Heflin, AL to Concord, NC

Just another short drive of 325 miles and we arrived here in Concord, NC around 6:00PM at Glenwood Acres Campground where we will stay for about 3 weeks visiting family.  We've driven 2,000 miles since leaving Tucson on Monday and our old bodies are feeling it.

We had the usual road construction delays west of Atlanta that slowed us down quite a bit.  Then we decided to take I-20 to I-85N through Atlanta.  I'm not sure that was a good idea.  As soon as we pulled off I-20 the traffic came to a standstill.  Believe it or not, it was just the volume of traffic getting off I-20 and merging onto I-85.  They had East & West bound I-20 traffic merging together and then merging onto I-85.  What a mess.

Once we got on I-85 it wasn't that much better since all 6 or 7 lanes were full of cars with crazy drivers trying to maintain a 70mph speed even though it was impossible.  I think they let the rudest people drive on Saturdays and they all congregated around us.  I just took my time and ran a little less than the speed limit and made it through the mess.  It reminded me of the little electric bumper cars you see in carnivals.  

The roads varied from super great to terrible pot holes and a rough ride.  They also seem to have narrowed the lanes so there wasn't a lot of room to maneuver around the potholes.  I will check the motor home on Sunday to see if anything fell off.  


It was another day of driving in the rain, but it wasn't that bad.  We've had more rain in one day driving back than 6 months out in the Southwest.  I think it has rained every day since we left last Monday.  Sure wish Tucson could have gotten some of this much needed rain out there.  Maybe their monsoons will be great this summer.

One thing becomes very apparent driving in the East vs Southwest is the rude drivers in the East.  Nobody seems to understand that when you merge onto an interstate highway that the yield sign is for them.  More than once we've had vehicles in the lane next to us and couldn't move over to let people in, but it didn't slow them down from trying to cut us off.  The air horn works very well in those situations, but I wish people would learn how to drive.  It's a lot easier to speed up or slow down in a car than it is for us in the motorhome.

We managed to find a QT fuel station that had diesel for $3.59/gallon and filled the tanks.  Now we have more than enough to drive to our cabin in PA without more fuel.  I will top it off so it isn't so painful to fill up when we leave in the fall.

Glenwood Acres CG has been our home away from home when we are in the Charlotte area for the past 3-4 years and we stop in for 3-4 weeks in the spring and fall.  They have increased the size of the campgrounds and added a number of new sites.  We can't get into our favorite sites now since they are reserved for overnite campers.  Too bad, since they are shaded sites and quite large.  Now we are in a site about the size of the one we have in Tucson, except this one is a little narrower.  Maybe it is time to search out another campground for the fall stopover here in Concord.

Barbara (dau) stopped by just as we were setting up the motorhome.  We were delayed since we were getting "extra" help with parking the motor home.  The helper didn't want to leave, so it was a little confusing at times.   Barbara came in and we had a nice long talk catching up on things.  She joined us for a glass(es) of wine and dinner.  She has to work on Sunday so she left around 9:30pm.  We sat a relaxed for a while after that.


That is it from here.  I most likely won't be posting that much while we are in Concord since it will mostly be visiting family.  But, I will be thinking of you all, whoever you are.

Have a great summer.

Roosevelt State Park, Morton, MS

Our mileage per day keeps getting lower the longer we are on the road.  We've driven 1400 miles since Monday and it's starting to wear us down.  This was a 278 mile day for us, but the plan was to drive further.  For the 2nd day in a row an accident held us up on I-20 and it took over 30 minutes to go about 3 miles.  

We were in line when the wrecker truck went by us on the shoulder.  I had the CB on trying to see what lane was blocked and what was the holdup and the truckers were chatting about the problem.  They are always good for a chuckle until their language gets too filthy.  One driver mentioned that the tow truck was passing him and the driver of the wrecker truck informed him that he was not in a tow truck, but a wrecker truck.  They went back and forth for a few minutes and other drivers chimed in and finally the wrecker driver couldn't handle the conversation and started with foul language.  I was wishing they would shut up and not make him mad enough to take his time clearing up the wreck. 

