So much Info

 There is so much info packed into this issue of www.rvtravel.com that I decided to post the entire newsletter instead of cherry-picking my faves.

https://www.rvtravel.com/997-04-42/?popupally_stop=subscriber&vgo_ee=r3oV9Pck4yT31DYg%2B3%2B1tDpxdzkQNl9LgdxZ9pnzLRY%3D

Today is the day

 Today we are going to my sister Myrla's home to disassemble her pool table and bring it back to Jefferson. We have lots of good help lined up and are including a lifetime membership to the pool hall for their effort. Unfortunately, it will be our lifetime, not theirs!😊

So the big day has arrived and I plan to take photos of the proceedings. So keep tuned...

Catch up surprises

 As most other online computer junkies know if you have been off the computer for, let us say one week, you are faced with choices; you can wade through the mountain of entries one at a time or you can wipe out the whole business and start over. I use a third option which is sort and delete. Whatever method used eats up time. The good news is that it is too doggone cold to do anything else?

We did get the fridge emptied yesterday, transferring everything to the house fridge. So meal prep can carry on in the warmth of our cozy little tiny house. We do have to keep the furnace running in the MOHO or winterize it. No to winterizing in late April! It is currently 36 degrees outside and expected to dip to 26 tonight. We get a reprieve after that...if we can trust it. The temps here are currently what they were when we loaded up last October. Hardly seems fair!

Another surprise, which falls into the minor irritation category is that we have lost our Jigzone competition that Butch and I have done for many years. www.jigzone.com used to be a website whereby you could subscribe for free, ask people to compete with you, and get the invitation in email each day. Butch and I would compete with each other every day, sometimes he would win, and sometimes I would. It was a ritual we both enjoyed. I know we were doing this before we retired in 2003 so I would say a strong 20 years of puzzles! So I tried everything I could think of to get it back including going to an old email that had a member link on it. The message I landed on said GONE in big, bold letters so I must assume they are no longer letting us subscribe. We can still go to the website, change the cut to 48 classic pieces, and put the pieces where they belong but it is not the same. 

Stops on the way home

 In Arkansas:

Bill and Butch play cribbage

Supper with Bill and Jo at Macks Steakhouse- The best hushpuppies I have ever tasted!

 Bill told us that they are located on Indian land. He picks up arrowheads all the time and has ever since he first landed there. This one looks like part of a mortar and pestle.

Bill and I share an obsession with interesting rocks. He has quite a collection.

 

The squirrels chew on these metal pipes. This is one end...

and here is the other end. These started out as complete pipes.

Blue Jay and Cardinal share food.

Different Blue Jay 

A tiny little hummer

Butch and Bill looking at the river

Do you see the squirrel?

Blue Jay 

Cardinal

The Little Red River

Bill and Jo's view of the river 

Herron 

The carport

The riverside of Bill and Jo's house

Path to the dock

Bills dock looking at the dock across the river

Bill's dock

The Guys outside at the neighbors

Butch and Bill walking

Street side of Bill and Jo's home

Wisteria

And we got into the picture!

Jenny in her favorite spot.

Squirrel sitting on a decoy

Woodpecker 

Butch coming up from the dock

In Missouri:

Miss Elise gives us a fashion show

Waiting to be seated at Denny's

Pokemon instruction from Leo.

Brad showing Butch his tractor

The Missouri kids backyard

Trip Log 2021

My Internet was quite sketchy throughout the trip from Sunrise RV Park in Arkansas to Jefferson, our hometown so I just threw up my hands and said to heck with it. I did have this entry all done and hit publish, something wonky happened and it was all gone. GRRRR...

We had a wonderful visit with Bill, Jo, and Jenny (dog) in Heber Springs AR. I took lots of pictures there and when I get my high-speed internet and am off my phone hotspot I will get them loaded and sent to this blog. That should happen this afternoon. I am currently waiting for the water guys to reinstall our meter.

We awoke to snow this morning. It seems to happen every year whereby we have at least one snow when we return. Last year we didn't come home till mid-May and it still happened! I would be afraid to wait till June! The forecast is for below freezing temps until Thursday so we are not in a hurry to get our belongings moved from one spot to the other.

So back to the trip log- We left Bill and Jo's early, like a little after 7:00AM. We knew it was a long trip of nearly 400 miles. We took the long way because of the famous twisty-turning-up and down route on highway 65. The 65 route is considerably shorter mile-wise but much more unpleasant on the nerves. So from Heber Springs, we went west on 25, then south on 65 to Conway then I-40 west to I-49 north that takes us all the way to Peculiar MO.

