Here are the photos that go with the post of 10/29/2009

These are some of the photos of our trip south to Corpus Christie. There are really some beautiful homes
that are either on the water or across the street from the Gulf. Many of the areas they have dredged out the canals and filled enough to build nice homes on them. They all have access to the water, either the Gulf or the bay. There are lots of fishing boats all along the shore. Many need some repair, but still to be operating as they always did.
Wednesday, we went to the Post Office with some work that needed to be mailed. We spent most of the afternoon working on a job that had come in. There is a BBQ place just across the road from our RV park and we have been waiting for it to open. They are only open, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We have been hungry for some BBQ Brisket ever since we left Texas last year. When you leave the state of Texas, there is no more BBQ for miles. You will occasionally find a place that has BBQ, but generally it is pork, at least in the south and east. Very little in New Mexico, as well as Arizona. I guess they either do not know how to cook it or people just do not ask for it.
Thursday, we went back to the Post Office and mailed our work and headed on South toward Mustang Island and the Gulf to see what was going on. Since the wind had changed and was out of the south east and quite strong the Gulf was really rolling. Huge waves and breakers with water way up on the beaches, much farther than a couple of days before. We traveled on south, down
the coast to Padre Island. When we entered the park the park attendant stated that we should be aware of the Red Tide. This is an alga that grows in the water and when it blooms causes the water to look red. It produces a toxin that can affect the central nervous system of fish, birds and mammals. It can cause irritation and redness to your skin and eyes and if noticed you should get out of the water and shower with clean water.
It can also cause breathing symptoms, which I noticed as soon as we got close to the coast as the wind was blowing strongly from the water. We continued the trip but did not get out of the van and used the ac all the time to prevent the contamination from entering the vehicle. Red tide blooms may last for days, weeks or months and can change daily with the wind conditions. This is a condition that has existed for centuries, they believe and also occur all around the world.
We returned back to Rock Port on another road and as usual, we saw some different things. It appears that most of this area is just waste land that can not sustain a crop, other that grass. Between here and Corpus Christie we only saw one field with cattle in it. There appears to be areas of water all around and the only way they can make it usable is to dredge it up, making water ways and using the fill for building. As this would be an expensive operation, there was not much going on and there were several homes for sale, many on very nice lots. We saw signs of Condos for sale, some repossessions and some complexes that were for sale that had been repossessed. However, this time of year, things seem to be going pretty good as the Snow Birds are in town and things should be alright, at least until spring. We saw lots of RV's coming in headed for their favorite winter spot.
At Padre Island National Sea Shore there is camping right on the water at Malaquite Campground. The cost is $4.00/night(with Golden Access Pass) with a max of 14 days and 48 hours out and a maximum of 56 days/year. There are no hookups but there is a dump station at the entrance to the area. I imagine that it could get really cool around the first of the year when the wind is blowing off the water. Too cold for me to even think about staying there, even at a good price.

Friday we set up for the hamfest in a very nice facility the Ardmore Convention Center. It was a very interesting design with mobiles in the foyer. The photos are of the building and the mobiles that really
reflected beautiful colors with the sun shining on them. The public was allowed in at 5pm until 8pm and we did a fair amount of business. Saturday the public was in at 8am and the prize drawing was at noon and at that time the hamfest was over. We were fairly busy all morning and did pretty good, considering the time we had to work.
The photos are of the building outside and inside the foyer. Also in the foyer was a very nice concession stand with a nice variety of fast foods and drinks.
We got away about 3pm and headed for a campground close by for the evening. We did not want to get involved in driving through Ft. Worth in the late afternoon and evening as it is quite a ways from Ardmore,
OK to the outer portion of Ft. Worth. Sunday morning we got away about 9:30 and headed south down I35, traffic was not too bad, but more than I really like to deal with. We were headed for Waco and US77 that would take us on toward our destination of Rock Port, TX. We spent the night at Rock Dale, TX. It had been cloudy all afternoon and Sunday night it started raining and rained hard all night. I do not really like to drive in the rain but it did not let up and we needed to get to Rock Port Monday afternoon, so we trudged on in the rain, however the wind had changed and was from the northwest, so it was pretty much a tail wind which is always good. Sunday we had a head wind all day which made it difficult. We arrived at our campground a little after 5 and finally found our camping space and it was under water, so we chose another one that was up on a hill. Evelyn unhooked the van and hooked up the utilities but the ac would not work. It checked alright but nothing in the coach. We tried to start the generator and it would not start. We had driven in rain all day and it was soaked. I finally got it started and after a few minutes it dried out enough to stay running and finally connecting with the electrical system. It had quit raining by this time and we were set for the night and we would see what things looked like in the morning.
Monday morning the sun was out and things looked a lot better. We moved to a lower spot and the electric checked alright and when it was connected to the motor home, all worked as it should. We did some engraving and got it ready to mail and headed south toward Fulton, TX and then on south toward Corpus Christie. We crossed the bay bridge and headed north into Padre Island and then on to Mustang Island and then on to the free ferry and back to the mainland. I will have other photos of this trip tomorrow.

