The Graduate and the Proud Barker Family

I set the alarm for seven and beat that by a hour and a half.  I woke up wondering when it would be light targeting tomorrow’s launch of the big white whale northward.  Try as I might I couldn’t stay in bed past six thirty.  Judith surprised me when her feet hit the floor at seven and said she wasn’t going back to bed.  While she did most of her packing last night she wanted to change the sheets for Darrell and put away her stuff to make room for Darrell’s. 

I wrote a quick note, for Amanda, in one of Judith’s beautiful cards wishing her the best in her post high school days.  College is so expensive and puts the average kid way in the hole financially.  Unfortunately, Amanda isn’t the exception to that rule and will be up to her ears in debt by the time she graduates.  She knows she’ll have to work summers and part time and I’m not sure that is a bad thing.  When people have a little skin in the game they seem to appreciate things more. 

We walked in Tina’s door at eight.  The Grandmas were sitting in the kitchen ready to go.  Unfortunately the rest of the crew wasn’t.  By eight fifteen we were all assembled outside for pictures. 

While Edmond is a town of forty thousand there was no place large enough to accommodate the ceremonies for a graduating class of five hundred and seven.  We drove to The Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, where the crowd of four to five thousand only filled about a third of seats.  This facility was hosting three graduations with Amanda’s being the first. 

I can barely remember my graduation; I wasn’t a good student and school bored every bone in my ADD riddled body.  This ceremony was well done and pulled off in a shade under two hours.  Four students, representing Edmond’s brightest, gave speeches.  Good speeches.  Maybe there is hope for this once great country that is a little down on its luck and looking for someone to right the ship and lead us back to greatness. 

Judith and I were back at the trailer by noon and enjoyed the afternoon.  We cleaned the trailer and got ready for Darrell’s arrival.  At four we started for the airport and arrived at the Will Rogers International at four forty.  Unfortunately, Judith’s plan left at four fifty five!  To complicate things Darrell was scheduled to arrive at five fifteen.  The airline rebooked her for fist thing in the morning and didn’t increase the price of the ticket.  We talked for a few minutes and agreed the best thing to do was to find a hotel close to the airport.  About the time we made that decision a Sheraton came into view and not only had a room but a very reasonable one.  Five minutes after I got her checked in my phone rang and Darrell was waiting at arrivals.  The world is unfolding as it should.

Darrell had an uncomplicated trip and is seemingly ready to take on the trek to River House.  We stopped at Wal Mart, picked up bread, and then made our way to the RV.  After Darrell put away his things and I got all the outside stuff packed we drove to Arcadia to buy diesel and get a pizza.  I should have known the $3.68 advertised for diesel was too good to be true.  When I pulled in I could see bags over the pumps; they hadn’t pumped any fuel in quite some time.  We stopped at Two Brothers Pizza and had a better than average pie.  The next one I wrap my lips around will be right out of the River House pizza oven.

Darrell is an early riser and I’m hooked up and ready to go.  I plan to be on the road as the sun come up and make at least five hundred miles tomorrow.  River House or Bust.

Our bunny friends came out to say goodbye

The plan, when I went to bed last night, was to get at least eight hours sleep.  I have been getting up at six each morning and staying up until well past midnight.  I knew Buddy would come calling early but I was going to ignore her until at least eight.  Wrong!  I guess these old bones can still get excited.  I was up a few minutes after six making last minute mental notes getting ready for the trip north. 

I put on the coffee and logged on and checked out River House.  While it was just thirty seven degrees there was NO snow.  Yesterday it was a downright cold twenty seven degrees at daybreak with snow in the forecast. 

Judith is getting excited as well and was up to start her day a little after eight.  We had lots to do today but both agreed we needed a walk.  We made one last trip around the park.  Things will be crazy tomorrow and we’ll be going nonstop from the moment our feet hit the ground until I put Judith on the plane at five. 

Laundry was the first thing on Judith’s agenda and I rode along and read while she did all the work.  I’m not allowed to touch the laundry.  Ya make a couple little mistakes and your banned for life…………….

