October 5, 2019

September 16, 2019

 Yesterday we got a late start out of Albuquerque.  It was raining a lot so we decided to wait until the weather passed through before leaving.

 We had actually planned to stay at Kirtland AFB for four days but decided to leave one day early to give us a shorter drive today to Amarillo.  We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Tucumcari, NM abut 3:30 and after getting setup in our site we went to the lodge to pay for the parking and relax.

 September 18, 2019

 We left Tucumcari around noon headed to Amarillo, TX., arriving at the Overnite RV Park about 3:30.  During the drive over during a break at a rest stop Joyce noticed that our Norcold refrigerator wasn’t cooling all that good.

 After getting parked I cranked the temperature setting on the refer up to the highest setting.  We the drove over to Jim and Linda Hotz’s home south of Amarillo in the Tanglewood Lake area.  Joyce and I first met Mr. Jim and Miss Linda several years ago in Lockhart, TX and have become life-long friends over the years.

 When we returned back home the refer seemed to not be cooling at all but the freezer was still very cold and actually making ice.  In the morning I did some research and discovered this symptom could be caused by several things, one of which could be the cooling unit going bad.  As you may remember we had that unit replaced in Las Cruces, NM back in March. I finally called a mobile mechanic here in Amarillo and he has put us on his list for today.

 We then went to visit with the Hotz’s who took us out for lunch at Green Chile Willy’s.  One of their specialties on the menu is Chicken Fried Steak so, “when in Texas eat like a Texan”.

September 19, 2019

 Yesterday we had a mobile mechanic come out and look at our refrigerator.  He checked all of the power inputs to the control board and made sure the cooling fans were working properly.  All checked out good so he thinks that the ammonia solution tank had got too hot and some of the solution has crystallized.  How that happened we have no clue but for sure there is nothing that can be done but replace the cooling unit again.  The good news it is under warranty.

September 20, 2019

 We left Amarillo and after stopping for some fuel we headed south on US 287 bound for Henrietta, TX.  The plan was to stay at the city owned Hopgood Park but when I called to check on availability the lady said we couldn’t make a reservation.  Since there isn’t another RV park anywhere near Henrietta we decided to stop in Wichita Falls.

 We arrived at the Wichita Falls RV Park around 2:30 PM and checked in to a huge pull-through parking spot.  After getting set up we drove out to Sheppard AFB to the Commissary and Exchange.  Later we had supper at the Parkway Grill.

 Both Joyce and I have been to Sheppard AFB for training.  For me, I came to here for Basic Aircraft Mechanic training back in August 1966, in 1969 for training on the C-5A and then in 1975 for Basic Flight Engineer School.  Joyce was here for Basic Loadmaster Training in 1981.

 After looking at the weather forecasted for the area, Joyce and I decided to just stay in W-Falls today.  We prefer to not drive in bad weather, so we’re just going to relax.  Remember, sugar melts in the rain.

September 22, 2019

 We had supper at the Highlander Public House in downtown W-Falls on Friday evening.  The food was delicious including some of the best mac and cheese I have ever eaten.

 Yesterday we left W-Falls about 10:00 AM headed to Mineola, TX.  The plan was to go south on US 287 the head east on US 82 to just past Sherman then south on into Mineola.  This route was chosen to avoid the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.

 After driving a while, I decided to tun south onto US 81 that would take us down to Gainesville where we planned to get some fuel.  Well, that plan didn’t work out so good.  Suffice it to say that US 380 from Decatur to Gainesville is one stop light after another and the traffic was terrible.  Won’t do that again.

 After getting on US 69 the drive was relatively easy and we arrived at the Mineola Civic Center RV Park at 3:30.  After getting set up in our site we drove over to Kelly B’s Main Course Restaurant at the Mineola County Club.  We met several very nice folks and had a really good catfish supper.

September 24, 2019

 We left Mineola about 9:30, got on US 69 headed to the Elks Lodge in Shreveport, LA arriving here around 1:30.  We have been to this lodge before and we were happy to learn that they have upgraded the parking sites with 50 amp electric, water and sewer.

 Of course with our luck lately something had to go wrong.  We use a Blue Ox auxiliary braking system in our Honda when traveling and plug it into a power box to keep from running the battery down.  Somewhere along the way the plug to the power box came loose during a braking event causing the brakes in the car to stay applied.  Well, you can imagine what that did to our CR-V brakes.  Yep, it wan’t pretty.

 Since it was Sunday I planned to take the car to Discount Tries in the morning but when we went to the lodge to pay for our parking several folks told us to take it to Shrive Island Tire Service Center just one block for the lodge.

 So bright and early yesterday morning I dropped the car off with the manager who said they could get the work done in a few hours.  During that time Joyce and I discussed our travel plans and decided to stay here one more day.  Jarvis called about 1:30 letting us know the car was ready.  All-in-all, they replaced all four rotors, pads and the front calipers.  Although it wasn’t cheap we were happy they could get the job done in one day.

September 29, 2019

 On the 24th  we had a fairly easy run from Shreveport to the Ameristar Resort RV Park here in Vicksburg, MS.  We had a really good supper at  Rusty’s Riverfront Grill.  Since Joyce and I  had been to Vicksburg a few years ago when we visited the Civil War Battlefield we didn’t get out and do any sightseeing this time.

 After a good night’s sleep we hooked up, got on I-20 then down US 98 through Hattiesburg, MS to Shields RV Park on the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport.  After pulling into our assigned parking site and getting settled I went out to plug in the power cable and water.  When I plugged in the surge protector I found that there was no power on one leg of the 50 amp plug.  Joyce went to the office to report the problem.  The maintenance folks showed up and installed in a new circuit breaker.

 We left Shields Park about 9:30.  We stopped at the Exchange for some $2.62 diesel fuel and headed to Destin, FL, arriving at the Army Infantry Center Recreation Area about 3:30.

 This is a recreation park run by Fort Benning, GA and has a lot of amenities including a hotel, cabins, a pool and a marina.  We actually stayed here several years ago and really enjoyed it then.

 On Friday we met our good friend Brandy Haskins at the Southern Star Dolphin Tours.  Brandy works on the Southern Star and scored us tickets for a cruise.  Joyce and I had a wonderful time visiting with Brandy and to top off a great day we saw a lot of dolphins swimming around the boat.  Thanks for the great day Brandy.

 On Saturday morning we met up with some of my “old” flying buddies at Harry T’s for lunch.  

It was good to see T. J. Langdon, Tom Jones and Clark Cameron again.

On Sunday Joyce and I met up with Ed Rodriquez, T. J., Wade Blackford and Clark Cameron in Ft. Walton Beach for lunch.  Later we met Brandy for supper in Navarre Beach.

October 3, 2019

 We left Destin on the 1st and made the drive down to Lynch’s Landing RV Park in Palatka, FL where we will be staying for the winter.

More later,

Barry & Joyce