While at Gary and Susan's we had a great visit with them and the Teeter family on Saturday. One of the highlights was a Pokemon lesson given by Leo. Trust me, I know a whole boatload more about Pokemon than I did before and I could tell you the fundamentals because Leo is an excellent teacher. I think he must come by it honestly. Elise gave us a fashion show. That girl is working on her next play that will be performed in late May. She too is such a joy to visit with and has a vivid imagination while being totally practical. That sounds like an oxymoron but she pulls it off.

So it feels good to be back in our hometown of Jefferson. Now if the weather would moderate it would be perfect! The water guys were here and now the Internet guys this afternoon and we will be back on track.

Stay tuned for the pictures!

Rainstorms

 We are experiencing rainstorms mixed in with some lightning and thunder. It will pass as I can see on radar. In years past Butch would head out regardless. I am trying to hold him back without success it seems. So grin and bear it.

Inconsequential

 Before we left I scoped out the routes for each day's travel on Google maps just as I have always done in the past and then I have them sent to my phone and By Golly, it has always worked. I also double-check everything on the Internet to make sure it is all kosher every day. I know, Trophy Gardens Keny Patrick would call me an overachiever. But then Keny calls everybody an overachiever!

Day one worked as usual. It was a route we had not taken for several years and we were not remembering things as smoothly as we would have preferred but it was okay. A good day without incident.

Day two, Sonny's RV Park at Lexington TX to Sunrise RV Park Texarkana, AR. We started out okay but then Miss Google tried to change our route and she was persistent so we went with it and no, it was not the route we would have chosen but it worked. But you know how discombobulated you can feel when the unexpected happens? Well, that is how we felt most of the day. Or at least that is how I was feeling. Butch seemed to be okay with it.

We have been up and down the 281 route twice a year for so many years that we know it pretty well, making it a relaxing trip. And now we are in an age where change is not all that welcome even though it might be good for us. So the most unknown and not remembered road is behind us. Still some ahead but not as much. From our current location, it is 205 miles to Bill and Jo's so it is a short day with family at the end. All is good! 

(For those of you wanting details- Our original plan included north on 77, to 79 north to 59 north then I 30 to our current place in the Sunrise RV Park. Miss Google had us turn onto 155 at Palestine, then 49 to I 20 picking up 155 again to 59 then I 30 to Sunrise RV Park. It wasn't bad but lots of turns. Traffic was fairly light. And roads were in fairly good shape.  In my mind the jury is still out. I am sure a second trip would seem easier. Things are always easier the second time you do them,)

Travel Plans

 For those of you who keep up with us either for fun or flubs or both here is the outline for the next week. I may be a bit more detailed than necessary but as most of you know this is a journal as much as a news feature and I often check back on years past. Mostly when it comes to a disagreement 😇 between us but sometimes for the details, we like to know parks, mileage, etc. As well as what route we took in what year...you get my point.

Departure from Trophy 4/12/21

Arrival at Sonny's RV Park- 345 miles

overnight on 4/23/21- Sunrise RV Park-316 Miles

Arrival at Bill and Jo's midday on 4/14/21 206 Miles

? Departure 4 /16/21

Missouri kids- Arrival may be late in the day because the mileage is right near 400 miles

? Departure 4/18/21 to Jefferson- It should be a reasonable day with the mileage at 275

We have most things done with just a few final details like disconnecting the Internet, securing things to their travel home on the internal items. The outside items are mostly done except for a few of the last minutes like electrical cords, sewer and water connections, TV antenna. We will hook up the car in the morning. Butch mentioned that where we are located we could hook up the car early but after thinking about it and being reminded that the park prohibits motor vehicles of any kind on the grass because it can easily break a water pipe, morning is best

We are well versed in the things it takes to be ready to roll but time and age can dull it to disaster if care is not taken and lists made.

We hope to see a bunch of familiar faces in the next week or so and we are very much enthused by it all.

Till next I write...

Listen!

Butch and I are currently occupied with getting ready to roll but I had to take time to read Colleen's column as I normally do and if I cannot tell you something to joggle your brain cells she certainly can. So consider yourselves joggled and dive into a new way to roll.

Take a pod on a walk, to lunch, to bed with you

April 7, 2021

a column by Colleen O’Brien

The word podcast [CC1] has been around about 15 years. It’s not science fiction chat or a mob of whales in the ocean but a name for transmitting information via electronic gadget software so we can download readings, discussions, interviews, opinion, informational audios of 15 minutes or so up to an hour or more.

