OCTOBER 23 - 24 - HEADING NORTH FROM FLORIDA

TUESDAY 
OCTOBER 23, 2012

 

 

The time has finally come to head NORTH.

We spent Tuesday morning packing the Truck.

We had lunch in the RV,

before moving it to its storage site.

 

We left Southern Oaks at 1:35PM,

and stopped at the Hair Cuttery

where Rita had a Cut.

Russ had gone to Al's on Monday,

when he took the truck for an Oil Change.

Now we all are ready for the Road.

 

God Bless our friend, Leo for inviting

us to stay overnight in his home,

so we could start HOME early Wednesday morning.

Leo's home in Ocala, Florida
is for sale on Craig's list.

What a surprise to see a Magnolia in bloom in October,
in Leo's yard.



WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 24, 2012

We were ON THE ROAD AGAIN, by 8:18 AM,
after breakfast at the OASIS Restaurant in Ocala.
By 10:55 AM we entered GEORGIA where we paid
$3.46 per gallon for gas.

As we journeyed along Interstate 95 North,
we could see cotton still in the fields,
as well as some that had already been harvested.

Once we were in South Carolina, the gas prices dropped
to $3.23 at Flying J, at Exit 73 of Interstate 77N.

By 5:16 PM, we entered NORTH CAROLINA.
We arrived at my daughter, Kathy's
home by 7:30 PM.
Russ had driven 589 miles today.
The longest day of our entire journey.

 

14,644 miles - June 18 through November 6, 2012

30th ANNIVERSARY

TRIP SUMMARY

 

Russ has done a fantastic job of tallying our statistics.

Of the 14,644 miles driven between June 18th

 and our arrival home on November, 6th,

 9,111 were towing miles.

 

Our journey home from Southern Oaks RV Resort,

after putting the 5th Wheel in storage,

 until January, was 1,465 miles.

Interesting that it was one-tenth of our journey.

 

In our minds we had split the trip into five segments.

The First being from home to the West Coast.

The Second being the Coast of California.

The Third being  the Fantasy RV Tours component.

The Fourth being the distance from Grand Canyon to Florida,

and the Final leg being from Southern Oaks to Home.

When folks now ask us which of the twenty five National Parks
we visited were our individual favorite,
Russ' reply is Mount Rushmore.

We went to Mount Rushmore on June 28th,
 and then returned on July 3rd.
Check out our posts for those two days for more
photos and commentary.

"TEDDY ROOSEVELT"

 

JASMINE PICKNER 

 HOOP DANCER - JASMINE PICKNER

 

Mine has to be Yellowstone
because of the prolific wildlife,
wildflowers and the geological wonders.
In one day, we saw:
 seven Elk wading in a stream,
a Kildeer bird with her four chicks,
Buffalo blocking traffic and in a field,
a Moose in a stream at twilight,
and a male Elk with a huge rack.

Add to the above Old Faithful,
and Mammoth Springs, and the beautiful
scene referred to as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MOOSE 

 

 

Sunset on July 18th

 

You can check out our postings of July 16, 17 and 18th for more

pictures of Yellowstone National Park.

November 23 - Bryce Resort, Basye, VA

FRIDAY

NOVEMBER 23, 2012

 

We have been ON THE ROAD AGAIN.

On Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we drove 425 miles

to spend Thanksgiving with our son Chris and his family.

Chris and Maria and the boys, took us to her Mom's

for Thanksgiving in Richmond, VA.

 

We thank God for the safe travels we have

had this year.  We covered 14,644 miles during

our 30th Anniversary Trip,

between June 18 and November 6th.

 

I am not sure how long this Blogger  site will

keep my postings online.

So, in case they shut me down

if it is inactive for thirty days,

I thought I would post today.

 

Once we get back home,

 I plan to complete the final postings for

our 30th Anniversary trip.

 

We have been busy checking in with

all of our health care physicians, plus

the auto and truck maintenance folks.

We want to be sure we will be

 good to go

to Florida for our Winter stay.

 

God Bless all of you,

dear Family and Friends.

You can always reach us by

calling one of our cell phones,

or our home phone.

Please leave a message

regarding a good time to return your call.

e-mails welcome at either of my addresses:

rgoeber3@hotmail.com

 or

 grandmarita15@gmail.com

 

  

OCTOBER 19 - 22 ARRIVED SAFELY in FLORIDA

FRIDAY

OCTOBER 19, 2012

 

We started our travel day by 7:17 AM, from Dfuniak, Florida,

and by the time we had traveled one hundred twenty one  miles,

my cell phone was reading 10:36 AM.
NOT FAIR.

