. One side is just for little children – the other for more advanced learning. I bought a “frog” – 9 piece puzzle in the gift shop. Here’s photos from the Mayborn: 

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We went to Sam’s Club and bought a cooked chicken for supper. Maureen called and told us about the shootings at Fort Hood, which is only 60 miles from Waco. A terrible tragedy.

Canton, Texas- First Monday Trade Days

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 – sunny!! Leaving Little Rock

It was such a treat to have it stop raining. We hooked up and left after breakfast – heading west on I-30. We passed by Hot Springs and commented that we both like Hot Springs better than Little Rock. We passed by Hope – the birthplace of President Clinton. We stopped for gas at the Flying J in Texarkana which is a city divided by the TX/AR state line. Once across the state line we stopped at the Texas Welcome Center where we picked up all our maps & info – and ate lunch in the RV.

We parked for the night at the Super Wal-Mart in Sulphur Springs, TX. While shopping in the store, I noticed that the women, especially, are nice looking and well dressed. I was pleased that Wal-Mart’s still have a fabric dept. – and next to the fabric was the “outdoor” Dept. complete with deer food, camouflage clothing, guns and everything you need to go hunting. Next in the sporting goods was every kind of “Cowboys” football gear – white star on blue background – that you could ever need. Yes, we are in Texas and I love it!

Thursday, October 29, 2009 – mixed weather to Canton, TX

It was a fairly quiet night at Wal-Mart. There were 2 women parked in back of us and Marcia Crymes came over to visit and tell about “RVing Women” and about their trip west.

It was only an hour for us to go to Canton, but when we arrived we couldn’t find our RV parking area. There are several RV lots and this Flea Market is so HUGE! After much frustration, we finally found where we should go and got set up with full hookups, wi-fi and cable.

After lunch, we found that the free trolley stops in our park, so we hopped on and took a tour which acclimated us to the whole area. Later, we took our car to the building next door – did some browsing – and waited out a huge downpour. It suddenly stopped, so we drove back to the RV.

It’s good to be in a quiet area for a change – perhaps we’ll sleep solid tonight.

Friday, October 30, 2009 – nice day in Canton, TX

We slept a little later this morning – good preparation for tomorrow’s  “fall back” time change. Around 10:30am, the sprinkles of rain had stopped and we boarded the trolley for the big Canton marketplace. I have read that “First Monday Trade Days” is over 100 acres and has more than 7,000 vendors! It takes place once a month, on the weekend before the first Monday, and has been going on since the 1850’s. At the market, we noticed that there were mostly women – all rather upscale with their blonde hair, makeup and high fashion/casual clothes. Practically, everyone had one of those big shopping carts on wheels and many of them were full! I found the small, garden flags that I’ve been looking for and bought four of them. We had corn dogs for lunch and bought Canton-grown sweet potatoes before we pooped out.

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Back home around 2pm- and rested for the rest of the day. I did some planning for the rest of our trip – Waco and Bastrop – are now on the agenda. We’re having crock-pot chicken for dinner.

Saturday, October 31, 2009 – Happy Halloween, Canton, TX

Clear skies, sunny – up to the low 70’s. I cooked up a pile of bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast. We got the trolley around 10:30am and went to the “Old Mill” and “Dog Town”. Dog town has every kind of puppy dog for sale,that you could imagine. Lots of those little ones that RV’ers like, beagles that hunters like and guard dogs, too. People that already owned dogs, had them in special strollers, on leashes and dressed in “dog” clothes. Here’s some photos of Dog Town:

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We crossed the highway and did the 6 huge buildings & shops at the Old Mill .We walked “up the hill” called The Mountain, where they had a girl singing country music. We asked about a place to eat and this women took us in her golf cart to her family’s place that her sister owns. It was Mexican, much to Don’s dismay, but everyone was very friendly and I enjoyed my tacos. Don is still enjoying his cumin flavor 3 hours later. *burp*. 