Tina called a few minutes before noon and we were able to get together for lunch.  It was the first time we’ve had her undivided attention since we arrived.  We went to a better than average Thai place; the Lemon Grass.  I enjoyed every bite and probably won’t eat Thai again until next fall. 

Next on the agenda was Wal Mart.  I picked up enough items to get us to Breckenridge without making a lot of stops. 

We spent several hours at the trailer this afternoon; Judith packed for her trip and I got our declare list ready for crossing the border.  Last year I got grilled over the amount of stuff I brought back.  I’m not really sure why?  We declare them and pay the duty and all are items either we can’t get easily purchase in the Smithers area or unusual artsy type stuff. 

Amand with Grandmas…CCarol, Donna and Judith

Just as we got to the Cheese Cake Factory the phone rang.  It was Tina telling us they got a late start.  We put our name on the list for an outside table.  It was eighty five outside and colder than a refrigerator inside.  The crowd arrived at seven thirty and we were seated immediately.  Dave, or waiter, handed everyone a twenty three page menu.  Give me a break.  I ordered the Chinese chicken salad and I swear it had almost as much lettuce as I grew last year at River House.  All the rest of the meals were huge.  No one came close to eating half their food.  This chain could feed a small country with the food they throw away.  Sad. 

While three grandmothers were in attendance I was the only Papa.  We all took turns in giving Amanda a few words of wisdom as this new door opens in her life. 

Tomorrow will be a gong show.  Tina wants us at her house for pictures.  We’ll drive in two cars to Oklahoma City for the graduation ceremonies at ten.  The good news it is inside.  The bad news is there are four hundred and fifty in her graduating class.  The good news is her LAST NAME is Barker.  The bad news is it would be rude to get up and leave as soon as she walks across the stage.  Decisions, decisions…………….

Once the graduation is over we’ll race back to the rig, pick up our truck, and hot foot it to the airport.  Judith’s plane leaves for Houston at six, however, she wants to be at the airport at least an hour before departure.  Darrell’s plane is scheduled to arrive at five fifteen.  With a little luck everything will work out just fine and we can settle in for a good night’s sleep before hitting the road at the crack of dawn Sunday. 

The alarm, for the fourth day in a row, went off at six.  I didn’t bother with coffee, fed Buddy, and hopped in the truck.  I pulled into the service lane at Ford a few minutes before seven.  At seven on the dot the door opened and within minutes a service writer greeted me by name.   I told him I needed an oil change, a spare key and to check things out especially the transmission fluid.  If I’m going to, and I am, haul this white whale to Breckenridge over a nine thousand foot mountain pass everything needs to be in tip top shape. 

I went to the waiting room, poured a steaming cup coffee and started checking out the news on my IPad.  Much to my surprise there was only one other person in the room and he left on the shuttle van as soon as he found out his wait would be over an hour.  He grumbled something about the techs not even showing up until seven thirty and exited left. 

Today is Cathy’s birthday and I tried calling her when the clock struck nine.  Does anyone answer their phone anymore?  I got the standard “I’ll get right back to you….have a blessed day”.  Ubetcha!

At a few minutes after nine the truck was done and I was standing in the cashier’s office.  No surprises today like a huge bill for a water pump or being told my truck didn’t have a horn.  The transmission fluid “looks fantastic” and I should be good to go.  The key, a special electronic job, was as much as the oil change.  Technology!!

Judith was up and waiting to go for a walk when I got back to the rig.  I had a quick bite and we headed out.  When we rounded the first turn we saw a small box turtle in the road.  It was a beautiful little thing; neither of us had a camera.  Next we saw three families of geese all in the same area and all different sizes.  That makes me wonder if we’ll have a nesting family at our lake this year.  Each morning we’ve seen a rabbit in the same place and this morning he or she had another rabbit with her or him.  We’re in a park and they aren’t very scared of people.  We talked to the maintenance guy and let him know we were still having problems.  He promised to stop by and put in a new breaker. 

We didn’t want to leave Buddy alone so Judith took the truck and ran errands while I held down the fort.  By eleven it was almost ninety.  The forecast is for more hot days with lots of wind.  The good news is we have had no thunder storms and not a hint of the “T” word.  Seventy two hours and counting.