We had lost an hour by crossing into the Eastern Daylight Time Zone.  

Even with that time loss, we arrived at Southern Oaks,

in Summerfield, Florida,

by 3 :10 PM.

 

We were greeted by friends who

arrived a few minutes before us.

They had traveled South from Delaware,

and stopped for an overnight,

so we all could have dinner together.

 

It felt like a home coming party.

We have now completed Leg Four

of our 30th Anniversary Tour.

 

We have

driven 13,048 miles,

since leaving home on June 18th.

 

 

SATURDAY

OCTOBER 20, 2012

 

During the day we continued to sort

and weed out the travel literature

we have been accumulating these

four months.  We also sat still

long enough to prepare a slide

show of the first month of our travels.

 

We  have already forgotten some of

places and things we saw,

so it was fun to refresh our memories

and enjoy the sights all over again.

 

 

SUNDAY

OCTOBER 21, 2012

 

When Russ read on the internet that

the Indian Maiden

KATERI TEKAWITHA has been

declared a Saint,

I immeditely thought of the

three different statues

I had taken photos of this Summer.

 

Here they are again,

in her honor.

 

 

Shelton, Washington

St. Edward's Church

 

Page, Arizona

Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish

 

Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assissi

 

Which one is your favorite?
Tell me why at:

grandmarita15@gmail.com  

OCTOBER 18 - TRAVELING IN 4 STATES - LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, INTO FLORIDA

THURSDAY

OCTOBER 18, 2012

 

We were ON THE ROAD AGAIN today.

My first order of the day was to take a picture

of the Spanish Moss I had seen as we

arrived at Hidden Oak RV Resort, yesterday. 

 

 

Spanish Moss

looks like someone is trying to dry some laundry,

high up in the trees.

 

 

 

 Louisiana license plate was at our

 overnight camp ground.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mississippi had one of the most

inviting and hospitable

Welcoming Centers

of all the State we have visited.

The first thing they asked was,

"Would you like some Coffee?"

                            That is Southern Hospitality for you!!!

 

 

The Oak Eagle

was carved from one of the Oaks

destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, by Marlin Miller.

 

 

Story of the Oak Eagle

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the fascinating displays at

the Mississippi Welcome Center

was a Quilt by Children.

 

 

 

 

 BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI had two beautiful

buildings in its skyline.  The tops were

like an open cutwork steel steeple.

Fourteen miles further East of Biloxi, we

crossed into ALABAMA.

 

We stopped for gas which was $3.39 a gallon,

and I met the owner of this car with

a very special license plate.

 

 

Vietnam Veteran

Plate.

 

 

 

 

 

I saw a sign directing folks to

the USS ALABAMA,

and can only assume that

is the name of this ship in

the Mobile Bay harbor.

It seemed fitting to have the

American Flag

in the picture too.

 

We arrived in DeFuniak, Florida

 at the King Lake Resort at 2:54 PM.

 

By that time the steady rain let up,

and we have settled in for the night.

 

Tomorrow will be a long day,

333 miles to get to Southern Oaks RV Resort,

 Summerfield, Florida.

 

Today's trip was 282 miles and took

us six hours, including

our lunch which we prepared

and had with us.

 

Please pray for our safe travels tomorrow.

.

 

 

 

OCTOBER 17 - TRAVEL TO HAMMOND, LOUISIANA

WEDNESDAY

OCTOBER 17, 2012

 

We departed from Hidden Lake RV Resort

in Beaumont, Texas at 8:10 AM.

Our total travel distance was 259 miles.

We arrived at Hidden Oak RV Park at 5:09 PM,

in Hammond, Louisiana.

Their Southern Oaks were draped with Spanish Moss.

 

You might wonder why it took so long for

us to get here, especially when we were

traveling Interstate 10 EAST,

where the speed limits were often 70 or 75 MPH.

 

Well, at exactly 10:57 AM, Russ got a glimpse

out his side view mirror of something black flapping

in the wind near our RV wheels.

We stopped and this is what he found.

 

 

 

 

 The rear tire on the driver's side

 of our RV was in shreds.

