That's the big ole state of Texas!
We left Hot Springs this morning and headed towards Crater of Diamonds State Park, about an hour and a half away. The weather was perfect and it was a bright, sunny day. We walked around the visitor center, admiring all the photos of the diamonds that have been found there, including a 1.55 carat found just last week! We felt out of place after seeing people coming in with their digging gear. Apparently these were serious diamond seekers. They said that some diamonds are just found laying on top of the dirt, some are found with minor dirt moving and others with serious digging.
So, we just headed out there hoping of course to find diamonds just waiting for us to see them. That didn't happen. We turned down a row and I found a spot and just started kicking the dirt with my shoes. I found some rocks and bent down to inspect and fell over. That would have made a funny video, but we didn't bring the camera in with us....just the digital. And, we forgot to take photos at that! Hoping no one saw me fall, I just sat down and starting digging with my fingers. Mike was looking elsewhere, so luckily he didn't see me fall either, so I was saved from being made fun of. I really got into it. I loved playing in the dirt. I wished I had a trowel or something to use. I found a small rock and dug with that. Then Mike saw me digging away and gave me his pocket knife to use. He wasn't too enthusiatic and wanted to leave. He was tired and hungry and kept asking me how long I was going to dig. So, I only dug for about a half hour and quit. If I had been prepared, I could have dug for hours. I found some rocks for the grandsons and I to clean and check out....but nothing that looks like diamonds. So we left as diamond poor as we came in. Oh well. It was an experience. Sorry Mom....no diamonds!
Then we continued on our journey south and ended up in another Walmart parking lot in Marshall, TX. We're probably about 4 hours from Conroe, TX., where we are headed tomorrow to visit Mike's son Fred.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
We're still in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Well, today was rather a boring day for those wanting some exciting information.
Both of us were feeling drained...I think all of the traveling has caught up to us and on the same day! Good news....it NOT humid! The weather is absolutely perfect. I actually had a good hair day.
We didn't even even leave the MH til about 11:00 and then headed out to find this Mexican restaurant that is advertised as the best Mexican food in the entire State of Arkansas. So....I had to try it. It took us a while to find it, getting lost twice. We found it, yeah! Anyway, it started off well with very good chips and so-so salsa. Actually, my food was good. Mike didn't care for his too much and brought part of it home for Lincoln. Lincoln loved it by the way.
Then we decided to drive into the Hot Springs Nat'l Park, expecting to find spectacular sights as in most National Parks. However, we drove and drove and realized that all the shops and things we kept seeing WERE the National Park. We can't really understand why they call it a National Park other than the hot springs that they've apparently turned into resorts. Oh well.
After driving all around and feeling drained, we decided to come back and do laundry. We had 5 loads to do. Or should I say "I" had 5 loads to do. Several hours later, laundry clean, we ventured into town to find dinner. (Too tired to cook too.) We found a cheap Chinese buffet and ate there. It was good for the price. Although we feel hungry now just an hour later!
I'm filling in alot of my time working. I know...I'm not supposed to work. However, I love my work and I love helping people find what they are looking for or getting my listings sold. I'm working on some deals and that's keeping me busy while Mike relaxes and watches TV.
BUT, tomorrow I'm looking forward to something that is exciting to me. And MOM, you're going to be jealous. We're going to the only DIAMOND mine in the United States. Its about an hour from where we are now and you better believe we'll be going there! I bet I'll keep you all checking in tomorrow to see if I'm rich with diamonds! Stayed Tuned,
Jeri
Both of us were feeling drained...I think all of the traveling has caught up to us and on the same day! Good news....it NOT humid! The weather is absolutely perfect. I actually had a good hair day.
We didn't even even leave the MH til about 11:00 and then headed out to find this Mexican restaurant that is advertised as the best Mexican food in the entire State of Arkansas. So....I had to try it. It took us a while to find it, getting lost twice. We found it, yeah! Anyway, it started off well with very good chips and so-so salsa. Actually, my food was good. Mike didn't care for his too much and brought part of it home for Lincoln. Lincoln loved it by the way.
Then we decided to drive into the Hot Springs Nat'l Park, expecting to find spectacular sights as in most National Parks. However, we drove and drove and realized that all the shops and things we kept seeing WERE the National Park. We can't really understand why they call it a National Park other than the hot springs that they've apparently turned into resorts. Oh well.
After driving all around and feeling drained, we decided to come back and do laundry. We had 5 loads to do. Or should I say "I" had 5 loads to do. Several hours later, laundry clean, we ventured into town to find dinner. (Too tired to cook too.) We found a cheap Chinese buffet and ate there. It was good for the price. Although we feel hungry now just an hour later!
