Wrapping Up the Year in Mississippi

Finnie-Christmas

We hope you all had a very warm and happy Christmas holiday. Are you ready for the new year? I don't know about you, but the new year always puts me in "reboot" mode. There's just something about January 1 that makes me feel like, no matter what happened last year, I can start fresh and make another go of it. We have some fun things planned for 2019, but I'll save that for another post.

It's been a while since I shared our travel adventures, but I'll try not to make this post too long with details you probably don't care about.

When we left you last time, we were having trouble with our leveling system. We thought the problem was a worn out hydraulic motor. But when we arrived at Our Alfa Shop in Choudrant, Louisiana, and it's very able mechanic, Ronnie Wolfe, took a look at it, he told us the motor was just fine. The problem was that both of our starboard leveling jacks (that would be the passenger side) were falling apart. The good news was that replacing two jacks would be less costly than replacing the motor.  It took him two weekends to get that issue and the other things on our list done, but during the interim, we found a lovely campground a few miles away in Ruston, called Lincoln Parish Park.

Lincoln Parish Park

Ronnie Wolfe replacing our jack

The park was practically empty since December isn't really camping season in Louisiana, and so we snagged a beautiful site right by the pond, with full hookups, a gorgeous view, and a fire pit-- all for $20 a night. Ruston is right on I-20, and the campground is only about six miles north of town, making it a very convenient stop if you happen to need a campground at the end of the day near Ruston.

Then we were off to Lake, Mississippi, to see my sister, Doreen, for Christmas.

I always enjoy visits with Doreen and her family. Joy and her kids (who almost feel like my grandchildren--almost) were there, and they always keep things lively. We had them all out to the campground a couple times for a campfire and a cookout, but the rest of the time we spent at their house, enjoying their very kind hospitality.

Turkey Creek Water Park

When we first arrived, their church, Salem Baptist, graciously allowed us to stay in their parking lot until we were ready to go over to our campground at Turkey Creek. We had originally planned to park in the Stroud front yard, but with all the rain, it was just too soggy to hold up thirty thousand pounds of motorhome.

Turkey Creek Water Park is a campground on a reservoir just south of Decatur, Mississippi, and about a thirty minute drive from my sister's abode. It is a beautiful wooded campground with spacious sites, full hookups, and a fire pit--much like Lincoln Parish Park-- and very affordable. We were there nine days and have re-booked another week for our trip back through in March.

It was so nice to be with family at Christmas time. On Christmas Eve, they took us to Bass Pro, which offers free family photos with "Santa" that Joy does every year with her kids. After some of us picked up some last minute Christmas gifts, we went out to eat and then to a church in Forest for their candlelight service. Of course we had to stop on the way home and check out some Christmas light displays.

Micah & Hannah

Christmas morning I dragged myself out of bed early and we headed over to the Stroud house at about 8:30 in the morning for the traditional gift exchange. The kids read the Christmas story from Luke (Micah, age 6, is a phenomenal reader), and then Joy handed out the gifts. The ritual always starts out calm and orderly, with one gift at a time and everybody observing with anticipation what will soon be revealed under the wrapping paper. But almost before you realize it's happened, a sort of madness sets in-- Santa's "elves" sneak in to help with distribution, gifts pile up in laps, paper is flying, children are squealing with glee, toys are everywhere...and then it's over. Everyone has little piles of presents stacked up beside them, and we're all looking around wondering what just happened. It's the same every year everywhere no matter where we are.

Christmas morning with the Strouds

It truly is more blessed to give than to receive, but you can't deny that there's a good amount of blessing in receiving as well.

We have much to be thankful for, even in the midst of problems.

And speaking of problems...

As we were leaving Lake on our way to Florida, we began to lose power in the engine again. Usually, that means one of two things:  low water in the radiator, or a clogged fuel filter. So, after checking the water level and finding it was fine, Mark replaced the fuel filter (we've learned to keep an extra on hand). It seemed to solve the problem for ten minutes or so and then on came the light again. By that time, we were at the intersection of Interstate 59 and Highway 84, where we would be turning off and heading east. We pulled into a truck stop there, in Laurel, Mississippi, and called a mechanic.

The mechanic, whose name I never caught, came over with his computer, plugged into our electronic panel to translate the "check engine" code and determined that injector number five was bad. Then, as an added bonus, once he was inside the engine compartment, he discovered that we also had a cracked water reservoir. It is cracked so completely that it cannot be fixed. It will need to be replaced.

The injector was replaced today. The water reservoir has to be ordered and won't be here until Wednesday of next week-- January 2.

Sigh.

Daytona, Florida, will have to wait another week. For the next few days, we're still in Mississippi. We found a nice campground on Hwy 84, west of Laurel, called Big Creek Water Park. Apparently, every park in Mississippi that has a lake or reservoir is called a "Water Park." Anyway, it's quite nice. We have full hookups and fire pit. Maybe we'll have another opportunity to build a fire and spend the afternoon getting smoked. On Wednesday, we'll head back to the mechanic and finish our repairs--hopefully the last ones needed for a while.

I know God has us in His care. As I'm fond of saying, we are flying blind, but God's leading the way-- and He sees everything! We don't always know why things happen the way they do, but nothing happens in vain when one places their trust in God. So, that's what we're doing.