Well, John Edwards fate is now in the jury’s hands.  He could get thirty years…..but won’t.  The guys a creep.  If he had a conscious, which he clearly doesn’t, that alone would punish him for the rest of his life. 

It looks as if The Rev Wright has spilled his guts in a three hour interview with the author of The Amateur, a book about Obama.  Also surfacing is the FACT that Obama hired a literary agent, in 1991, to promote Dreams of My Father.  It seems that this agent was “confused” about where Obama was born.  Imagine that?

We got a call from Tina, at two, asking us to pick up Alex from school at three thirty.  When we pulled into the school yard both Amanda and Alex were there and Amanda was making a map to where we’d find Avery.  We all went back to the RV park.  Alex and Judith made pillows, Amanda and I played gin and crib and Avery ate chocolate mousse.  David came by around five and picked up Avery.

With the other Grandmothers in town we were on our own for dinner.  I fired up the tool box grill and cooked lamb chops.  A nice salad and a couple ears of corn filled the bill. 

Judith is packing for her trip which is getting closer by the second. 

I finally got a hold of Cathy and wished her Happy Birthday.  How in the world did my youngest become forty three years old? 

Lots to do tomorrow.  More packing for Judith and I need to pick up a few things for our trip north.  We’ll be taking everyone out for Amanda’s graduation dinner tomorrow evening.  She chose the Cheese Cake Factory. 

Judith, Alex, Amanda, Tina and Avery

Our ninth RVing “season” is coming to a close.  During those nine years we’ve had nice years, cool years, rainy years but never a hot one……….until this year.  Every since we drove into Houston, well over two months ago, it has been downright HOT.  Our furnace may have run only three or four times and our propane usage is down to one bottle every two month.  In a normal year we average two bottles a month.  What a contrast to last summer where, at River House, we had only a handful of days over seventy. 

I had another early wake up call.  Amanda spent the night and had to leave for school by ten after seven.  Amanda likes really crisp bacon and scrambled eggs.  She got both. 

Judith was up at nine.  After breakfast I got the bikes off the rack and we toured the entire park.  This park is on the edge of Arcadia Lake.  There are lots of nesting geese.  This morning we came across a pair with eight half grown young.  We biked on every road within the park covering at least five or six miles.  I’m not sure it as good exercise as walking, however, it works different muscles. 

Tina called and asked us to take Avery out to lunch.  We took his sisters yesterday and he didn’t get to go.  Tina gave permission to the school and we picked him up at eleven twenty.  Avery insisted on going to Jersey Mike’s Subs located about a mile from his school.  Avery has been there many times and ordered his favorite sandwich; a number 12 regular combo.  I had a meatball sub and Judith ordered a mini roast beef.  Twenty three bucks is a little pricey for lunch with a sixth grader.  I asked Avery is he was interested in reading a kid’s book about money management written by Dave Ramsey.  He quickly answered “NO, I’m terrible with money….I only keep it a couple days when I get any”!  Sounds like we might have the makings of a politician in the family! 

We split up after lunch.  I stayed at the trailer and wore out my arm turning on the breaker on the electric box.  It was eighty eight degrees and the air conditioner was running constantly and popping the breaker every fifteen or twenty minutes.  We didn’t want to leave Buddy alone; being in the trailer without air condition, in this heat, could kill her in a matter of hours.  Judith went over to the house to sew with Alex and Amanda. 

I broke out the Home Cheese Making Book.  It sure sounded easy when I bought the kit.  They should have named it A Thousand Easy Steps To Making Cheese.  Ever wonder why our milk last forever and has no taste.  Well check out the label and see if it is ultra pasteurized.  The more I learn about the food we are eating the more I want to RUN back to the farm, plant a garden, buy some animals and lock the gate.

It was way too hot to cook in the trailer and Tina had her mom arriving this evening so we opted to meet for pizza.  We ended up at an upscale place called BJ’s near Tina’s Charter School.  We ordered a large cheese and a small meat pizza.  Better than average and pretty reasonable.  Alex came home with us and Amanda and Avery went to the airport with Tina. 