I'm filling in alot of my time working. I know...I'm not supposed to work. However, I love my work and I love helping people find what they are looking for or getting my listings sold. I'm working on some deals and that's keeping me busy while Mike relaxes and watches TV.
BUT, tomorrow I'm looking forward to something that is exciting to me. And MOM, you're going to be jealous. We're going to the only DIAMOND mine in the United States. Its about an hour from where we are now and you better believe we'll be going there! I bet I'll keep you all checking in tomorrow to see if I'm rich with diamonds! Stayed Tuned,
Jeri
Friday, October 26, 2007
OK, so now we're in Arkansas!
So, its not somewhere I ever envisioned myself going.....however, since we are heading back west via Texas, it made sense to go via Arkansas. We are heading towards the Houston area to visit Fred, Mike's son.
We left the nice campground in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee after taking a walk around the area. It was a nice campground with lots of picnic areas. I wish we had areas like that near us. It was very inviting for get-togethers. We just decided to keep heading west on route 64...a scenic byway. It was a long day of driving. the terrain in parts of Tenn. was nice and rolling and then flattened out and was flat all the way thru Arkansas. We went thru Little Rock and then veered southwest towards Hot Springs National Park. We figured that we may as well check out another National Park even tho we never thought of doing so. It started getting a little hilly as we grew closer to the park area. It was dark and found a KOA near the park. We got settled in the nice park and were told that we can even order pizza to be delivered to our MH! Can you believe how we are roughing it? I ordered the pizza and it was delivered about 25 minutes later and can you believe, it was one of the best pizza's I've ever had! Wow. What a pleasure and a surprise at that.
We ate and then I had to take Lincoln out for a walk. The weather is absolutely perfect. It was 8:30pm and 67 degrees and perfect. Great sleeping weather. I love it. We'll check out the Nat'l. Park tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.
We left the nice campground in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee after taking a walk around the area. It was a nice campground with lots of picnic areas. I wish we had areas like that near us. It was very inviting for get-togethers. We just decided to keep heading west on route 64...a scenic byway. It was a long day of driving. the terrain in parts of Tenn. was nice and rolling and then flattened out and was flat all the way thru Arkansas. We went thru Little Rock and then veered southwest towards Hot Springs National Park. We figured that we may as well check out another National Park even tho we never thought of doing so. It started getting a little hilly as we grew closer to the park area. It was dark and found a KOA near the park. We got settled in the nice park and were told that we can even order pizza to be delivered to our MH! Can you believe how we are roughing it? I ordered the pizza and it was delivered about 25 minutes later and can you believe, it was one of the best pizza's I've ever had! Wow. What a pleasure and a surprise at that.
We ate and then I had to take Lincoln out for a walk. The weather is absolutely perfect. It was 8:30pm and 67 degrees and perfect. Great sleeping weather. I love it. We'll check out the Nat'l. Park tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
It's Tennessee today!
We left our Walmart campground in Perry, GA. this morning and headed north. We had no idea where we were going...so we just went north. We decided to get into Tennessee and then get on the side, scenic roads going West in Tenn. As soon as we entered Tennessee, the rolling hills began. Gone were the flatlands. The further west we went, we started seeing the green trees turning colors. The homes started getting more stately too; large, beautiful and statuesque on huge green lots. I must say, it was pretty impressive.
We ended up in Lawrenceburg, TN. at the Davey Crockett State Park. Its a very nice campground. Apparently this is where Davey Crockett was from and eventually became a Congressman in the early 1800's. I didn't know he was a real person before today. I thought he was a fictional character. (Well, I was known to sleep thru History classes!)
Anyway, we'll probably leave in the morning and head towards Memphis and then who knows where. It was a pretty uneventful day otherwise. Mike caught me sleeping several times during his long driving day. (Note the photo on the right.)
We ended up in Lawrenceburg, TN. at the Davey Crockett State Park. Its a very nice campground. Apparently this is where Davey Crockett was from and eventually became a Congressman in the early 1800's. I didn't know he was a real person before today. I thought he was a fictional character. (Well, I was known to sleep thru History classes!)
Anyway, we'll probably leave in the morning and head towards Memphis and then who knows where. It was a pretty uneventful day otherwise. Mike caught me sleeping several times during his long driving day. (Note the photo on the right.)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
We're in Georgia now.
