On the Road Again!

Monday morning we left for points south. This is reunion time for Terry's family, specifically, the Pace family, Stephens family, and the Taylor family. Whew. It is complicated by the fact that his grandparents were each married before, had something like five kids each and then were both widowed. So they found each other, got married, and had five more children. It's this last group that organized the annual reunion, held to coincide with "Confederate Memorial Day" although some say that doesn't exist. At least this is what we were told by Terry's parents. Only one of the five children born to this union is still alive and he is no longer able to attend. We miss Uncle Bob. But the children of those last five try to gather once a year at this time and hope that more relatives will decide to join in.

We are traveling in MinnieMee, our little 22 1/2' motorhome. This is the one we bought to take to Alaska. . . and DID! Great trip, but that is another blog (see May, June, July, August 2013. Great stuff there. Phaeton Place is still in the shop and the reason she is there is because she has some broken jacks. Two, we are told. They are expensive to replace and it seems none are available. The Atwood System is no longer built, it is obsolete and while some jacks have continued to be available while supplies last, the Atwood company was bought by Lippert and we all know anything made by Lippert turns to gold. NOT. Turns to sh**, more likely. So part of of this trip is going to take us to Red Bay, Alabama, home of Tiffin Motorhomes, to see if we can find any jacks at any of the supply places there.

We drove to Shepherdsville, Kentucky, Monday night. It was a leisurely drive the last half. The first part was stop and go because we needed to stock up on some supplies and we did so by hitting some of the Amish grocery and salvage grocery stores south of Goshen.

We had a nice night in Kentucky, but we needed heat. So we turned on the furnace. SCREECH went the fan. It eventually quieted down, but we decided not to use it anymore and let Terry fix it once we get back home. Hard to get back to sleep after hearing that!

The next day we took off and made our way south to Bowling Green. We stopped off to find a heater, which we thought might be an impossibility during this time of year, but we found what we wanted and it was cheap. It works pretty good too, because we needed it that night. I turned it on and about 10 minutes later I had to turn it off because we were roasting! LOL

Onward now and at Nashville, we diverted to the Bryley Parkway down to I-40 and then picked up the Natchez Trace. This is the inaugural trip for MinnieMee on the Trace. I did take a picture, but I need to take them off the camera. We drove the Trace all the way to 72 in Alabama where we got off and drove west to Mississippi. We drove to J. P. Coleman State Park in Iuka, Mississippi. We have never been there and wasn't sure Phaeton Place would fit. There actually are some spots she would fit  in one section only, but the other section near the water, was definitely for smaller rigs and tents. Course, MinnieMee fit right in, but we took a site in the upper, much quieter section where it wasn't as crowded. It was very quiet and we slept very well.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Yay!

MinnieMee is home tonight! She's getting ready for a road trip. We went to the storage facility this morning and picked her up. She was so happy to see us, she started right up, all her batteries are up, tires are good, etc. She even fired her gennie up first thing! Whoo hoo! She says she is ready!

We stopped off at Elkhart Campground to fill up with propane and then we brought her over to the house and put her up on ramps to level her and turn on the fridge. The fridge is working! So where are we all going?

The Pace-Stevens-Taylor reunion is June 8 in Marietta, Mississippi. I think we have only missed one year since they started it and that was the year we went to Alaska. It will be a quick trip this year because we will take a couple days to get there, stay the night, then head back to Goshen. We are working hard to get the house cleaned out and the kids are all coming starting the middle of June and continuing through the 4th of July. So we need to get back and get ready for them.

It's always good to get MinnieMee out and exercise her a bit, but this is the first long trip in a while for her. She will be going to Virginia later in the summer as well. But Phaeton Place is still at the service center. They have been trying to find a jack for her, but haven't had any luck. And today when we went over, her house batteries are dead. Not sure what's up with that, but we had been over about ten days ago and even ran the generator to help charge the batteries. So Gerald said he will have the guys pull her up and plug her in for a few days to get those batteries back in shape. That and the fact we still can't level with her means we will leave her here to heal and take the little motorhome. Sure glad we have her.

So I have some cleaning to do to get things ready in the little motorhome, but it doesn't take long. There just isn't that much area to clean!

Till next time . . .

Dale

You may notice a large void. . .

Suffice to say, it's been the worst of times. Terry's health continued to be at the forefront of our thoughts all summer long and getting him back into better and healthier condition was goal number one.