Here is the culprit for our holdup.  I don't know what happened but the driver just ran off the road and crashed.  Not sure if sleep, health problems or road rage was involved, but the car was a mess.  I hope there wasn't a serious injury and since there wasn't an ambulance there, I assume all was fine.

We had over 900 miles on the tank of fuel and we started checking Gas Buddy.com to see where some cheaper fuel was.  Pilot, Loves, FlyingJ and those truck stops were in the $3.89 range and I didn't want to pay that.  Eagle eye Gerry found a Valero station with diesel for $3.55/gallon so we went there and scoped it out.  No problem.  I wheeled on in and took up both lines in the middle of the station.  (I'm sure there were a lot of nasty words directed my way, but $.35/gallon cheaper was hard to pass up).  

I took on 84 gallons and then came a big decision.  The exit I intended to take had a big dip and I knew the rear of the motorhome would drag, so that was out.  The only other option was a hard right turn and back onto the highway going the wrong way.  OK, so now to find a place to turn the motorhome around and head the right way to get back on I-20.  So, I turned into a small shopping center and a car blocked me from making my turn.  Around to the back of the shopping center and it looked like a dead end, but I kept driving hoping there was a way out.  Thank God there was and we hightailed it out of there.

The rest of the trip was routine and we pulled into Roosevelt State Park in Morton, MS for the night.  Another bargain for us at $14.00/night for a full hookup.  The interior park roads are narrow and windy with trees along the side of the road or a 3 ft dropoff.  We are thinking the campsites will be difficult to get into and the one assigned to us was impossible.  Gerry called them and we moved to another site, backed in and set up the motorhome. 
Time for a cold MGD and a break.  Aaaaaaaahhhhh!

We may extend a day here if the weather clears up.  Yes, it's been raining all evening and more is in the forecast for Friday.

Cousin Al read the blog about the campground in Santo and the flooding and called to ask if it was Coffee Creek RV Resort and he was correct in thinking that was it.  He and Sharon stopped there a couple years ago and they offered Al & Sharon jobs for the next summer.  Sharon's health was failing and they never got to take the job.  It's a shame, since it was such a nice RV park and it would have been great for them to work there.

That was our day, how was yours? 

Miss Elli's Rv Park

We were slow moving this morning and didn't leave the RV park until 9:45am.  It wouldn't have made sense to leave any sooner or we would have been caught up in the Ft.Worth/Arlington/Dallas rush hour traffic on I-20.  We missed most of the rush and breezed through the tri cities fairly easily.

The ride east of I-20 was interspersed with rain showers, wind and all around crappy weather.  We managed to keep up speed and soon escaped from the area.  All went well until traffic came to a complete stop and we slowly crept through what was the scene of an accident involving a car and a tractor trailer truck.  At least we weren't caught up in the accident, so that was a good thing.

We managed to get one of two remaining camp sites at Miss Elli's RV Park right off of I-20.  I think we will be lulled to sleep tonight by the truck traffic about 100 yards from us.  The a/c will provide some background noise so it shouldn't be that bad.

On the way in we noticed a catfish restaurant and once we set up the motorhome, we unhooked the car and headed for the restaurant.  It's been a long time since we've had catfish and both ordered a meal of fillets.  I ordered all you can eat and Gerry ordered a smaller plate.  I managed to share some of my fish with her and we both walked out full and content.

The restaurant is very large and has three huge dining areas.  It must really be a popular place on the weekends.  We arrived early and there were only a few people there and we started to wonder if we made a mistake coming there.  Since it is a dry county, we had to join a club there in order to have a beer.  First time for everything.  As we were leaving we noticed the parking lot was beginning to fill up. 

After the meal we decided to take a tour of the area and check it out.  There was a sign for a bridge out, so that is where we headed first.  It looked ominous at first with the buzzard hanging around in the tree checking us out.    

Yep, the bridge was out and they were working on the bridge with some heavy duty equipment.  We never did find out what caused the bridge failure, but it must have been a problem for those who lived in the area because there weren't any alternate routes that we could see.

The town of Jonesville must have been larger in years past since it was a railroad hub and also near Swanson's Landing, which was on Lake Caddo and provided access to a river port.  Now it is only a few houses and this General Store that dates back to 1847 and is still in operation.  It has been owned and operated by the Vaughan family since 1870.

