Thursday, November 23

Getting back to normal-Fall 2017 Trip

I have been a long time without Internet or at least it feels like that to me. We left Iowa one week ago this morning. I did try to write posts even though I could not get them posted. You will find my efforts here.
Thursday,
Blog-Fall2017
11/18/2017
Butch and I spent the day with Susan and Leo and it was a very fun day. I have some video of Leo talking to me in the car on the way to his school. I currently do not have an internet connection and will not have one until we get into our spot in Magnolia Park on Tuesday so I am trying to get this written in chronological order and some other jewels of the last 2 days will have to wait. He proudly and properly introduced us to his teacher and her assistants. I will write down the pearls of wisdom from little Leo as I recall them. When we headed to the play Leo needed to hold someone's hand while crossing the street and that hand was mine. Leo has had a runny and congested nose ever since we arrived but as we were crossing the street, holding hands, he says,"Don't worry Nana, It isn't a cold. It's just allergies." The way that little 4-year-old mind works is a continual wonder. 
The play was fantastic. This group of children from 8 to 13 and one 7-year-old (Elise) did a really fine job of presenting the play Elf Jr.
Elise was on cloud nine throughout the entire time we were there. Her mother and her grandmother both noticed that many little things that would usually be a big irritation to her didn't have any effect on her at all. She was so excited and exclaimed over and over how happy she was. She didn't need to tell us as it was all over her face. Absolutely beaming. And we are so happy for her. A star is born!
Saturday:
We woke to misty rain and 30 mph winds. The good news was that it was a north wind and we were headed south. It would rain much harder and sometimes gust to 45 and when we turned west headed for Joplin it jerked us around pretty good. It was a short day for us and Thank God for that. We arrived at the Downstream Casino at Quapaw OK a little bit before noon. We indulged in the buffet and played in the casino for a few hours. We like this casino because you can often play for a couple of hours and be lead along enough to keep you going. I won $8.00 and Butch won $1 or $2. We left happy. So now we have been resting, napping and enjoying some downtime. The forecast for the next 3 travel days looks good. So in this week of being grateful, we truly are as happy as clams and exceedingly pleased for all we have been blessed with.
Sunday:
We woke to the sunshine, cool but the sun was shining and minimal wind. So we expected a good travel day. And it was...mostly! I asked Butch about the GPS and he didn't think we would need it until we were closer to Oklahoma City. Wrong! There have been some changes to the Tulsa area since the last time we came this route. So there were a few fast and scary decisions on turns. And then there is a 20 mile stretch of road construction that will not be completed anytime soon between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. In hindsight, Butch said it wasn't all that bad you just had to be careful to not run into the cement barricades. The barricades were on my side. I didn't like it.
We arrived at the Winstar Casino, Exit 1 at Thackerville OK. We decided to eat at the casino and gamble a little. I put in $6 and came home with $20. Must be on a roll. And Butch put in $4 and came home with $5. Talk about big winners! I do believe we qualify.
Rested well.
Monday:
Left the casino park earlier than usual and for my own info we went to Gainesville TX, 6 miles and exited to Hwy 51 headed for Decatur Tx. The reason for this is to avoid Interstate 35 between Gainesville and just north of San Antonio. We pick up 380 west at Decatur( had a bit of trouble finding 380 west) toward Jacksboro where we find HWY 281 South.
In the morning we plan to go down to 1604 on 281 and go east to pick up I-35, followed by I- 410 and then I-37. I-37 becomes 281 once again and we follow it all the way to the Rio Grande Valley. The last part we have done many times over so it is more for others info than ours on that bit.
This park, Roadrunner RV park at Johnson City is more than we like to pay. $40 per night. And as I type this I remember why we accepted this last Spring (April 2017). We had just come through an 8 inch rain with high stress driving . The water on the interstate was halfway up our Motorhome tires and you could not see!
I usually brag on Texas roads but I have a few complaints. It most likely would not be noticed all that much in a car but the motorhome was bouncing pretty good. It straightens up at Hico TX and we had a nice parking lot there too for a lunch break. It is located on 281 about a block before/after turning depending on direction.
Other news: 
I heard that Elise fell asleep backstage during intermission on her Saturday night performance. She was very tired. She did her performance without mistakes but her family could tell she was tired throughout. 
Her Sunday performance was back up to her usual sparkling self. She is a trooper!
So to continue...
Tuesday November 21st.
We did not take 1604 In San Antonio. From Johnson City, we followed 281 south to 311and then hwy 46 over to I-35 south.
We will not take 311 again, at least not in the motorhome. 8 miles and it was very narrow and curvy. Butch found driving in San Antonio traffic challenging and then we remembered we usually try to go through cities on Sundays. And we were doing San Antonio on a Tuesday. We will try to remember our (cities=Sundays) rule from now on.
After leaving San Antonio things smoothed out nicely. We have never minded the trip after getting on I-37. We listen to audiobooks and the time flies. It is, however, a long way. 5 hours at least for us in the motorhome.
As we neared the valley we decided to have our motorhome washed in a truck wash. We had never done that before but last season Wayne Bruun who we know from the park recommended it so we decided to check it out. It is I-69 Truck Wash near Edinburg. They washed the car at the same time. And they wiped it down, all for $45. We filled up with fuel afterward and arrived at Magnolia about 4:30.
If you have read this far I admire your dedication!! 

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