He did start walking again. A physical therapist gave him some exercises, but most importantly told him what he could safely do with his heart condition. He started out walking 10 minutes 3 times a day. He now is up to 35 minutes once a day and walking about 1.5 miles. His sleep problems are ever present, but he spends most of the night in bed and not in a chair, so that is definitely an improvement.

We did get to touch base with some friends this summer and managed to get in his high school reunion and then mine. Those were great times with old friends. These were both our 50th reunions, so a lot of people made extra effort to be there. Mine was a three-day event, starting with a meet and greet kind of thing on Friday night. Then on Saturday, there was a golf outing, a tour of the high school and downtown Goshen. Saturday night was our big event, a dinner, a silent auction to raise money for our scholarship fund, and dancing and mingling. Really enjoyed seeing everyone again. Sunday we had a ride on the "LilyPad" which is a tour boat that goes around Lake Wawasee. It's been years since we have been on that lake and it was a lot of fun. It was a hot day and most of the day we were on the top deck in the breeze, but later when we turned into the sun, we went downstairs into the air conditioning.

Our big plan for the summer was to get the house emptied and sold. Had Terry been well, we would have probably got that done, but as it was. . . it didn't happen. But as he got to feeling better, he did start working with me.

We took two pickup loads of stuff to Goodwill and a half load to electronic recycling. I boxed up most everything that was in closets, cupboards and dressers. Everything is labeled and ready to be packed into the trailer or put out next summer for a garage sale. All the furniture will be sold and there is some nice stuff, but we don't want to continue to pay for storage for it after we sell the house. Most of the stuff belonged to Terry's parents and was not our stuff. Once we get it all emptied, then the house will be sold. Anxious to get that done and behind us. Eventually we think we will have a house in Florida near Brandon. We have to be somewhere warm year round for Terry and it makes sense to be close to one of your kids.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Where have I been?

That's probably what all my regular readers are wondering. It's been a long few weeks and while some things have gone well, other things have not.

We have been here in Elkhart Campground for a month and just signed up for another. Our plan this summer is to get the last duplex cleaned out and sold. Would like to get that done this year, but it's not looking good. Next year for sure.

Shortly after we arrived, Jocelyn, Tom, Ronan, Aenea, and Pepper the Poodle got here. We knew they were coming and I was planning on getting everything ready over at the house. But we walked in there and found mouse droppings all over the kitchen. What a mess. So I sent Terry out for more and better mouse traps and I set to cleaning and bleaching the kitchen. I spent the entire day on it and got little else done. But at the end of the day the kitchen was clean and new traps were set for those dastardly mice. I've caught three.

Jocelyn called and asked if they could come in that night and we said yes. Although I hadn't cleaned the rest of the house, I had cleaned in the fall before we left, and the house does not get dirty during the winter months. I did manage to clean the bathrooms and we were ready for them.

We enjoyed seeing them. They had been to Niagara Falls and into Canada, camping with the dog even! And in a tent! Tom had some shows with his band, including one in Toronto. Go Tom! I hope to hear them sometime. I have heard his one band, The Hollow Machine, but I have yet to hear Spider Lilies.

We were able to see the kids every day while they were here and they visited Mom a couple times. She enjoyed seeing them and the grandkids always enjoy their great-grandma. She is the only one they have left. I managed to take Ronan for a ride in the Miata. He loves it and always wants me to take him out.

We really enjoyed their visit. We don't get to see them often and it really helps us get our kids/grandkids fix when they visit us. We try to see them twice a year and we look forward to that.

We managed to go to Terry's 50th high school reunion. Wow! They had a really good turnout and we got to see quite a few people we hadn't seen for years. Well, that Terry hadn't seen in years. A few people I knew or had met at previous reunions. We attended a meet and greet on Friday night at a bar in downtown Elkhart. The food was good and we enjoyed seeing some of his classmates there. Then Saturday night was at the country club with a dinner buffet and some games. Our table won at trivia. We earned play money for that and then we bid on door prizes people had donated. We "bought" two thermos bottles that are really nice. And since we were using our "play money" they really didn't cost us anything. It was a great time and we enjoyed ourselves.

We enjoyed an evening of cards with our friends, Luanne and Jim. We girls won! The next night we had a campfire here in the park with other friends. They are from the Elkhart area, but live in Arizona in the winter and return here in the summer to visit their kids.

Terry's been really sluggish for some time and so we paid a visit to his doctor in Indianapolis a few weeks ago. They did a few tests and changed some meds which seem to have helped. But we are going back next week for some more testing. He's had heart trouble for 20 years and it may be time to change some more of his meds. There are a lot of new meds for various heart problems and we are hoping we find something that works better.