Wednesday, Evelyn left early to go to Pocahontas to UPS to pick up my new cushion for my chair. She was back and we were on the road by 10:30 headed toward Ardmore, OK. We took road 56 out of Ash Flat over to SR 9 and south. This is a two lane windy road through the mountains. It was a beautiful drive but the grades pulling the van was difficult driving. There were several 35mph curves, always at the bottom of a long downgrade or at the bottom of a long up hill grade. We stayed on 9 until we got to the town of Southside where we picked up US65 to Conway where we took I40 to I430 to I30 and picked up US70. US70 would eventually take us to Ardmore, OK. It was getting late in the day and we ran across the Daisy State Park in Daisy, AR. The office was closed when we got there so we picked out a spot we could use, no pull thrus. so we took a wide place in one of the roads across two of the back ins. Leveled up and spent the night. All well and good until it started raining. The big drops from the leaves of the trees were quite noisey when the hit the roof along with a few acorns and a walnut or two, made it an interesting night.
Thursday morning we stopped by the office and paid for our spot and dumped the holding tanks as we would not have another opportunity until we reached Rock Port, TX. On across US70 which skirted the edge of the Boston Mountains, so it was still a little rough but nothing like SR9. We had rain off and on all day, however it looked like it was clearing off a bit. Hopefully it will be nice for the hamfest Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. We arrived at the Ardmore Convention Center about 5pm and there were already two 5th wheels here and a couple or three other RV's came in shortly afterwards. We are parked next to I35 which is the main road between Oklahoma City and the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so it may also be an interesting night to sleep. I am using someones wi-fi, not sure who's it is but it is working fine, so far.

Thursday evening we got the rig parked in our usual spot in Charleston, MO. Opened the hood and took the cover off of the fuse panel and located the fuse that controls the park/instrument lights and it was blown. It was replaced with a new one and it promptly blew, indicating a short. The cable was removed from the motor home to the van and when the fuse was replaced again, all was well. When I disassembled the plug on the cable, I found one of the wires out of its socket and shorted against another contact. I replaced it in its proper place and checked the cable with the ohm meter and all was well. It was still OK after the able was reattached between the motor home and the van. Just one of those bumps you hit while on the road to adventure in a motor home.
Friday morning we emptied the holding tanks and filled the LP tank as we knew we would be boondocking the next few nights in Cherokee Village, AR. We noticed that in the Bootheel of MO and the north east portion of Arkansan a lot of the rice was still in the fields as well as cotton and soy beans. We were traveling west with a cross wind from the north which kept you on your toes staying on your side of the road. After we got into the hills the trees broke the wind in lots of places, but the open areas were still a challenge. We arrived in Ash Flat, AR about 3:30 and got parked. It would sprinkle a bit and then the sun would come out before it rained again. We are here for the weekend as Evelyn has an eye appointment on Tuesday and we are waiting on a replacement cushion for my wheelchair that is being delivered to CV.
Saturday, Evelyn had gone to town to run some errands and see some friends to catch up on the news. While she was gone I had a show or classic cars. Probably a dozen or so classic cars came in and parked in a row, like they were going to show them. But, at 12:00 they all loaded up and headed south toward Batesville, AR apparently for a show. They were all old, from a 34 Ford to a mid 60's Olds vista cruiser. Even an old Mack that had been reworked and had a flat bed on it. Of course the camera was up out of my reach and as they were leaving, Evelyn came in and said, "did you see those cars leaving the lot as I was coming in" yes, and I could not get the camera either. So no photos of the beautiful classic cars.
We met Linda, Evelyn's step daughter and one of Evelyn's best friends at the local Chinese buffet for a very good meal. Lots of good food and a very nice selection, all fresh and the hot was hot and the cold was cold. A new restaurant since the tornado went through in 2008 and blew the area away.
Sunday it was cold and windy and I did not want to go out. So, Evelyn went to church and met a lot of her old friends and acquaintces, having been the church secretary for 10 years.
Monday, we moved to Fredericks Family Restaurant where they have a large graveled area to park. Lots of semis use the lot for parking when they are not on the road. The even have wi-fi which is quite handy. I finally got a tracking number on my seat cushion and it was not scheduled for delivery until Wednesday. The delivery is usually about 4pm at Linda's house and we need to be on the road to Ardmore, OK as soon as possible. We knew the package would come through the Pocahantas terminal, so we tried to get their phone number and no one at UPS would give it to us so we could intercept the package. We finally talked with the local gal that takes UPS packages and she gave us the number. I talked with the gal at the terminal and gave her the tracking number and she said it would be there on one of the two trailers they get every day. The first one comes in about 5:30am and the other one about 7 or 7:30am. They are both sorted and on the delivery trucks and everyone is gone by 9:30am and the place closed up. She said she would hold the package for us and Evelyn will drive the 40 or so miles and pick up the package early tomorrow morning and when she returns we will be able to get on the road to Ardmore, OK. We will spend Wednesday night somewhere in southern Arkansas and go on to Ardmore on Thursday. We will set up for the show on Friday and Saturday. On south on Sunday toward Rock Port, TX.

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y we got underway a little after 2pm. It seemed there was always something to hinder us from leaving. Today, it was the house furnace that would not come on yesterday. I checked it out and reset the computer and it finally did light and worked all night and today and was working when the serviceman arrived. He checked it out and ask what I had done to it and all I did was check the wire connections and turn the little gas valve off and on a couple of times and it came on and worked ever since. He checked a few things and could not find anything wrong and said he would note our file but would not charge for the call as there was nothing he could find wrong. Hopefully it will continue to work as it should.
We traveled the short distance to Cloverdale, IN to visit an aunt and have dinner with her. After a nice meal and visit it was nearly dark, so we proceeded to Spencer, IN for the night. However, I noticed that I did not have any running lights and the dash lights were out. Will have to check it out in the morning. Probably a bad fuse. From what I see in one of the manuals, it is under the hood, so we will see. The right turnlight is not working on the van, so that is probably in a connection between the vehicles. Tomorrow, it is on to Charleston, MO where we will spend the night, get fuel and check these things out. At least, we are on the road again.