Missouri May 2011

 

We left Kentucky on May 2, driving in rain, rain and more rain.  We decided to head south into Tennessee even though we wanted to end up going north.  By doing this we were going to be able to come out west of St. Louis and it only added a few miles to our route.

I feel so sorry for all these folks in this area that are experiencing the flooding…there was water everywhere and we went by several roads that were closed to traffic.  We were getting a bit worried at one point…the rain just would not stop.  Our goal was to make it to Sikeston, MO before stopping so I called the Missouri Dept. of Transportation at one point to get a road advisory.  The gentleman I spoke to told me that he lived in Sikeston and so far I-55 was open.  He advised that he could not make any promises as to what was to come but that once we got to Sikeston we might want to go on to Cape Girardeau which is about 25 miles north of Sikeston…so we plugged ahead to CG.  We ended up spending Monday and Tuesday night at Cape Camping RV Park.  It was an okay park…folks in the office were very nice.  CG is located right on the Mississippi River…duh…what were we thinking!  There is a wall that blocks the city from the water…yeah.  We bought a few things at Walmart and I was able to get a haircut…not at Walmart…and we had some pretty good Mexican food at El Torero. 

Now about the Walmart…been there, done that.  There are not many places that we have been that we have not cared much about returning to…Rapid City, SD is the only one that comes to mind, hate, hate, hate that Walmart, and now I am adding Cape Girardeau, MO to that list…their Walmart runs a close second to RC.  The old downtown area is really cute but on .

the whole there is just too much traffic in a small area.  I am sure there are some really great things about CG that I did not get to experience that might change my mind…but again, maybe not.  I asked the woman in the campground office about what we really needed to see in the area and it took her a while to think of anything.  The only thing she could come up with were the seawalls or I guess they are riverwalls.  There are murals all along the wall and they were nice but it took about 2 minutes to see them.

So how many people have I offended?  Sorry if I did not have more positive things to say about CG but I have to tell it like it is…possibly someone could give me some idea of what I should have seen and done while we were there.

We drove across the Mississippi River into Illinois.  Water everywhere.  These guys were building a levee to try to keep the water out of their business.

A number of smaller roads were totally closed.

Moving on.

Red Bay, AL… April 2011

This post is backtracking…trying to catch up.

We left Coastal Haven RV park on April 20 and headed north to the Tiffin motorhome service center in Red Bay, AL to have a couple of things done to our Phaeton motorhome.  As we did not have an appointment, we were not sure just how long we would be there before being able to get into a service bay.

But, as usual, we met some great people and formed new friendships.  And we got to eat at our favorite breakfast place in Red Bay…Jack’s.  Here we are starting with the lady in the black top…Barb, Don, Lucy, me, Bob, Carol, Mike and Tom.  Barb, Lucy and Carol are all quilters.

After we had breakfast, we met with these folks again and Bob asked Don, the gentleman in the red shirt, if they happened to have been in South Dakota last summer.  Don said they had…they stayed at Sheridan Lake campground where we were the hosts.  Small world department…they are from Maine.

For you Tiffin folks, this is one of the large trees at the park in downtown Red Bay.  We spent most of one night and the next day in the designated storm shelter at the Tiffin service center due to siren warnings.  Just about the time it was all clear we would start to leave and then another siren would go off.  It was a tiring experience but thankfully no one was hurt and only minor damage in Red Bay.

This was taken in Belmont, AL, where the Tiffin paint shop is located.  There was more damage to  buildings here but again no injuries.

Next stop…Kentucky.  Moving on.

Fulton, MO May 5, 2011

I will have to backtrack after this post but I wanted to get this entered before I forget. From Fulton, KY on Monday to Fulton, MO today…Thursday.  We are staying in Mexico, MO for a few days and today traveled about 25 miles south to Fulton, Missouri the home of Westminster College and the National Churchill Museum...that would be Winston Churchill.  Oh, did I forget to mention that the museum is located in the basement of a church designed by Sir Christopher Wren…in London, England.  Doesn’t every small town have a church that was built in England way back in 1667.  The church was bombed during WWII and was described as an “eyesore” afterwards.

From Wikipedia:

Westminster College is a private, selective, liberal arts institution in Fulton, Missouri, USA. It was founded by Presbyterians in 1849 as Fulton College and assumed the present name in 1851. The National Churchill Museum and Library are located on the campus. The National Churchill Museum (formally known as the Churchill Memorial) is a national historic site and includes the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury. The church, designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1667, was rebuilt on the campus to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill, who made his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in 1946. As a bookend to history, Mikhail Gorbachev gave a speech in 1992, declaring the end of the Cold War.

On November 9, 1990, the one year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, former President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech dedicating a major section of the Berlin Wall, which now stands as a permanent monument on the College Quad, as a backdrop. The monument, named "Breakthrough" as designed by Winston Churchill's granddaughter, Edwina Sandys. See photo below for a visual of the Church, Library, and Berlin Wall monument.

This is a beautiful campus with enrollment of 1300 at this time.  We arrived late in the afternoon but luckily, due to a private function, the hours at the museum had been extended.  To do the museum justice one would need to spend several hours…it is a great museum and a beautiful college campus. 

