Two Steppin' in Texas

Our first visit to Tres Rios RV Resort in Glen Rose, TX. The park is more open than the others we have stayed at thus far and has a definite western feel to it.

Having already visited the Dallas -Fort Worth metropolitan area, we decided to forego doing the touristy thing, with the exception of one. Fort Worth is home to the largest honky tonky in Texas - Billy Bob's. It's a great place to spend a Friday night - so we did! Had supper, played a few games of pool, and kicked up our heels to the music of the band.

And I learned you never let "little Jimmy" have the camera when you're out at a club! You never know what might pop up on the camera (LOL).

You'll quickly see a trend on this trip - it's all about the golf! The Squaw Valley Golf Club is located directly across the street from Tres Rios. It's been rated as one of the best courses in Texas by Golf Digest. We spent most of our stay at Tres Rios chasing golf balls around the links.

Tomorrow we are New Mexico bound - to the land of Billy the Kid fame - and a return visit to Hacienda RV Resort. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, a safe holiday and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Lazin' in Louisiana

Made it safe and sound to Abita Springs, Louisiana. And where is that you might ask? Well... Abita Springs is located about 1 hour north of New Orleans, near the town of Covington. The park is wonderful, nestled in the pines next to a small lake. It has a great clubhouse, complete with outdoor hot tub.

Abita Springs is well known for its pure spring water, perfect for making things like beer and wine. Not being one to take things at face value, we had to check out both for ourselves so off we went to the Abita Springs Brewery. We tasted all the brews they had to offer and their Golden beer was my favorite while Jim really didn't enjoy any of them, which is true to form for him when it comes to microbrews. Regardless, it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

Next stop was the Ponchartrain Winery. Very good white wine (my favorite was Roux Saint Louis) and their port was exceptional, as well. Got to taste wine with a young lady named Faye who was visiting from England, and her young gentlemen friend. (She asked to be mentioned in the blog).

Not too far from the RV park is the Abita Springs Golf and Country Club. Recently refurbished, the course was in very good condition. The greens were quick and water came into play on almost every hole. Needless to say, we lost the odd golf ball or two.

You'll note the grass is much greener so obviously we've travelled far enough south, Cindy. (LOL)

No trip to Louisiana is complete without visiting New Orleans. We spent Saturday afternoon roaming around Bourbon Street listening to street bands playing jazz. Had a great meal at the Gumbo Shop, where we sampled gumbo (duh), jambalaya, alligator sausage and shrimp creole. Jim even tasted turtle soup and liked it. We were joined on this excurion by our new friends, Mike and Nancy, from the great state of Washington (Go Huskies!)

As chapter two of this year's excursion draws to an end, we look forward to Texas and a stay at the Tres Rios RV Resort.

On The Road Again - Round Three

Thursday morning dawned bright and cool as we drove to Walmart to pick up the RV and head for points south (and hopefully, warmer climes!)

Not looking good! And certainly not what you want to see on the side of the road when you're planning on sleeping in your RV!!!

But before hitting those comfy temperatures, we had a couple of hockey games to take in.

First stop, the twin cities and the Minnesota Wild. Opponents for this game were the Calgary Flames. While the home team was successful, neither team played particularly well.

Next stop Chicago, IL and a visit to the United Center, home of the Stanley Cup champions. Again, Canadian opponents; this time in the form of the Edmonton Oilers. However, on this day the hockey gods were not so kind to the home team as Edmonton won 2-1.

Before heading to the stadium for the game, we took a quick tour of the windy city's downtown, including a trip to the top of the Sears Tower, now known as the Willis Tower.

Jim was brave enough to step out on the clear glass and take a photo looking straight down.

While I was real brave and took the picture from the ground looking up! (LOL)

But enough of the cold weather. It was time to head further south. Destination -Texarkana, Arkansas. And why Texarkana some have asked? Well, it's the home of one of the Ocean Canyon Properties (OCP) RV parks that we can camp at for free. And double bonus, as members of OCP we get to golf at the park's golf course for free!

With that being said, we have spent the last two weeks on the links. (Note, picture was taken on 19 Nov)

We are certainly enjoying the people side of membership camping.

Made some new friends from Frisco, Texas.

And got the opportunity to reconnect with friends from Tupelo, MS whom we met on last year's trip.











Tomorrow morning it's time to head out again. This time we're goin' into "Cajun Country" and Abita Springs RV Resort. Wonder what deals I'll find on Black Friday!!! Until next time......

Ontario - Here and Gone!

Wow, time sure flies when you're having fun - corny but true! To all our family and friends in Ontario, a great big thank you for making our time there so much fun.

From relaxing in a hot tub, and celebrating birthdays,

to boating on the Rideau River,

golfing at Hylands,
























and bowling with Mom and Dad,

we were kept on the hop.

It was wonderful to have the time to visit with our friends in the area, as so often in the past our trips to Ottawa were too short to be able to visit with everyone. The dinner get togethers were excellent - good food and outstanding company. What more could you ask for! A great big thanks to everyone.