Often the podcasts that you will be attaching to your phone or computer or tablet are merely an entertainment or a series – every day, once a week, now and then – or of something so one-time thoroughly interesting – politics, short stories, science, music, exercise, diet, design, travel, cooking. I listen to podcasts of so many kinds, it’s like being read to from the Britannica, that compendium from another century containing all the information of all the world.

In this case, the podcast case, the spoken word of someone’s world interesting to irresistible is a relief from the day’s news because I’m choosing what I’m learning. And it doesn’t have to be awful, like the daily news usually is.

I live alone. I don’t like TV. I read a lot but my eyes weary. So, I listen on my phone to podcasts. Going to sleep, cooking, cleaning, walking, I use a phone. I could sit down and use a computer or a tablet. In the solitude of an introvert stuck in a pandemic, podcasts are my new friends.

When they first started, podcasts were a relatively underground happening. USA Today got hold of the story on them in 2004, and within weeks, because of the newspaper’s wide circulation broadcast of the information, the numbers of people reading the article, investigating and then signing up and listening to podcasts grew exponentially. Now, a mere decade and a half later, there are more than 750,000 podcasts available across the globe. By the time you read this, it could be 800 thou, a million.

Podcasts I’ve learned to like include Hilary Clinton interviewing interesting people, women and men of value and productivity. She is one of the best interviewers I listen to, including Terry Gross of NPR, because Hillary asks maybe one question and lets the interviewee talk. Most interviewers seem to drop their own lives and ideas into the conversation; Hillary simply allows the interesting person to go ahead and tell us listeners what she or he has to say.

I also listen to different meditation podcasts – relaxation directions, mindfulness, being in the moment – so far, I haven’t come across a bad one, and I like the variety.

I discovered a podcast about language – “Linguistics from the University of Chicago” – that turned out to be a history of a Chicago icon called The Chicago Manual of Style. This is the thick tome writers use as a guide to consistency, style and correctness, info not only important but fascinating to them. Chicago, which is how it’s known to its users, has been one of my go-to’s since college, and now I have access to a podcast where I can listen to people talk about how precise and perfect it has been for more than a hundred years.

I listen to a podcast called “Ologies” (as in anth-“ology”, anthro-“pology,”) etc. One of my favorites is “oology” (eggs); another, “fanthropology” (being a fan of something, i.e., – fandom); I tried “Nephrology”: (kidneys) – and listened only for a minute or two, my interest in kidneys not paramount. I signed up for the podcast because of Mr Rogers talking about “ologies” such as “snow-ology,” a joke my son and his friends used to make about their kindly TV pal.

“The Old Soul Movie Podcast” contains a long list of long talks (at least an hour) by hosts Emma and Jack about movies that each time alters my perceptions of flicks I saw years ago. Their discussion of “On the Waterfront” is fascinating because the hosts explain the influence of the times on the movie. It was the era of the unjust hunting down Communists in our midst – Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy in charge of the House Un-American Activities Committee ferreting out Communists among Hollywood actors and directors – one of them “Waterfront” director, Elia Kazan, who fingered others as Communists to save himself. Marlon Brando (in the final draw, he won out as lead over Frank Sinatra) and Eva Marie Saint, in 1954, acted in the movie that won nine Academy Awards out of 12 nominations. “A big one for so many reasons,” said host Emma. Listen and find out why. Then you can try “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Gaslight,” “Vertigo,” “Rebel Without a Cause.” There are at least half a dozen other old-movie podcasts to choose from, as well.

There are book discussions of all kinds – On the Road by Jack Kerouac is one I listened to recently and discovered things I did not perceive from simply having read the book. And there are podcasts that tell me, in my slight interest, how to perhaps understand a famous book I know I’ll never read but might like to know enough to talk about, or at any rate, understand. The Prince (1513) by Machiavelli and Leviathan (1651) by Thomas Hobbes are podcasts I keep returning to, hoping for something – they are part of my Western Civilization DNA, after all. If not for understanding, I’m not sure why I keep returning to them – something about the language they used maybe?

A new podcast features eight episodes of Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen discussing the future.

There are a great number of brain science podcasts from research scientists all over the world –– for students, for the most advanced interests, for us laypersons. Brain podcasts are plentiful – the plasticity of the brain, the regeneration of the brain, the busyness of the brain, the brain versus the mind – I’ve found these all worth my time.

The science podcasts boggle my mind – pick a subject, from the sex life of the cardamom seed to interstellar travel.