Much to my, and Buddy’s, relief the air conditioner was still working when I got back.  I stayed at the rig to make sure it kept running while Judith went back to the house. 

Tomorrow I have a seven o’clock appointment at the Ford dealership in Oklahoma City.  It is just an oil change, however, the last time I went in for service it cost me seventeen hundred bucks and I was stuck there for eight hours.  I don’t expect any problems like that tomorrow.  I do, however, what everything checked out before heading north.  The truck has 115k on it which isn’t much for a diesel.  Judith will be doing laundry and packing for her upcoming trip.

When the Great White North comes out of its winter’s sleep it comes out with a vengeance.  Yesterday the temperature hit a tropical sixty three.  When I logged onto the cameras this morning they was a big difference from yesterday; the trees were just beginning to bud out when I logged off last night and this morning the leaves were clearly visable.  I can even see my three “new” trees in the garden are coming to life. 

Once again my morning started with getting up at six, getting the coffee on and waking Alex.  Tina put in an omelet request for six fifty.  I figured she would be a few minutes late but had it finished by five minutes to seven.  Ten minutes later she and Avery arrived, wolfed down their breakfast, and rushed off with Alex in tow.  We have been here four days and it has been nonstop activities from dawn to dusk.

I had a couple of hours before Judith started her day and went over my checklist for any last minute items.  I was looking in my computer case the other day when I came across a UV filter part that I stuck in there the day I left River House.  I usually pick up a replacement in Kennewick, Washington; the only place I’ve ever found one.  I searched on the internet and then Googled “ponds” and came up with a local supplier.  I gave them a call and they thought they could help.  When I got there the guy said they were discontinued four years ago and I wasn’t going to find one.  When I got back to the rig I call Kennewick and one will be shipped within the next week.  I want to fill the aquarium window water feature as soon as I get the garden planted and without this part the water clarity will be very poor. 

Judith and I went for a long walk this morning.  It was still in the mid seventies at ten making for a very pleasant walk.  This is snake country and we have been sticking to the main roads.  The last thing we need, this last week, is to get a snake bite. 

Next on the day’s agenda was meeting Tina, Amanda and Alex at Dot Wo, their favorite Chinese restaurant.  We were there the moment they opened and the owner gave them the royal treatment.   I have a feeling they eat there often.  We all had variations of the lunch special; the food was above normal and very reasonable. 

With lunch out of the way we stopped at Target.  Judith has does her recycling there and as a thank you shops there whenever she can.  I went to the Lowe’s next door to try and find watercress seeds.  No cigar.  Judith and I like watercress to spice up salads.  I’ve yet to find them in the Bulkley Valley.

Judith stayed at the park making chocolate mousse pies while I drove the taxi over to Avery’s school to haul him back home.  He is a fun kid and seemingly enjoys hanging out with his old Papa.  When we got back we broke out the gin cards.  He is a darn good gin player and understands strategies.  I did manage to beat him a couple of times and got two back rubs for my efforts.

Judith cooked tacos at our place this evening.  I always enjoy tacos and they were a family staple every Wednesday night.  When everyone got their fill Judith broke out the pie.  Wonderful.

Tomorrow will be another busy day.  The other grandparents start arriving tomorrow night.  Four days to graduation…….five days to blast off towards River House. 

World Largest Tow Vehicle??

Avery asked for a wakeup call at six twenty.  My alarm went off at six to start my day.  Tina was coming over at seven and I agreed to cook breakfast.  I put on the coffee and woke Avery. 

I have been a Direct TV customer for the last nine years and I won’t be shedding any tears when I pull the plug on the service in another week.  In the past I put it on vacation hold, however, this time it will be for keeps.  I couldn’t get a signal this morning so had to rely on the internet. 

By the time the scrambled eggs were ready Tina came through the door.  She had all of ten minutes to eat before taking Avery to school.  We agreed to meet for lunch. 

Job one this morning was taking a long walk.  We walked the loop near the lake and picked up beer cans as we went.  We are usually here during spring break and the place is packed.  This time we are about a month later than normal and this seems to be the off season.  I’ve seen just about everything in the last nine years.  Well, almost.  Today’s blog picture put a smile on my face.