We went to the beach shortly after 8:00 this morning. It was already 78 degrees. We found this other beach where you could drive right onto the beach. That was cool. We walked over to the water and I got in up to my knees. Mike had enough just at his ankles and had enough after 5 minutes. (He's not a huge ocean person.) I talked him into walking along the water (me up to my knees and him just around his feet) for about 20 minutes and then we had enough and left. The sand was so soft and the water was warm. Still, there was no "ocean smell" that we have on the Pacific. No one has been able to tell us why? Its really bothering us not knowing why.
Anyway, we packed up and left after deciding to head to Tennessee. Tonight we are about and hour and a half south of Atlanta, camped in a Walmart parking lot. When we pulled in, we noticed a BBQ place right there too! Guess what we had for dinner? Finger licking good ribs. Actually, they were "OK". The macaroni and cheese it came with was very good.
After dinner, our big night ended up with us shopping at Walmart! What a nice evening in Georgia. We finally hit rain about 5 minutes after we left our campground this morning. Then it was off and on for most of the drive north. It got scary at times.
I had Mike take a photo of my "growing hair" today. I wish I wouldn have thought about taking a picture in the past week when its really been huge. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. Please note that I am sitting at the table in the MH with the computer in front of me in the Walmart parking lot.
Anyway, we packed up and left after deciding to head to Tennessee. Tonight we are about and hour and a half south of Atlanta, camped in a Walmart parking lot. When we pulled in, we noticed a BBQ place right there too! Guess what we had for dinner? Finger licking good ribs. Actually, they were "OK". The macaroni and cheese it came with was very good.
After dinner, our big night ended up with us shopping at Walmart! What a nice evening in Georgia. We finally hit rain about 5 minutes after we left our campground this morning. Then it was off and on for most of the drive north. It got scary at times.
I had Mike take a photo of my "growing hair" today. I wish I wouldn have thought about taking a picture in the past week when its really been huge. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. Please note that I am sitting at the table in the MH with the computer in front of me in the Walmart parking lot.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
We're in Florida
We left Charleston this morning to head south. No real destination.....just south. We were hoping to find less humid weather...but it wasn't looking that way as we continued on our drive south.
We went thru the eastern part of Georgia and entered Florida. It started getting late and we
ended up finding a campground in St. Augustine, FL., which is south of Jacksonville. It was even hotter and about the same humidity. So, we settled into the MH, turned on the air and just vegged out. I don't remember if I mentioned a while back the the front air conditioner stopped working. I may not have mentioned it because it was a non-issue due to the cool weather we had in the northeast. But, now it IS an issue since we're into the hot, muggy weather. Luckily, once we stop driving and get the diesel engine from producing heat, we are able to cool down the whole MH just from running the bedroom A/C.
So, we were cooled down and relaxed and Mike suggested we take a drive to check out the beach. I was up for that because I'd at least like to say I had my feet in the Atlantic ocean and see what it feels like. We took the Jeep for a 15 minute drive to the beach, by now it was almost dark. The sign said no dogs were allowed, so Mike said he'd stay at the car and I could go dip my feet in the water. (We couldn't leave Lincoln in the car because it was too hot.)
WOW! I could not believe it! The sand is white and soft, not hard on the feet like the Pacific Ocean sands. Then I walked to the water and WOW again! It was so warm! I didn't want to leave! I wanted to just stay there for hours! Can you believe that this 50 year old never felt this kind of beach before? We're going to head back to the beach first thing in the AM tomorrow, leaving Lincoln in the MH. I'll let you know how it is.
A funny thing happened though when we got back from the drive to the beach. We pulled up to the MH, I opened the door and my glasses fogged up!!!! I've never had that happen like that before. It was certainly weird (and humid).
Late night update: Its about 10:20pm and I just took Lincoln out before I went to bed. Its still 81 degrees out and probably 90% humidity. I was out just 3 minutes with him and my skin was wet and clammy. We are so spoiled in our dry climate, but this makes me love it even more.
We went thru the eastern part of Georgia and entered Florida. It started getting late and we
ended up finding a campground in St. Augustine, FL., which is south of Jacksonville. It was even hotter and about the same humidity. So, we settled into the MH, turned on the air and just vegged out. I don't remember if I mentioned a while back the the front air conditioner stopped working. I may not have mentioned it because it was a non-issue due to the cool weather we had in the northeast. But, now it IS an issue since we're into the hot, muggy weather. Luckily, once we stop driving and get the diesel engine from producing heat, we are able to cool down the whole MH just from running the bedroom A/C.