Things that made me laugh today – the decor in the dumpy ladies room toilet – and the women in the orange shirt that read “ Angola – a gated community”.  See photos: 

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This has been a true “shop til you drop” experience. A good time.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center

Little Rock, Arkansas

Monday, October 26, 2009 – Little Rock, rain

We just played on our computers this morning – I got my blog published and Don read the news. After lunch, we went across the river to tour the William J. Clinton Presidential Center. It’s a ultra modern building and has a large parking lot for visitors. The Center features an excellent film narrated by Bill Clinton and the exhibits include: a timeline display, full scale replicas of the Cabinet Room and the Oval Office; the early years, life in the White House and an amazing array of gifts to the Clintons that are actually property of the people of the USA. Don’s favorite story was posted at the armored limo: It seems when WWII started – Roosevelt was President and they had no armored car – so they used the one that was confiscated from Al Capone.

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2009-Oct. Travel Journal

2009-2010 Travel Journal

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 – overcast with periods of sun

From this mornings Gazette newspaper: “the night and early morning temperatures have dropped below freezing every day since Oct. 14^th. There’s ice on the windshields and a glaze of frost on the lawns.”

It’s been a busy time leading up to our leaving today for the winter. Luncheons & breakfasts with my girlfriends – last minute “garage sale” excursions – and of course, the family. We went to my sister Lois’ in Fort Edward, NY for a 1^st year anniversary Mass for our brother, Ken. It was followed by a wonderful dinner at the house. Lois’ husband, Jaime, did all the cooking, as Lois is recovering from pneumonia My sister Jeanne came from Utica, but my sister Eileen was sick and couldn’t attend.  Left to right – Alice, Lois and Jeanne .

Maureen and Wayne over to our house on Monday. She was such a big help in loading the motor home for our trip. Kayla had a half day off from 2^nd grade and she also helped with the chores. As a big treat – Don ordered the hot, spicy Shrimp from Xin Fu on Rt. 7 – it was delicious!

We left at 7:30 am this morning, after kissing Kayla & Erin goodbye as they waited for the school bus. Starting mileage for this trip is 43.016. The weather was very good for driving, as we headed west on I-90 – stopping for a bagel & cream cheese at Dunkin Donuts on the Thruway. ( I perked my own coffee.) Gas is $2.68 a gallon.

I especially love the ride along Lake Erie in western New York. Miles of vineyards – probably Niagara grapes – are at the height of harvest.

Don drove 322 miles and we’re parked at a Super Wal-Mart in Fredonia, NY. It was a very good stop – EZ on/off – flat and quiet.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

It was an absolute beautiful day for traveling through Ohio. The leaves were brilliant reds and yellows  and the weather was much warmer – in the low 70’s. One thing though – I never saw so many “road kill” deer as I did today. (No photos, please!)I’m glad that we have our new “deer whistles” on the motor home 

We were going to the Cracker Barrel in Richmond, Indiana at the end of the day. It’s always a little tricky finding the way into Cracker Barrel, but since there were no signs, we realized too late that we went down a “no outlet” road and had to unhook the car to turn around. One of the “joys” of our lifestyle. To top it off – it was noisy and we didn’t sleep well.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 – Sunrise in the South – a mighty big cross!

We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel and when we came out – at 7:15am_ it was still pitch black out – way too dark to travel. I’m glad that we don’t live in this time zone! We met 2 older couples that were going “ 4 wheeling” in West Virginia – very interesting.

Driving across Indiana was cornfield heaven – very flat with miles, and miles, and miles of cornfields! As we crossed the state line at Terra Haute, IN into IL., we came into the Central Time Zone – my favorite! Now the TV programs will be earlier – on “senior” time.

Traveling south on I-57, we stopped at a Vanity Fair outlet for a little shopping. We’re now parked at another Cracker Barrel at Marion, IL – hopefully quieter than last night. We’ve learned that the big Federal Prison is here in Marion and that John Gotti’s family often came to this Cracker Barrel. Other famous inmates were Woody Harrellson’s father, who tried to murder a Federal Judge – and lot of infamous folks featured on TV shows.