The last few days we have had some really heavy rains. That's okay, because we were needing rain desperately. I hope it was in time to help the crops. We had a couple inches yesterday and it rained more today and supposed to tomorrow as well.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Reunion Time!

We moved over to Piney Grove on Wednesday so we would be there for the reunion. Piney Grove is a Corps of Engineers park and a decent place to stay. We are in among the trees, however, so Terry has to fuss with his portable satellite dish in order to get TV reception. But he usually gets what he wants!

We went into town and visited with family members at the Buck Creek Flea Market. That is where Paul, Rusty, and Shirley are during the day. I always like to look around because I usually manage to find something I like. They were all there as were Gary and Jo, so we got to see them all.

We visited for awhile and then Terry, Gary, Jo and I all left on a mission to find an Amish vegetable market up north of Corinth in Tennessee. We did give it the ol' college try, but we never managed to find it, although we drove all over the area. As it was, when we got back and talked with the fellow who had told Terry about it, we found out we were very close and just turned the wrong way on one road. Geesh! I guess that will mean another road trip next time we are there. . . that will be next year. LOL

On Saturday, we met at Ramey's Restaurant in Marietta for the Pace/Stevens reunion. We had 18 there, I think. We had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves. The only person left in our parents' generation (the ones who started the reunion) is Uncle Bob. He, unfortunately, suffers from Alzheimer's and no longer comes to the family gatherings. That is a difficult situation for his children as it is for any family dealing with a loved one with that disease. But he is happy where he is at and that is a good thing. We always enjoy the reunion and hope every year that more of the family members will come.

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing at the camp and getting ready to break camp on Monday. When we left there, we returned to Red Bay to get our paint work done on two of our bay doors. They got that done on Tuesday and we spent that night in Red Bay, then headed out. It was supposed to rain the day we left and it did. We drove the Natchez Trace and it poured down on us the entire time. I love driving the Trace and it was okay in the rain. There wasn't much traffic and we easily made it to north of Nashville for the night. We stayed at Dad's Bluegrass Camp.

The next day we drove on up to Edinburg, Indiana, and stayed at the Johnson County Park. It is located in what used to be a part of Camp Atterbury. Our first campsite had power problems and we were moved to a site we had used a year or so ago. That worked fine. We shopped a bit at the factory shops down the road. And while we were in the area, we stopped and got carryout at Nick's Diner. There we had their famous tenderloin sandwich. I was not impressed. Terry may have like it better, but I didn't care for it.

We left there and drove to Warsaw and stayed at the fairgrounds for a couple nights and visited with Mom and my sister and husband. Then we headed on up to Elkhart to the campground where we plan to spend the summer.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Back home in Red Bay!

I say back home, because Red Bay is where Phaeton Place was born. She has her roots here. We came back this time because we have to get two bay doors replaced. We actually are scheduled on Monday, June 11, but we had a couple other things we hoped to get fixed while we were in the area. Terry's family reunion is June 9, so we got done in Searcy in time to get over here.

We stopped into the body shop and they have our doors. They are going to check their schedule to see when they can do it, maybe this week or early next week.

We also stopped at the camp office to sign up for a service appointment. After July 7, Tiffin will no longer work on motorhomes past ten years old, so we won't be able to get factory service. But there are so many outfits here, former Tiffin employees who have gone out on their own, that this is still the best place to come to get work done. Tiffin even supplies you with a little catalog of all the places that do work and even a map with their locations. We had two items that needed attention, the door awning and a slide roller. We were told that the scheduler would come around today to see us.

So we went to bed last night knowing we would be talking to someone today. I got up early and was having my first cup of coffee when the phone rang at 6 a.m. The lady spoke in a heavily southern accented voice and I had trouble understanding her. But she asked if we could be in Bay 10 at 7 a.m. What???????? Yes, I said. We will be there. I ran and woke Terry up and told him. He asked, "Can we make it?" I said, "We're gonna try." We left at 6:45 and were sitting waiting in front of Bay 10 a few minutes later. In fact, our paperwork had not yet reached our bay. Once we were in, we told them our two problems and we unloaded the cabinets they would have to have access through. Since we had rushed around, we hadn't had breakfast, so I ran out and got us breakfast. I got back about 8:15 and they were DONE! DONE! Unbelievable! The awning was not broken. Water had built up in the endcap and the tech removed it and then drilled a little hole to keep water draining from now on. He lubricated it a bit and it is good to go. The slide roller was a bigger job, but they know how to repair this stuff. They had to actually jack up the slide from the outside. Didn't take much time to get it in place. They thought they might have to fix our broken one if they didn't have one in stock. But they did have one and told us to keep the old one and have it repaired/welded so we would have a backup.
We were back on our site here at the camp at 8:30. Man, what a fast, busy 2 1/2 hours that was. I can't believe we just dropped in hoping to maybe at least get someone to look at in and it's fixed! I just can't say enough for Tiffin. They do it right.