So, we were cooled down and relaxed and Mike suggested we take a drive to check out the beach. I was up for that because I'd at least like to say I had my feet in the Atlantic ocean and see what it feels like. We took the Jeep for a 15 minute drive to the beach, by now it was almost dark. The sign said no dogs were allowed, so Mike said he'd stay at the car and I could go dip my feet in the water. (We couldn't leave Lincoln in the car because it was too hot.)
WOW! I could not believe it! The sand is white and soft, not hard on the feet like the Pacific Ocean sands. Then I walked to the water and WOW again! It was so warm! I didn't want to leave! I wanted to just stay there for hours! Can you believe that this 50 year old never felt this kind of beach before? We're going to head back to the beach first thing in the AM tomorrow, leaving Lincoln in the MH. I'll let you know how it is.
A funny thing happened though when we got back from the drive to the beach. We pulled up to the MH, I opened the door and my glasses fogged up!!!! I've never had that happen like that before. It was certainly weird (and humid).
Late night update: Its about 10:20pm and I just took Lincoln out before I went to bed. Its still 81 degrees out and probably 90% humidity. I was out just 3 minutes with him and my skin was wet and clammy. We are so spoiled in our dry climate, but this makes me love it even more.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Last day in Charleston, SC
We stayed in Charleston yet another day today. It was hot and humid. The 80+ degrees wouldn't be so bad if not for the humidity. It sure makes us appreciate where we live. AND, I have not had a good hair day in so long. Not only does Mike laugh at my crazy hair, it makes me laugh hysterically. Its wild and huge! I am also being eaten alive by mosquitos. I just took Lincoln out for a 4 minute bathroom walk and I have about 6 bites!
We started out our day going on the Harbor cruise of Historic Charleston. It was nice. If I have to compare, for those of you who haven't been on the east coast, the West is much better. The harbor cruise we took in Seattle a couple of years ago was so much more interesting with so many beautiful sights than anything we've seen here. Oh well. We wouldn't know unless we tried it. This trip is given us a great appreciation for the West. And still...we were on the Atlantic ocean today and NO smell? No one has given us an answer as to why there is no ocean smell?
After our cruise, we went down to Market Street to do some shopping. It was so funny because we are not used to paying for parking. So when we felt fortunate to find a parking space on one of these tiny city streets, we parked, got out of the car, and started walking to the shopping area. We were gone about 45 minutes when all of a sudden it dawned on me that we didn't put any money in the parking meter! Our hearts started racing thinking that either we were going to find a ticket on our windshield or find our car towed away! We were afraid to look as we got closer. I got there first and saw the car and no ticket. Then I went to the meter and you wouldn't believe it.....there was ONE MINUTE left on it! Apparently whoever parked there before us still had time on it and we got back with one minute to spare. Can you believe it?
We felt fortunate and hungry so we found a place called "Tbone Bar & Grill" and went for lunch. It was very good. I had a shrimp salad and it was the best shrimp I have ever had.
After shopping and our late lunch, we decided to go back home rest and get in the airconditioning. We stayed there the rest of the day. OH, and I got my e-mail fixed, finally. So feel free to e-mail! Tomorrow we'll be leaving and heading towards Florida. We'll let you know where we end up.
We started out our day going on the Harbor cruise of Historic Charleston. It was nice. If I have to compare, for those of you who haven't been on the east coast, the West is much better. The harbor cruise we took in Seattle a couple of years ago was so much more interesting with so many beautiful sights than anything we've seen here. Oh well. We wouldn't know unless we tried it. This trip is given us a great appreciation for the West. And still...we were on the Atlantic ocean today and NO smell? No one has given us an answer as to why there is no ocean smell?
After our cruise, we went down to Market Street to do some shopping. It was so funny because we are not used to paying for parking. So when we felt fortunate to find a parking space on one of these tiny city streets, we parked, got out of the car, and started walking to the shopping area. We were gone about 45 minutes when all of a sudden it dawned on me that we didn't put any money in the parking meter! Our hearts started racing thinking that either we were going to find a ticket on our windshield or find our car towed away! We were afraid to look as we got closer. I got there first and saw the car and no ticket. Then I went to the meter and you wouldn't believe it.....there was ONE MINUTE left on it! Apparently whoever parked there before us still had time on it and we got back with one minute to spare. Can you believe it?
We felt fortunate and hungry so we found a place called "Tbone Bar & Grill" and went for lunch. It was very good. I had a shrimp salad and it was the best shrimp I have ever had.
After shopping and our late lunch, we decided to go back home rest and get in the airconditioning. We stayed there the rest of the day. OH, and I got my e-mail fixed, finally. So feel free to e-mail! Tomorrow we'll be leaving and heading towards Florida. We'll let you know where we end up.
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