We even managed to squeeze in a little sightseeing. We visited the War Museum and the Diefenbunker Museum and spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon strolling around Parliment Hill and the Byward Market with Will and Aymsley and Scott and Heather.

We had lots of visitors to our campsite including a surprise visit by Courtney and young Jayden






















and baby Violet had her first campfire. (She's still a little too small for roasted marshmallows so she graciously gave her share to her big sister, Haley.)













But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, thus our time in Ottawa for this trip is done.

Back on Canadian Soil

It's been a while since my last update. Since Nashville we have spent time in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Ontario.

Kentucky was nice. We stayed at a park near Mammoth Cave National Park. Not only is Mammoth Cave one of the largest in the continental USA, the surrounding area has many smaller caves to explore. We took a boat tour into the Lost River Cave. It was okay but no where near as spectacular as the caverns north of San Antonio. There was an interesting aspect to this cave. Years ago, an enterprising individual opened a club at the mouth of the cave and built a dance floor. As you can see from the picture, the trek down to the dance floor was an adventure in and of itself, particularly when you realize it was done in high heels and dresses! (Yes there are some old steps hidden behind the shrubs!)



Smart move when you think about it. Air conditioning was pretty well non-existent and the cavern stays at a cool 57 degrees Fahrenheit year round.

We also managed to get in several rounds of golf. Diamond Caverns RV Park has it's own golf course. Again, the hilly terrain reminded us of Clear Lake and courses back on "The Rock". Very picturesque (and the uneven terrain made for some interesting shots).

While many states lay claim to Abraham Lincoln, only Kentucky can claim to be the place of his birth. As such, a visit to the family farm at Sinking Springs was in order. Despite the meager cabin and surroundings, apparently the Lincoln family were actually in the upper middle class of Kentucky society during their time here. And we think we have it rough!

We were told that Louisville, KY was a must see the week leading up to the Kentucky Derby. We had planned to check out Churchill Downs and downtown Louisville enroute to Ohio but Mother Nature did not cooperate! Torrential rain, thunder and lightning storms put the kibosh on that plan. Instead, we spent our time in Louisville huddled inside the RV at a Cracker Barrel store parking lot.

In Ohio, we had a wonderful visit with Jim`s sister, Patricia and her family and even managed to squeeze in a trip to the US Air Force Museum. The plane in the picture was the one that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

And Benji even shared ``Dad`s`` lap with Lilly when she came to visit at the RV.

A big thank-you to Tish, Deanna, Gloria, Jody, Natalie, Bryanna, Ean and Jager for a great visit. It was fun!

On a separate note, RV Buddies, if you find yourself in the Dayton, OH area, do not stay at Enon Beach RV Park!

From Ohio we headed a little further north to Elkhart, Indiana to get the warranty repairs done on our RV slideout. It`s better, but still not perfect. Oh well.... Northern Indiana is Amish country. It`s not uncommon to see an Amish horse and buggy driving down Main St. We took a tour of an historical farm called Amish Acres. While we learned about the Amish and how they came to live in Indiana, I was a little disappointed in that I had hoped to see a working farm.

On Friday we returned to Canada and were greeted with sunshine and a balmy 25 degrees Celsius. We`re settled into a park between Sarnia and London, deep in Ontario farm country. The weekend has been very quiet as thunderstorms have been the order of the day. Hopefully the weather will improve as the week goes on.

Taking in the Tunes in Music City USA

Nashville is all about the tunes and a trip to Music City USA would not be complete without a visit to the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium.



First stop - the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday night. This year celebrates the 85th anniversary of the Opry. We took advantage of the new guitar displays for a photo op!











The line up for this show was not quite as star-studded as on our previous visit (no Garth Brooks!). We did get to see a number of famous country music artists, as well as some up and comers including ....








Big Kenny (of Big & Rich fame)







The headliner - Josh Turner

and Josh Thompson

As well as the father and son performance by George Hamilton IV and George Hamilton V

A performance at the Ryman Auditorium was on the menu for Thursday night and Opry Country Classics hosted by Larry Gatlin. Now if we thought the Grand Ole Opry performances were spontaneous and relaxed, the Opry Classics show was an old fashioned kitchen party.

First we were welcomed with a great big "how-dee" from Minnie Pearl.

Then during the first set, the host, Larry Gatlin, came down off the stage and started dancing with a lady from London, England who had been sitting in the front row. Imagine her surprise!

Even the star, Lorrie Morgan, had to restart a song because she started in the wrong key. Everyone was so laid back. It was great! And the sound in the Ryman was as good as everyone said it would be.

For the rest of the week we did some serious shopping, and toured downtown, which included stops at the Wild Horse Saloon for a dance and a horsey photo op ,

Tootsie's for a drink

and the Old Cracker Barrel for brunch, which was followed by an intense game of checkers. Ken and I battled to a draw (LOL).

All good things must come to an end and on Saturday, Ken and Tracy headed home - something about having to go back to work (poor Kenny). Tomorrow we head to the derby state - yep goin' to Kentucky. Have a great week.