We are here in the camp for another 5 nights or so, then we move to Piney Grove Corps Park in Mississippi, to be close to the reunion. Once we leave there, we will be back here in Red Bay, unless our work is finished between now and next Wednesday. So we are happy campers once again!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Reunion Time!

We left Clifton, Tennessee, on Wednesday morning and drove a short distance to Piney Grove Camp on Bay Springs Lake in Mississippi. This lake is one that helps to make up the Tenn-Tom Waterway, aka Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. We got setup in camp and ready for the week.

We marveled at the weather we were having. Normally it is very, very hot with high humidity with rain, etc. This time, the temps were in the 70's and it was very nice out. We didn't even encounter any mosquitos which was quite unusual.

We drove into Booneville to the flea market that  Shirley and Paul own. We figured they might be there and we were right. We had a great time visiting. We were there soon after they bought it. Shirley has worked at getting things organized and in order. She has done a great job and it's fun to walk through. I even found some things I couldn't live without! LOL

On Saturday we gathered at Ramey's Family Restaurant for the annual Pace/Stephens reunion. We weren't sure how many to expect because the numbers continue to dwindle. Terry's Dad and his brothers and sisters are the ones who started the reunion and when they were all alive, family would come from many states to visit. There were many who are distant relatives. Ma and Pa Pace were each married before and widowed. Each had about five children. Then they married and had five more. So there are "half" brothers/sisters/cousins/nephews/nieces, etc., involved. I cannot keep them all straight, but there are those in the family who do! Thank goodness for them. Since only Uncle Bob is left from the generation that started the reunion, attendance has been dwindling. Uncle Bob is in a care facility and has Alzheimers, so he was not there this year. Even though there are fewer who come, we still had about 16 and we all enjoyed good food and conversation. Hopefully the next generations will continue to come and we can visit with them again. We intend to continue to go. . . it's always held the Saturday before the second Sunday at Ramey's in Marietta. So family. . . mark it on your calendar and plan to be there next year!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Well here I am again. . .

It's been several weeks since I have blogged. Fortunately, Terry has taken up the pen and done the duty for me. Much like he has done everything else for the past couple months.

My back surgery was March 24. I don't know what I was expecting, but suffice to say, I got more than I wanted! Pain that is. I had multiple, I think maybe four rods placed, along with what looks like six screws and two cages. The doctor's comment was, "She's not gonna feel like doing much of anything for the first month." Truer words were never spoken. But pretty much one month after surgery I was doing well and much of the pain had subsided. Pain pills are a godsend I must say.

We started walking the week after my surgery. At first I would do 3/4 to 1 mile. We walked the Washington Square Mall. That's is very close to where we are camped and they open for mall walkers at 9 a.m. We've also walked Castleton and Greenwood Park Malls. The last two are still pretty decent malls. Washington Square is dying and it truly is a tragedy that yet another of the icons of years gone by are fading away. I suspect within a few years that mall will be gone. We are now walking two miles in the malls in the morning and in the afternoons we walk Duchess usually on two half-mile walks around the campground.

As the weeks rolled on, the pain diminished and at about five weeks the surgery pain was pretty much gone. This is the last pain to leave. . . it's the one at the base of your spine. I kid you not, every time I would move, change positions, or get up out of bed or a chair, it felt like someone took a butcher knife and stabbed me in the back. That's as close as I can come to describing the pain. And this pain was there even with pain pills. I can honestly say I was starting to get a little depressed, so we planned a few little outings to keep things interesting.

Riding in the car is a challenge. Short hops are fine; but we have made two trips up north to see family and after two hours, things start aching. I still am taking the occasional pain pill for moments like that. My legs get "restless" and my butt starts to hurt. I did buy some gel cushions for in the car and those are helping. I also wear my back brace in the car and that helps. I'm guessing it helps to stabilize my back.