The museum was truly wonderful…too much to even try to show.  We will have to go back someday when we have lots of time.

Moving on.

Time To Go…April 20, 2011

Each day more of our winter folks were leaving Coastal Haven…

Jeannie and Vern…they are just going to the beach in Florida for a week with their family.  Later they will be heading for Vermont.

Joan, Ron and Kyra on their way to Wisconsin.

Kyra says “What’s the holdup…let’s go!”

Rosanne, Bill and Oliver are on their way to New Jersey and then Wisconsin.

This is our new space…we will be here next winter also.  We are now much closer to the clubhouse and we really like it.

We stayed in Fairhope long enough to see our friends Alex and Don who live in Brazil.  They are in the states for a few weeks…we were so glad to be able to spend a few hours with them.  We met them in 2005 when we were all working at Adventureland in Iowa.

We all had lunch  at Big Daddy’s along with Pat Gloyd who is their host while in the area.  Pat also worked at Aland with all of us.

Don, Pat, Alex, me and Bob.

The next morning we pulled out of our winter home in Fairhope, AL bright and early.  We made a 2 hour stop in Daphne because Bob wanted to have the motorhome tires inflated with nitrogen.  Then we were headed north to Red Bay, AL via Mississippi because we like Hwy. 45…up to Tupelo, MS and then a few miles east into Red Bay.  We have a couple of things that need attention on our Tiffin motorhome and Tiffin is located in Red Bay.

Hey Mark…my location on the map is now correct!

We had to go into a site with water and electric only as the campground was full when we arrived but this morning we were able to move into a full hookup site.  As we don’t have an appointment we have no idea how long it will take us to get into a service bay.  We only have a couple of items to be done so we are hoping to get into a 3 hour express bay real soon.

We had really heavy rain last night but we were so tired we slept through most of it.  More rain predicted for today.

Moving on.

Winding Down April 17, 2011

As the weather continues to warm up, more and more of our winter group are starting to pull up stakes and heading for their summer destinations.

Linda and John are heading back to Chester, Illinois.  They take wonderful care of all us in the park…they keep things running smoothly and Linda organizes so many social activities.  Thanks Linda and John for your great work!

Here Linda is saying goodbye to Oliver Curran.  He is going to miss his morning treats that he gets from Linda.

Jim and Phyllis Gudgalis…fulltime RVers.  On their way to Florida/Georgia and then Illinois.

Then it was Isobel and and Aaron Work heading out to Ohio.  What a charming couple…they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary while here.  Our daily group at happy hour is very tiny now and getting smaller.  We have two more couples leaving tomorrow, one on Tuesday and then Bob and I will be leaving on Wednesday.  We will turn out the lights when we leave.

We had dinner a week or so ago with 2 couples we met while in Cody, Wyoming last summer.  Byron and Glynda live in the area and Dale and Sharon were going from Florida to Texas. 

Good times and good friends will be missed…moving on.

Elberta Sausage Festival March 2011

Saturday morning Bob and I left fairly early and drove to Elberta, AL…a small community about 20 miles from where we are in Fairhope.  It was the day of their semi-annual sausage festival that is put on the the Elberta volunteer fire department…at least I think it is volunteer.  Elberta is very, very small…but it is home to The Road Kill Café and a great cheese farm (can you call a place where they make cheese a farm?).

Okay so back to the festival.  We got there early so there were no lines to get our sausage that was served on a bun with sauerkraut.  It was pretty good but I was raised on some of the best sausage ever that is made about 15 miles from Caldwell in the little town of Snook, Texas.  Okay, okay…anyway we had our sausage.

They had lots and lots of vendors…many of them were selling commercially made items but there were quite a few that had items they had made…lots of jewelry…some of it was lovely.

This man was grinding corn.

Bob ran into a couple of old friends.

Of course they had an oompah band.

Some of the crowd.

There was another band performing called The Stumpfiddle Band.  They are members of the Moose Lodge in Pensacola, FL.  They were outstanding…would love to hear them again.  Their instruments were unusual.

Most people were having a great time…

But not everyone…he was so cute.

It was a fun morning but now we’re…moving on.

It’s Mardi Gras…February 27, 2011

The Mardi Gras season is in full swing with parades and activities happening everywhere.  I know a lot of folks believe that New Orleans is the home of Mardi Gras but it actually began in Mobile, Al which is just a few miles from our park in Fairhope.

We went to our first parade this afternoon in Fairhope…the Mystic Mutts of Revelry.  It is certainly my favorite parade.  Here are a few pictures.

Snooki and The Situation from The Jersey Shore…er, I mean the Eastern Shore.

We then hung around for the night parade put on by the Knights of the Ecor Rouge…this year’s theme was Toyland.  Unfortunately it is very hard to get pictures after dark.  We ran into friends from our park and had a great evening.

Chris, Larry and I are waiting patiently…

I wanted this gentleman’s big beads but he wasn’t giving them up.

Dottie, Barb, me and Chris.

And here came Ron, Vern, Jeannie and Joan.

These find folks are ready to attend one of the balls following the parade.

It’s been a long day…more to come.

Moving on.