 

 

We called GOOD SAM, a membership organization for
RVers, at 11:01AM, and by 11:38 AM they had Calais Wrecking
come to our rescue.  Within minutes our wheel was off, and
the spare was installed.  At exactly 11:57AM, we were back on
the road.  Praise the Lord for such quick assistance.

 

Calais recommended a nearby RV Repair Service,

so we drove 3 miles to see what they could do to

help us get two new tires.

 

 

I knew the Lord was watching over us,

and it was confirmed when I saw the

name of the repair service.

 

Good Sheperd folks did not do Tire replacements,

so they sent us 3 more miles to

L & L Tire Service.

Fortunately, they sold Firestone Tires,

and began replacing the dead flat tire,

as well as the one opposite, so we have a matched pair on the forward

RV tire locations.  By 3:14 PM, they had us on our way again.

Before we left L & L,

they mentioned that there would be

a long bridge and it was at least ten

miles long with no emergency lanes.

 

 

 

How fortunate for us, that

we discovered our flat

at mile marker 112,

in Louisiana,

rather than marker 124

where we would have been

 on the long dangerously narrow bridge.

 

 

We did cross the Mississippi River,

and this was one vessel we saw.

 

 

 

This is a view of Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

We were overjoyed when we saw

this truck ahead of us today.

 

 

 

When we stopped for gas, Russ spotted

that same truck getting gas.

I walked over and took these pictures

of the sides, and the driver, Robert.

 

Robert is so proud to work for the Christian owner,

Sam Kholi Transport, Inc. of Fontana, CA,

who has 200 such trucks on the roads

between California and Kentucky.

I told Robert our sighting of his

truck today, was the highlight of our day.

 

 

 

 

We thank each and every one of you

 for your prayers for our Safe Travels.

Please keep praying for us,

til we see you again.

 

Love, Russ and Rita

 

 

OCTOBER 15 and 16 - ON INTERSTATE 10 EAST thru Houston to BEAUMONT, TX

MONDAY

OCTOBER 15, 2012

 

As most RVers know,

the time comes when you

have to do some housekeeping.

We spent Monday doing three loads of laundry.

I also began defrosting our freezer,

and prepared dinner for two nights on the road.

 

So, no pictures today.

 

 

TUESDAY

OCTOBER 16, 2012

 

We are doing "one nighters" this week.

Today was a 273 mile trip from

San Antonio to Beaumont, Texas.

We started out at 8:10 AM,

and arrived at 2 PM.

 

We were glad we had purchased a salad

at Wal-Mart, yesterday, to have

along the way.

Once again, the fast food establishments

were scarce along Interstate 10 East.

 

We passed through HOUSTON

around 11:30 AM,

where there were as many as seven lanes

of traffic one way.

Thank God the replacement Magellan

behaved and we moved safely through the

traffic.   It was a relief to arrive

safely at our destination

by 2 PM. 

We have enjoyed cooling our heels this afternoon.

 

 

 

 

Houston Skyline

 

Houston Shoreline

 

 

 

TEXAS license plate.

Taken to use when I organize my

photos to show on a Video.

 

 

 

OCTOBER 14 - SAN ANTONIO River Walk and the Alamo

SUNDAY

OCTOBER 14, 2012

 

The first order of our day was to attend

11:15 Mass at Saints Peter and Paul Parish

in New Braunfels, TX.

It was a joyful celebration with the

Young People serving the Parish

as Lectors, Ushers, and as Musicians.

The group was at least 25 strong and

included a very accomplished Violinist,

Flute and Guitar, and Keyboard.

 

 

 

The stained glass windows were magnificent.

 

 

We went to Camping World to Swap Out the Magellan,

and then had lunch at a nearby Burger King.

 

We stopped back to our RV for our Camcorder

 and then drove into town to see the Alamo,

 and take a ride on the River Boat,

along the River Walk. 

The ride only cost $6, and

was narrated for the 30 minutes it took.

 

 

 

THE ALAMO

RIVER BOATS

The River Walk is lined with outdoor eateries.

Many had music during the afternoon.

 

 

 

SAINT ANTHONY

the Patron Saint

of San Antonio.

 

We completed our adventures in San Antonio

by having dinner at Maria Mia

Mexican Bistro,

almost at the foot of

the escalators from the Marriott Hotel,

along the River Walk.

 

We tried and loved two recipes

we had never had before:

 

CARNITAS and CARNE GUISADA.

 

Both were so good, that I am hoping

I have the recipe in a Mexican Cookbook,

I received as a birthday gift,

from Rog and Carol.