It's now seven weeks post surgery and I still have the same restrictions. Basically I can't do anything. I am up though and I have driven some, if I haven't taken a pain pill. Picking things up off the floor is difficult because I can't bend. I help with dishes, but I not supposed to do things with repetitive motions. I don't do things every day, but occasionally I help set the table, etc. It feels good to be a team again and I don't overdo it. Terry keeps a watchful eye and will remind me. He's getting me back for all the times I "remind" him about stuff he's not supposed to do. LOL

Saturday we will be leaving Indy KOA and heading north. We are spending a couple nights in Warsaw as we are all taking Mom out for Mother's Day. Then we will spend a few days at the house. We hope to work on it some this summer and start cleaning it out in preparation for selling it. We use it so infrequently that it doesn't pay to keep it. We will never live there permanently because Terry can't stand the cold weather in the winter, so we need to work at getting it sold.

We are toying with the idea of heading to Mississippi for the family reunion. We are going to try to do it, but whether we succeed will be determined by my being able to withstand the travel. I'm hoping the motorhome with its air suspension will be better than riding in the car.

So that's where we stand now. Things are going very well with my back. My limp is slowing fading and my bursitis is also healing. The two conditions were related to my back problems and are starting to correct themselves as the back heals. Whoo hoo!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Reunion, 2016

We are here in Mississippi for the Pace-Stevens family reunion. We have fewer people who come every year, but we still enjoy visiting with those who do make the effort. We have lost many members since we started coming. We have only missed one time in the last 20 years, I think, since Terry's Dad died. The year we missed was the year we went to Alaska.

The night before the reunion, we visited with Shirley and Paul and Gary and Jo at Shirley's house. Vikki and Johnathon and Preston were there as well. Shirley and Gary are siblings and are first cousins of Terry's. Gary and Jo fixed dinner of pork chops and baked sweet potatoes, so we ate very well. We usually see Gary and Jo a couple times a year because they live close to the path we take when we cross the southern U.S. They live near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, so it's a short drive to their place.

We met Saturday for the reunion at Ramey's Restaurant in Marietta, just down the road from where we used to hold a picnic. Later after we realized it was really too hot to have it outside, we moved over to the Marietta Community Building which was air conditioned and a welcome relief for those of us not accustomed to the humid heat of the south. Now we meet at a restaurant so no one has to cook!

This year Uncle Bob was with us. He is the last remaining child of Ma and Pa Pace, so it's mostly the younger generations that come now. He did not make it last year. He, unfortunately, has Alzheimer's. But he was having a reasonably good day and we got to visit with him. It was good to see him. He is in his mid 80's and appears to be in good health. He was very touched that we all came to celebrate with him.

We came back to the motorhome after the reunion. We were camped at Piney Grove on Bay Springs Lake, which is part of the Tenn-Tom Waterway. That is the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, a series of lakes, canals, and rivers that link the Tennessee River with the Gulf of Mexico. It's a nice park and we always reserve the same campsite every year. We know we fit well on it and it's easy on and off the site.

After we rested and fed the girls, we went back into Baldwyn and had dinner with Cathy and Bill and their son Matthew and girlfriend Sarah. Cathy and Terry are first cousins as well and she is Uncle Bob's daughter. She made us doughburgers. These are similar to hamburgers, but have a couple extra ingredients and have a little more flavor than a regular hamburger. She knew that I liked them and I really didn't do a good job duplicating them the one time I made them, so it was a special treat to eat hers! We visited with everyone and stayed till after dark before we made our way back to the lake. It's about 22 miles from her house.

We had some lightning on the way back. It almost always storms at least one night when we are there for the reunion, but this year it was all for show. The storms were mostly north of us and we didn't really even get any rain at the camp. We did have one bad/loud/scary thunderclap that sent me and the dogs scurrying for cover while we were out walking. Fortunately we were right near the motorhome, so I got them in easily.

This morning we broke camp and headed into Red Bay, Alabama. We have an appointment at Bay Diesel  at 7 a.m. tomorrow. Ugh. But we want to make it as easy on them as we can and it is super hot here. So the earlier the better. We are staying at a new campground here. It's west of Red Bay, just outside of town by about a block. Full hookup for $20 as are all the sites in Red Bay. Nice gravel and spacious enough sites. We went into town and got our mail and the laundry is running in the bedroom. Life is good. Depending on when Chris gets done with our coach, we may be staying here another night or rolling on north later tomorrow.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Time flies . . .

Time flies when you're having fun, right? So it must be doing the slow crawl for us. Motorhome problems continue to plague us and we are about at our wits' end.