We wanted one more good Mexican meal before we head north.  We picked up Tina at her office and drove a short distance to a Mexican restaurant.  While the chips and salsa were good my burrito was subpar; ground beef inside and swimming in a sad looking brownish black sauce. 

After lunch we made a quick trip back to the park to spend an hour or so before meeting Amanda and Avery after school.  I finished Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  I really enjoyed this book and will NEVER eat a banana, especially in the Great White North, without thinking about the fuel it took to put it in my hand.  The book prompted me to order a cheese making kit and we are looking forward to experimenting when we get back to River House.  There are many reasons to support your local Farmer’s Market that go way beyond fresh produce and American/Canadian made products.

Amanda arrived about ten minutes late; Avery caught another ride home and didn’t let her know.  We met her friend, Stephen who is graduating in Tina’s class and will be going to college, in Chicago, this fall.  We talked until Alex got out of school.  Next on the agenda was a trip to the mall so Judith and Alex could check out Dollar Tree and the fabric shop.

Alex is taking ballet lessons and we were allowed to sit in on today’s session.  Alex got a late start in ballet and is in a class with much younger kids.  Alex is a great kid and this doesn’t bother her one iota.   

It was close to six when we headed back to house to start dinner.  We took on the cooking duties and fixed halibut and prawns; the last of both.  Judith fixed both brown and white rice while Tina sliced tomatoes and steamed broccoli.  The kids liked the fish but weren’t crazy about peeling the shrimp. 

I checked in late in the day at River House.  The temperature was sixty three degrees; the highest since last October.  I can see the trees and shrubs budding out.  I have just about ruined my eyes squinting into my monitor trying to see any life on the apple, cherry and plum trees I planted in my garden last spring.  Two weeks from today I should be standing in the middle of my garden checking things out in person. 

There will be lots to do tomorrow.  Tina will be here by seven to pick up Alex who is here tonight for a sleepover.  We have an early lunch with the girls, will pick up Avery after school and will cook at Tina’s house tomorrow evening.

May 13^th

I woke up this morning, at six thirty, excited knowing that in one week from that very moment I’d be on the road north to River House.  We are currently twenty six hundred miles from home.  No matter how you cut it that is a long drive. 

The plan for the day was to be at Tina’s, at eleven, for brunch.  I mixed sourdough pancake batter here and it was ready to hit the grill when we got to Tina’s.  Tina’s kids are very food diverse (aka picky) and she warned NOT to try and please them all.  Amanda settled for toast and the rest of us ate pancakes and French toast.  I also cooked sausage; Avery and I ate most of it with the last piece going to a very happy Teddy. 

David, Tina’s husband, was at the archery club running today’s event.  He called early in the day to say there was a below average turnout.  I’m sure mother’s day had something to do with that.

After lunch we drove to Edmond; Judith and the girls were looking for fabric and Avery and I were looking for RC boats.  We struck out but the ladies came out with a sewing machine and fabric.

Amanda, Avery and I played gin this afternoon.  Amanda and I each won one and I beat Avery.  The standard bet with all my kids and grandkids is two minute back rubs. 

Judith volunteered to do the cooking duties today helped by all the girls.  Chicken parmesan, sweet corn, mashed potatoes and green beans made the perfect meal. 

Avery is over this evening for a sleepover.  He and Judith are playing gin while I bang out this blog and try to build more points on Zygna.  I opened my big mouth and told Darrell I’d have more points than he has when he arrives next Saturday.  Since he has forty million and I have just eight things look pretty bleak. 

Everybody will be either working tomorrow or in school.  My day will start early tomorrow.  Tina is coming over at seven and I’ll have breakfast waiting when she arrives.  We plan to have lunch with Tina then pick up Alex when she gets out of school at two thirty.

Avery in Action on the Field

If you need an alarm clock to get you out of bed you’ve got the wrong job.  In our ninth year of RVing travel days still ring my bell.  I’m not sure if it just the anticipation of the trip, worries about dragging a whale around behind us or both. 