Mind and body fitness are all over the podcast scene, along with music, dance, piano, guitar (name an instrument), horseback riding, hiking Kilimanjaro and Mount Everest as well as diving the deep seas and the just-under-the-surface rivers of Florida.

There are podcasts for preschoolers, grade schoolers, teens, retirees, singles – all of us of whatever ages and interests, proclivities, talents, wannabes.

To become a podcast listener, I acquired a “podcast” app on my phone and then searched and browsed and made my own library of podcasts. Each day, I browse a bit more and find more enticing podcasts – history, both predictable and weird; ridiculous everything (pick a subject); hilarity; seriousness; religion; manufacturing (reports, organization of, state of, future of, production-conquering-connections-global). Really, if you’re looking for a podcast subject and can’t find it, let me know.

A friend told me she merely asked her Alexa to “play a podcast,” and Alexa chose one about honor killings, which turned out to be so interesting, my friend told her husband to listen to it. He did, and he also was fascinated. There’s something about a podcast that doesn’t make me feel guilty, like watching Netflix does, for example. It might be that podcasts don’t seem to be compelling me against my will but complying with it.

I’ve found podcasts that are thorough, inciteful, widely varied, entertaining, up to date – Mrs. Google in comparison looks like a stodgy schoolmarm of the 20th century with a list of things for me to memorize or look up on my own. Her suggestions might be helpful, but her depth has plunged nowhere near as daringly far as many a podcast I’ve come across.

Jared Hall update

 Jared is our friend Sherri Clark's son and we can say we knew him when! It seems like such a long time ago and then again like yesterday. I enjoyed this feature story about him and thought you might too.

https://www.savannahnow.com/story/entertainment/2021/03/30/velvet-caravan-hiatus-jared-hall-brings-music-together-savannah-ga/7017483002/?fbclid=IwAR2XPmGxJMBCgUmVCFJec-yhyR8f5pUHp7iTM5vVZqaVRk5k6CFCbJnoV4I

Do You Remember These Classic Saturday Morning Cartoons?

 From TriviaGenius.com

https://www.triviagenius.com/do-you-remember-these-classic-saturday-morning-cartoons/XtY_ghx5DQAG1g6p?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1254634033

Jefferson Iowa Hoops

Hoops for the final four games were made in Jefferson Iowa. Here are two stories about it.

 https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/2019/03/19/basketball-backstop-hoop-nba-wnba-ncaa-iowa-american-athletic-march-madness-2019-tournament-bracket/3208826002/

https://www.facebook.com/Spalding/photos/a.413608378706905/4183879941679711/

90 plus

 Wednesday was 90 degrees plus and then it did not get above 61 or 62. Yikes! It is always difficult to deal with these wide mood swings of mother nature. In addition, it rained most of the night. Oh well, it tiz what it tiz.

Not much on my mind this morning other than getting things in order. Everything takes on a different tone as the park residents dwindle. So the slower pace gets slower. It is nice to have this time to get ready to travel on both ends. Last fall we were pushed and we found many small things we had forgotten to include in our departure plan. You don't mess with old people! We still get it right most of the time but we take longer in the process.

Hitchitch has begun. We are ready to get on with the next project up north and very much looking forward to a fun summer.

 

The last weeks...

 The last few weeks we are in South Texas almost always are a hurry-up-and-wait situation or frantic as all get out. We are currently in the former situation. I am making lists and doing my best to try and remember all the loose ends that need binding. That part seems to be more of a challenge as the aging process grinds on.

The season at Trophy takes on a slower pace when April rolls around. With covid, it has been a slower pace all season. And those who know me well are aware I am okay with that. I think the whole world should slow down, take a deep breath and count to 4. Those who watch PBS regularly will know where that phrase came from.

Getting ready is both a physical and mental process. one of the physical aspects will be going through every cupboard and drawer and make sure the contents are road-ready. We need to do that both inside and out as well as in the car.  So that is where our minds have been going of late, getting ready for the big move.

As I look around the park a few folks leave every day. It has been a trickle since the first of March. We are always some of the last to depart. This comes after years of going home too early and putting up with winter weather far more than we want to. That has happened here far too often! We keep getting very cold days stuck in between several hot ones. The moderation is missing!

So now I am going to mosey down to the pool hall and see if there are any stragglers wanting to play a game. (ladies day)

Rain!!!

 This is something we have not seen much of this season in South Texas. This bout of rain would be a mere sip to a water-starved area.

Out my window...