On the way to Piney Grove, we stopped at our favorite rest area on the north side of the bridge over the Tennessee River on the Natchez Trace. This was just the day after picking the coach up again from Hill's Truck Service Center in South Bend, Indiana. We noticed after stopping and walking the dogs that we had what appeared to be a leak under the driver's area. Yep, it's a NEW fuel leak. It's not the one that continues to spew fumes into the basement and coach. . . this is a NEW leak created by the "mechanics" at Hill's. We never had any VISIBLE leak until they "fixed" it. Grrrrrr. Well, that still wouldn't keep us from moving so on we went. As soon as we pulled out of the rest area and approached the incline on the bridge the "Check Engine Light" came on. It continued and flashed "Low Coolant" before going out. Hmmmmm. Thanks, Hill's for checking and topping off the coolant. We thought we had finally found a place where we could take the rig up in northern Indiana for service and now are having to rethink that. We have had this before and normally have to add a bit of coolant. Terry runs the Silverleaf Diagnostic System on his laptop and it showed the engine temperature perfect, so we didn't worry about that. We drove on without incident and got into the camp expecting Gary and Jo to be already parked and waiting for us, since we were a day late.

Sad to say, Gary and Jo had cancelled their reservations and were staying at Shirley's. That's not a bad thing. Staying at his sister's is the best place for them since they don't see each other that often. We still got our favorite site and the camp was full. The neighbors camping in "Gary's" site came over and introduced themselves and invited us to share their screen tent and play cards and games. We thanked them. . . southern hospitality at its best. But after the problems we had getting here, we stuck to our site, walked the dogs and relaxed.

We had recently received information from the tax gurus in Texas that they were upping our assessment and taxes on our Texas property and so we filed an appeal. Unfortunately, instead of just making an adjustment, they scheduled a hearing for us. If we were not going to make the hearing, which at this point was 10 days away, we would have to hire a representative (too late to do that) or submit all our data and have it notarized, etc. So I spent the morning preparing the necessary forms and supporting materials. Terry called his cousin Cathy and she has a cousin on the other side of the family who works at a bank and is a notary public. So we went to visit Cathy and her husband Bill and then she drove us to downtown Baldwyn where we met her cousin and she notarized our paperwork. After that we were able to drop it in the mail. Whew. That's done. It required eight copies of everything so that each person on the appeals board could have their own documents. It probably won't even make a difference, but I had to try. Since then, we have talked with other owners in our park and were told of a lawyer who is helping a lot of the winter Texans there; so we will touch base with that attorney this year so that in future years, we will have someone who can help us by remote.

We had a great visit with Cathy and Bill in their "new" house. Her Dad, Uncle Bob, is the last Pace member of his generation. He is Terry's Dad's brother. He is in assisted living and suffers from Alzheimer's. When he moved out, Cathy and Bill moved into his house and have redecorated it. It is lovely and is a beautiful home. They are becoming more comfortable in it I think.

We drove over to Red Bay, always a highlight of our trips to Mississippi. We bought a few things in the camp store. We should have looked around more, because they have built a new customer lounge and we didn't even know it until after we left. But we do go every year, so we will manage to see it next time. 

Saturday we attended the family reunion in Marietta, Mississippi. It was a bit of a disappointment. Uncle Bob was not feeling well, so he didn't come. We had a total of 18 I think. The restaurant venue was actually quite good. The food was good and the family was great. We had hoped by having it at a restaurant and not requiring anyone to cook, there would be a bigger attendance. I hope that more attend next year and in the years to come because we always enjoy seeing everyone. So many have moved away that it is good to touch base with them once a year at least. Terry thinks we could send out invitations and I think that would be a good idea. As the family gets older, it is important for the younger ones to take interest in seeing that we make that contact at least every year.

After the reunion, we went back to camp and spent some time with the dogs and walked them. We headed back to Wheeler later and spent the evening visiting with cousin Shirley and family and cousin Gary and wife Jo. We had a great time visiting. It is always fun to visit with these cousins. Terry has fond memories of spending time in Mississippi when he was little. They always came back for vacations and family events, so he was quite close with these cousins and they remain very special to him.

So, tomorrow will be time to head out. Our plans are to head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as our drivers' licenses need to be renewed.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Pace-Stevens Reunion

We arrived at Piney Grove on Bay Springs Lake in Mississippi last Wednesday, June 4, and settled in for four days so we could attend the family reunion. Ma and Pa Pace were both married previously and had something like five children each, then were widowed. They found one another, married, and had five more children. Many of the children from the three marriages are no longer around, but there are some. Most of the people who come now are the next generation, i.e., Terry and his cousins. We always enjoy going to Mississippi and touching base with family. It would be great if more people would come, though. We had 31 people this year, up from 18 last year, but there are many more we would like to see.