Have a safe, happy, and blessed New Year!

More pictures from December...

Lincoln Parish Park, from the walking path around the pond

"Our Alfa Shop" in Choudrant, Louisiana

Hooked up at Our Alfa Shop, waiting for repairs

A nice blazing fire at Lincoln Parish Park

Our traditional RV-sized Christmas tree

Hannah and Micah at Bass Pro

At Bass Pro, waiting for everybody (me) so we can go eat

Papaw (Carey) finished reading the Christmas story

Hannah and Micah (my grand niece & nephew)

Hannah

Doreen & Joy roasting marshmallows (and hotdogs)

Happy campers?

Perfect marshmallows...if you like charcoal

Micah with his marshmallow

At Big Creek waiting for repairs. If it ever stops
raining, we're hoping to grill some steaks and wave
goodbye to 2018 around a campfire.

Christmas In The Air

Well, the Christmas "season" is officially here. It's in the air, on the air, in every store, and on every street. Who doesn't love December? The entire month has turned into a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ... or Santa Claus-- I guess it depends on who you are.

Remember when people put their Christmas trees up on Christmas Eve and took them down the day after Christmas? Me neither. But I've heard that once upon a time it was so.

This past Saturday, we finally got out of our shell and went to town-- Dallas, to be precise. We arrived just in time to see the last few minutes of their Christmas parade. The city was decked out with Christmas trees and decorations, and an air of festivity prevailed everywhere.

After we enjoyed the end of the parade, we walked over to the Dallas Farmer's Market, which is a huge affair with a very large tent area and some permanent buildings. They were having a "Tamale Festival." The place was very crowded, otherwise we might have tasted the wares of several of the tamale vendors, as it was about lunchtime. But we did try two of them, and ended up buying a dozen frozen tamales to take home. We also found some excellent homemade pickles and bought three jars-- sweet, dill, and relish. The only actual produce we walked away with was a small bag of Texas red grapefruit, which I was somewhat disappointed to discover turned out not to be very sweet. Oh well, that sometimes happens when you purchase fruit untasted.

There were two things on our list of things to do on this excursion. One was the Farmer's Market; the other was the free trolley that runs in a loop from downtown to uptown and back. After we took our goodies back to the car, we sat for a while trying to figure out how to get onto the trolley, comparing "D-Link" bus routes and trolley routes and trying to determine where we were (in the parking lot) in relation to all the routes and stops. Finally, in frustration, we decided just to walk into town and look for a trolley stop marker (round brown signs marked with a big M). I said to Mark, "What we really wanted to do was explore downtown, right? Well, here we are downtown. Lets just walk around a bit. Eventually, we'll find a trolley stop." And so that's what we did. And eventually we found a trolley stop and boarded.

The trolley is a quaint old single electric train car, powered by an overhead wire line. We rode along for ten minutes or so when the car came to a halt behind its sister car at the end of the loop in Uptown, and we were instructed to disembark and load up into the car ahead. After Mark and I were comfortably seated, I looked over and saw a sign for an organic cafe called the Southpaw Grill. It looked interesting. "How about an early dinner?" I asked Mark, as it was about 2:30. And so we hopped off to eat. That short ride marked the end of our trolley excursion.

Lunch was disappointing. It may have been organic, but other than that, it was nothing more than a sandwich joint, which was not what I'd had in mind for dinner. Nevertheless, we ate and then decided to follow the trolley track and get on the next one that happened by. Our walk took us by a Whole Foods. "Why don't we go in and stroll around until the next trolley car comes by?" I suggested. One had just passed us and we didn't expect the next one for another twenty five minutes or so. When we came out of the store, what did we see but a traffic accident that had happened while we were shopping.

A block or so up the street the road was filled with emergency vehicles, lights flashing, and what looked like a motorcycle laying over in the road (which made us sad). But there would be no trolley until the road was cleared, and that could be a good half hour. Wait or walk? That was the decision to make. As tired as we were, we walked along the track route, stopping from time to time to rest and watch for the trolley that never came, until eventually it was time to head off toward the parking lot. It was just about sundown when we finally reached our car.

We'd trudged almost four and a half miles over the course of the day. But we can say in all truth that we've seen Dallas. It's a beautiful city. The downtown "D-Link" bus is free. The trolley is free. And there is also a guided trolley bus tour, also free, that we might have gone on had we known more about it prior to our visit. (Maybe next time.)

Today is our last day in Lake Tawakoni. We still have one bit of business to tend to before leaving Texas, which we will do tomorrow:  the mandatory Texas vehicle inspection for the RV. That's on the schedule for tomorrow. Then we head to "Our Alfa Shop," just east of Shreveport, Louisiana, where we'll be getting the coach "sealed" (to improve insulation and prevent exhaust fumes from getting in during transit). We'll also be making some decisions about the leveling jack system. More on that later. And there are some other minor items on Mark's list of things to get done.

After that, we're headed to Doreen's (my sister) for Christmas.

Until next time, happy Christmas season to one and all!

Not sure what's going on with these folks...a bit dark for
Christmas

Merry Star Wars Christmas

Rudolf has some competition

Comerica Bank tower, downtown Dallas

Downtown Dallas skyscrapers

Thanksgiving Square, downtown Dallas