I was up this morning at six thirty with less than six hours of sleep last night.  I checked the weather and ran the route on mapquest.  There are always options; shortest and fastest.  On most occasions we choose the more scenic route which normally takes longer.  Not today.  Avery had a soccer game at three and we wanted to be there.  The shortest route on Mapquest was going north on MO 39 to INT 44 and stay on it all the way to Arcadia.  Mapquest estimated four hours and thirty minutes to complete the trip. 

I woke Judith up at seven and went outside to hook up.  Doug appeared a few minutes later and we talked while I got things ready.  I filled the water tank from his well; good water is hard to find. 

It was sprinkling as we said our goodbyes at a few minutes before eight.  We enjoyed the visit and will make a trip to River House in October. 

When I went to plug in the Arcadia address into the Ford’s GPS there was a two hour discrepancy in the travel time between Mapquest’s calculations and my trusty Ford GPS which usually agree but not today.  As we headed north to Int 44 the time discrepancy increased and then the GPS tried to send us further North and not use the most direct route.  After a little checking we found out the GPS settings changed to “avoid freeways”.  We reset the settings and the GPS routed us directly to Oklahoma City.

We called Tina mid morning and she was just heading over to the State Park to reserve a space.  The park insists on charging us an extra ten bucks a day for our truck top boat regardless if it is used or not.  They do have two spaces right before the park entrance and that rule doesn’t apply to those two spaces.  Both were available and we reserved one for the balance of our trip.  That doesn’t put us near the lake, however, it is close to Tina’s and town.

We no sooner were set up than Tina and the girls arrived and we were off to the races.  We followed them to the Soccer field and waited almost an hour for Avery’s game to start.  Avery is a good athlete and enjoys the game.  This was a playoff game and they needed to win or their season was finished.  Avery’s team scored first but eventually lost two goals to one. 

After the game we went to a local burger place; Flattire Burgers.  We had a way better than expected meal. 

With eating done we headed back to their house to talk and play Pegs and Jokers.  They have a two year old part lab; part mastiff named Teddy and sometimes referred to as Teddybear.  He is as big as a horse, still acts like a puppy and is a pretty nice dog.  Six of us played and Tina came out the winner.

We were back at the RV around ten.  A few minutes after we got back someone knocked at the door.  I looked out to see two really clean cut kids, a boy and girl.  They said their car needed a jump and it was just fifty feet away.  Judith was nervous but I would have bet the house these were two nice kids that needed help.  They said they came out to “stargaze” and when they got back in the car the battery was dead.  I grabbed my jumper box and walked about three hundred yards to their car.  When the jumper box wouldn’t do the job I came back and got the truck and my jumper cables and got them back on the road.  Turns out the just graduated from high school and will be heading off to college soon.  They couldn’t thank me enough.  I told them to Pay It Forward.

A good review for Smarter Than Me

Mystery solved.  We received our mail today and in it was Escapees Magazine with a great review of Smarter Than Me.  It was released a day or two ago and I believe it is responsible for the recent increase in sales.  How do you eat an elephant. 

We will have brunch at Tina’s tomorrow and then do something with the kids.  David has a Archery event tomorrow, however, I won’t attend.  The grandkids are in school all next week and I want to spend as much time with them as we can.

Jarek with the catch of the day

The furnace came on last night for the second time in as many months.  I got up at six thirty, fed Buddy and turned on Fox.  Crazy economic things keep happening all over the world.  The biggest bank in Spain is taken over by the government.  Our three biggest banks all just admitted “bad” trades and lost billions.  Something is VERY rotten and it isn’t just in Denmark. 

Job one today was making sure the boat loader works.  The boat loader is now ten years old and is starting to have a few problems.  Putting the boat on and off the truck without it is NOT an option.  I worked all morning cleaning contacts, making jumper cables and after three hours got it to the point where I was ninety percent sure it would work.

Doug was tied up, this morning, with a Park Ranger from the Corp of engineers.  The Corps has strict rules about cutting ANY brush or trees along the shore line.  Doug wasn’t a happy camper at the end of the appointment. 