Years ago, one of the relatives had a notebook with family genealogy in it, but I don't remember who it was and they haven't come for years. I've been trying to think of some way to encourage other family members to come. Perhaps some readers out there have some ideas about what works with their family reunions. If so, I would love to hear your comments.

We are changing the format of the reunion next year. Instead of having a carry-in, we are going to meet at Raymond's, a restaurant in Marietta, Mississippi. Everyone will order from the menu, so no one has to worry about fixing food and bringing a dish. We will let Raymond's do the cooking and all we need to do is visit with one another.

After we left the reunion, we headed out to the lake to the dogs and spent some time walking them and visiting with Gary and Jo. Later we all headed in to Paul and Shirley's, Terry's cousin and Gary's sister, and we had a fish fry. What fun! We had our leftovers from the reunion carry-in and fish Gary brought from one of his many fishing excursions and then an additional treat that Preston fixed. He made us steak kabobs with jalapeno, cream cheese and bacon. They were very good.

As it got later, it was obvious a storm was brewing. The dogs don't like storms, although they aren't terrified like some dogs. Still, we didn't want them to be alone in the motorhome in a storm. So we left Shirley's to rush back to the lake, about a 30 minute drive. The wind was really blowing and rain was horizontal, but we somehow plowed through it all. I was more concerned about a tree blowing down on us as we drove back. Once we got out on the highway, though, the wind seemed to die down and we just had a lot of rain and lightening. By the time we got to the camp, the worst was past. The girls were doing fine. We always leave the A/C and fans running as it masks a lot of noise. They were glad to see us, but they weren't overly anxious. They are such sweet girls. We waited till the rain stopped and took them out for their evening walk and then went to bed.

Gary and Jo did get a motorcycle ride in while they were there. I think that would be fun.

We also found these really large fungi the day after the bad storm. Have not found out what kind they are. Several suggestions have been made, but I don't believe we have identified them yet.

We left on Sunday morning to head to Indiana for the FMCA Glamarama Rally at the fairgrounds in Goshen. This is the second rally we have attended there in a month. They are always fun and it's great to be with other RV'ers. We drove all the way to Cave City the first night, then Indianapolis the second night, then on to the fairgrounds on Tuesday, the 10th.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Family Time!

Once we left the river, we traveled on toward Bowling Green, Kentucky, stopping at Cave City for the night. This is a park, Singing Hills, that we have used in the past. I don't care much for the drive going in, but it is do-able and the people are really nice. We got situated and relaxed for the rest of the day.

We drove out the next morning and headed toward Nashville. We skirt around the northwest part of the city on the Brylee Parkway and jumped on the Natchez Trace. This drive is my all-time favorite. It is a slower paced drive. The first section starting in Nashville is only 40 mph, but with the curves and hills and the big rig, you aren't going to go much faster anyway. We saw more wild turkey than we could count, deer, vultures, and snakes. Some of the snakes were dead on the road but a couple of them were alive. I don't know my snakes, but one was yellow with markings. Hmmmmm. Oh, we saw box turtles too. I safely managed to dodge all wildlife. We stopped at Falls Hollow Camp just east of Hohenwald, Tennessee. Hohenwald is German for "high forest." This was a decent camp with indecent hookups. Funky doesn't begin to describe them. The owner told us however we were able to maneuver and get comfy was okay. Didn't have to worry about pulling in, backing in, straight, crooked, otherwise. The camp was a large grassy area with little definition to the sites. But they could make vast improvements with a bulldozer and re-routing some water lines. As it is, there aren't many functional sites for large motorhomes. But we managed to get in and setup and stayed for 2 nights. The owners here are wonderful people and they came and invited us to go out to dinner with them our last evening there. We would have in a minute if we hadn't already eaten. Our dinner was over and cleaned up, so we weren't interested in going. The owners have a restaurant on site and they prepare meals on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We weren't there any of those nights, but some time we may have to go back. The restaurant was very clean and I bet the dinners are good.