Friday, October 23, 2009

It was a fairly quiet night at this Cracker Barrel here in southern IL. We ate breakfast here and had a very pleasant waitress. We’re slowly adjusting to Central Time.

As we traveled south on I-57, the land was very flat and we saw miles and miles of cotton fields. We crossed the Mississippi River at the Illinois/Missouri line – and here’s a photo of the old bridge over ‘ol Mis.

As we traveled into Arkansas, we saw lots of “kudsu” – the plant that ate the south.

After another 300 plus miles, and 4 days of driving – we finally arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas and are parked at the Riverfront RV Park – cost $23.00 a night. We have a “riverfront” site with full hookup and free wi-fi. We really need a break from driving and traveling and this looks like a good stop. Don loves to sit in his comfortable lounge chair and watch the Arkansas River flow by. Directly across the river is the Clinton Presidential Library, and the River Marketplace. Two blocks from our park is the Verizon Convention Center where (Hold your breath, Nicole, Kayla, Darby & Sage) Miley Cyrus is performing tonight! Big doings in Little Rock! Here’s photos of the view from our motor home.

Sat. Oct. 24 – a nice day – Little Rock, AR

We went for lunch at US Pizza – a very thin crust, sausage & vegetables – one of the very best pizzas that we have ever had. We had a cold pitcher of beer while we waited for it to be cooked. A great place!

Back at the RV park, we took a walk – actually a 3.2 mile walk – along the river, on the bridge over the river and back. They were celebrating City Fest – live music, a car show, a Farmer’s Market and we sat in the market place to rest before starting back. Here’s photos of the Submarine Memorial and the staircase on the bridge.

Sunday, October 25, 2009 – another sunny day in Little Rock

We watched the tugs push the big barges up the river this morning. For lunch, we went to Cheeseburger Cheeseburger that is in a shopping center on the west side of town. The place was packed with young families and we had to wait for a table. They have 5 sizes of hamburgers – up to a ONE pounder. (if you eat it all, they take your picture) . You order your burger with one choice of 8 different cheeses and any/ or all of the 29 different toppings We also had a delicious basket of fried onion rings. The décor and music was 1950’s, and it was great fun along with super food.

I needed a walk after that, so we went to Mac Arthur park! I didn’t even know that there was a real Mac Arthur park – and I looked for the “cake left in the rain” but I couldn’t find it – because that one is in San Francisco. (But it is dedicated to Gen. Mac Arthur, too.)

Anyways – there’s a big lawn, a playground, a Korean Vets War memorial and the big building that was built in 1823 as part of a Military Compound. Gen. Mac Arthur’s father was the commander here and baby Gen. MacA. was born in this building. It is a free museum with Arkansas War memorabilia dating back to the Trail of Tears and the Civil War. We saw a movie on Mac Arthur’s life.

After that, the GPS found Sam’s Club for us and we bought milk, orange juice, bananas and salad greens. Back to camp for the evening.

Daytrip to Vermont

Every fall, Don and I like to take a ride in the car to see the colorful leaves.  He loves to drive his Honda Accord on those winding, country roads and I like the idea of taking photos and going out to lunch!

Heading East on NY RT. 7, we turned onto the Tomhannock Reservoir Road.  My Mother was born on the Fitzgerald (Brewery owners) farm and lived here on the reservoir until she moved to Albany, NY at age 16.  The farm is long gone, but the drive along the shoreline was beautiful.

We continued our drive east along NY RT. 67 and came to Eagle Bridge – home of artist Grandma Moses.  We stopped and bought corn at the Moses Farm.  Here’s another photo of the farm and the beautiful landscape.

It was also on NY 67, just east of Walloomsac, NY that we saw the sign for the “Bennington Battlefield”.  We’d never been here before!  This is a famous 1777 Revolutionary War battlefield which is set on the “high ground” – and was eventually won by Vermont’s “Green Mountain Boys”.

We were hungry after our history lesson and headed to Bennington, VT – where the “Painted Moose” are on display this fall. 

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Finally, I’ll close with a colorful, typical fall scene.