Today was Jarek last day of school and came home at twelve thirty.  We waited for him to get home so he could go out on the lake with us.  The good news the boat was in the water at three thirty; right on schedule.  The bad news was the motor hadn’t run in seven months and wouldn’t start.  I have a master’s degree in floating boat repair.  This skill set started, many years ago, when my Uncle Red gave me my first boat.  It took almost two hours with the help of carburetor cleaner and a lot on ingenuity to get the motor running.

As soon as it started we headed across the lake knowing full well rowing back might be in the cards.  Ray, Doug’s neighbor, suggested we try a cove across the lake and it turned out to be a classic crappy spot.  While the crappy have finished spawning they are still hanging around in the coves driven lower by the seventy six degree water temperature.  Jarek started plugging for bass while Doug and I put on minnows.  A few minutes before seven we threw in the towel and with the exception of one tiny bluegill we caught zip, nada, nothing. 

The motor started and ran well on the trip back across the lake.  Putting it back on the truck was no problem.  It took us about thirty minutes to load the boat and get back to the house.

I checked in with Judith and Gayle.  They had dinner under control so I headed back to the yard and with the help of Doug and Jarek I repacked the back of the truck.  Doug gave us two beautiful pair of snowshoes; one set will come in handy when we stay for Christmas and the other will be eye candy at one of the cabins. 

We pan fried halibut in coconut oil and boiled prawns.  Gayle boiled potatoes and cooked sweet corn.  Apple pie and ice cream topped off the meal. 

Tomorrow we head for Tina’s in Arcadia, Oklahoma.  It will be another full week before attending Amanda’s High School graduation next Saturday morning. 

Seven Story Christ of the Ozarks Statue

My day started late; I didn’t get up until nine.  Job one was catching on my blog posting.  I had gotten home way to late last night to create and post a blog.

Judith was up within minutes and we ate breakfast and discussed the day.  Job one for me was seeing if I could find all the cables, plugs and other goodies need to get the boat of the top of the truck and actually go fishing. 

I started digging around in my truck, around eleven, and Doug showed up on the scene.  I found everything I needed accept a plug for the boat motor fuel tank.  There are several marine supply places in town and we headed to Shell Knob to check things out.  Judith and Gayle went along.  Our first stop was at a tackle shop where I picked up a one day license and a few jig heads, hooks and sinkers.  The one day license was a very reasonable seven bucks.  It took three tries to find the right plug.  The last stop was for boat motor fuel; just enough for a few hours of fishing tomorrow.  We are ready to rip some lips.

A Beautiful Hotel Built Around 1890

Doug and Gayle really wanted to show us Eureka, Arkansas.  We are always up for a new adventure and gladly made the hour drive to Eureka.  We covered a lot of the beautiful farm country we saw yesterday.  About all they told us was Eureka was a “neat” place and they wanted us to see this little jewel in Northern Arkansas.  Not in my wildest dreams did I expect what we actually saw this afternoon.  As we drove into town we spotted two huge, beautiful Victorians that were totally restored.  We have seen lots of great Victorians in our travels and these were right near the top of the list.  When we dropped down into the main old town area we began seeing beautiful buildings as far as the eye could see.  We drove for at least ten minutes spiraling around the old town until we came to and stopped at a magnificent old hotel.  I don’t know a lot about Eureka and I’m much too tired to do any research this evening, however, something BIG has happened in this town and I’d really like to find out.  We only spent four hours there but I’m sure it would take a good week to see everything that area has to offer.  There was a town trolley tour, however, we didn’t go. 

One of the Many Interesting Buildings in Eureka

On the way out of town we stopped at Bubba’s a BBQ place that has been serving Q since 1979.  Judith and I shared a chicken plate and Doug and Gayle ordered ribs.  There food was above average and reasonable. 

I haven’t sold many copies of SmarterThan Me lately; however, three copies have sold in the last two days on Amazon.  Maybe some of those reviews I was promised are finally hitting the streets.  Hmmm.

After the hour trip home we had a quick beer on their back porch and called it a day.

Tomorrow the plan is to put the boat in late tomorrow afternoon and see if we can catch a crappy or two.