We did go see some places along the Trace we normally don't have a chance to visit. Since we were unhooked, we took the little truck and went back to Falls Hollow to look at the waterfall. Not a lot of water going over the falls, but it was interesting anyway. We also went to the Meriweather Lewis death and burial site further down along the Trace. There is a campground there and it's been years since we were there, so we wanted to see if we might be able to get the big rig in there some time. There are no hookups, so you are boondocking, but that is okay. There were many sites we could have used and it wasn't busy, so perhaps next time we will try it out. We also hiked a short way to see the remains of a small scale railroad used in the mining of phosphate. We also visited a couple wineries along the wine trail and made a few purchases. The country around the area is really hilly and we enjoyed our drive out through the countryside.

Yesterday we packed up and left the camp and headed for Bay Springs Lake, near Burton, Mississippi. We didn't have far to go and checkout isn't until 3 p.m., so we didn't want to get in too early. We stopped at the rest area on the north side of the Tennessee River, one of our favorite stopping points. We walked the dogs, watched the barges on the river, had lunch and eventually started rolling again.

Once off the Trace in northern Mississippi, we fueled up and ran on in to camp. We were still early, but our site was open, so we made it in and set up in quick time. Jo and Gary were due in on Thursday, but about 8:30 I was looking out and saw them sitting in their site. Not sure how they managed to sneak in without us knowing, but to be honest, we were both dozing in our chairs, so no wonder. We went out and visited briefly. Later, after giving them some time to set up, we went over and while we were there, their gas detector kept going off. They had their toy hauler with their two huge motorcycles in the back. There were fumes from the bikes and that was causing the detector to go off. Annoying, but lifesaving. So we all helped get the bikes offloaded and eventually the detector stopped beeping.

Today we are headed to Red Bay, Alabama, Phaeton Place's birthplace, to grab some goodies at the camp store. And we'll spend some time visiting family I'm sure. Saturday is the Pace-Stevens reunion at Marietta. We missed it last year because we went to Alaska, but that is only the first time in over ten years that we have missed. We always enjoy seeing everyone. Many of the older generation who started the reunion are gone now and it is up to us younger ones to keep the tradition going. So we are planning on having a great time visiting with everyone.

 Till next time. . .

Dale

Parkview Pride!

In our former life, we lived in central Indiana near the town of New Castle. When we first moved to that area, there was both a J. C. Penny's store and a Sears store downtown. We spent many winters doing our Christmas shopping on Main Street. And as most Main Streets have died, giving way to Wal-Marts and malls, so did the Main Street in New Castle. Both Penny's and Sears are long gone. Somehow, however, the employees of Sears managed to stay in touch with one another and we would often see a notice in the community section of the local newspaper announcing the "former Sears employees" would be holding their monthly get together. I found that both amusing and incredible that people who worked together actually wanted to continue their association long after their business was gone.

For 20+ years I taught ninth-grade business and keyboarding at the junior high in New Castle. Our junior high had the distinction of being the only one in the state that was comprised of only eighth and ninth graders. There were 1100 students in those two grades when I started there in 1977 and when I left four years ago, there were not that many students in the newly restructured high school that now holds grades 9-12.

During my tenure at the junior high, named Parkview Jr. High, our staff was mostly hired by one man, Lew Larrison, who was the first principal of the junior high when it was built in the 70's and he remained there for . . . a long time. There is no doubt that the cohesiveness of the staff had a lot to do with the man at the helm. Not only was he a leader, but he was a compassionate and caring individual who made us feel we were the absolute best and that is why he picked us to be educators in his building. In fact, he recently told one of my friends and colleague that he felt looking back on his life, his legacy was the people he brought to the community.

Last year as we made plans to visit the area for our fall doctor appointments, a fellow retiree who is also an RVer suggested we invite some former colleagues we would like to see and have a "little" pitch-in. So we made a few phone calls and were pleasantly surprised when people showed up to share the evening with us. So this year, as we again discussed the possibility of another "reunion," we again made plans to coincide with our fall visit to the state park. The shelter was reserved, we called around and word soon spread.

We started gathering at 4 pm and I think the final count was 35. Wow! What a showing! We had some familiar faces from last year and some new faces. But the most special was when our former boss showed up! Now in his 80's, Mr. Larrison knew us all. He was amazed that after all these years, these people who he had brought together as a staff, still found they enjoyed one another's company to gather together and reminisce. (In fact, when he left tonight, we all called out, "Thanks for hiring us!") The junior high as we knew it back then, is no more, having been "restructured," but our friendships remain and we had a great time. We had dinner, then visited with one another and sat around the portable campfire. We are not all retired, some are still working. . . but we are like those Sears employee who just can't seem to let go of those with whom we shared a good part of our lives.

Great food, great times, great people. . . it just doesn't get any better than that!

Till next time. . .

Dale