There were a few old rundown buildings in the general area and they had old signs on them.  I bet the American Pickers would love to have these signs.

Notice the buildings are on brick posts.

This town was moved when the Southern Pacific Railroad came through the area.  Southern Pacific is now Union Pacific Railroad, and the town isn't a stop on the line.  We enjoyed the little touring and then headed back to the motorhome and some much needed rest.  There are little gems all over the place, you just have to search for them. 

That was our interesting day, how was yours? 

 

Van Horn, TX to Santo, TX

Neither of us got a good nights sleep last night due to a sudden change in the weather.  It was nice and a little cooler when we arrived in Van Horn, but all that changed around 12:00am.  The wind picked up and was rocking the motorhome and then it started lightening and the rains came.  Other than a few drizzles, it was the first rain we had since last November.  It kept us awake for a while and then would let up but then start up again.  

We got up early this morning and had our breakfast, but weren't moving as quickly as yesterday.  Our bodies were still thinking Tucson time and didn't like what we were putting them through.

Then it was back on I-10 for the short drive to where I-20  splits off from I-10.  Our goal for today was the Ft. Worth area and I-20 is the road to take.  We soon were in the Odessa & Midland, TX areas and saw numerous campgrounds full of trailers with work trucks parked nearby.  There were a lot of Help Wanted signs all along the highway and the area is booming due to the oil drilling in the area.  I think pickup truck salesmen must all be rich, what with all the trucks on the road.  Very few cars, but tons of trucks. 

We didn't check, but it looked like all these campgrounds were full to the gills and others have popped up along the way.  It reminded me of the Illinois State Fair when people near the fairgrounds would rent you a parking space in their yards.  Except in this case they were trailers, not cars.

Diesel fuel in Midland, TX was listed at $3.63/gallon and I checked Google Earth to see how easy it would be to get into the station.  Not a problem!  Well, Google Earth lied and it was a very tight fit for the motorhome and car in the station.  Part of the problem was that the diesel pumps were only located at the end of the station, not at each island.  I managed to squeeze in at an angle and take on fuel at a considerable savings over what stations along the interstate were charging.  Out there it was $3.89 to 3.98 a gallon.

Once we left Midland the winds picked up and blew hard from the the SE and was buffeting the motorhome.  Somewhere along the way the winds shifted and came out of the NE and were really rocking the unit.  I slowed down and then the rains came.  We had a couple downpours and I was the only vehicle that slowed down, while the others were running 80-90mph around us. Fun time.

A large tractor trailer truck passed us and it had a heavy load on the trailer.  There was a truck chained down securely and it looked like it was a treasure of a truck.  What do you think?

Soon after the truck passed us, it began to rain again with heavy winds hitting the side of the motorhome.  We called ahead to a Passport America campground to make a reservation and the woman said she thought there was a campsite that wasn't under water that we could fit into.   She wasn't kidding.  They had experienced a heavy downpour and parts of the campground were flooded.  The bridge over the creek had water almost up to the roadway, but it wasn't a problem, although the water was flowing quite rapidly.

 The buildings and cabin in the picture above were close to the creek and had water around them.  I don't think I would want to stay in them in case the area receives more rain tonight.

The evening news from Ft. Worth and Dallas was full of flood pictures with stranded cars, trucks and whatever.  One Ford Taurus went through the water and it was almost up to his windshield at one time.  I can't imagine how he/she made it through all the water.

We had planned on stopping in Arlington, TX and surprising our friends Judy & Herb with a short visit, but with the wind, rain and all that we came up about 80 miles short of our goal.  Next time!

All in all it wasn't that bad of a day except for the 438 miles we put on our bodies.  The motorhome rides very nicely and is comfortable, but it seems 400 miles is our limit now.  We prefer 250-300 miles a day, but want to get back to North Carolina by Sunday to see all those who work during the week.  Then we can take it easy.  That is the plan!!!

I will write more on Wednesday, "Lord Willing & The Creek Don't Rise".  The above is an old Illinois saying and I've wanted to use it for a long time.  Mission accomplished.

Gerry is having fits since we've driven by 15-20 Dairy Queens and haven't stopped at one of them.  Maybe tomorrow it will happen and she will be a happy camper.  She keeps reminding me of the billboard we saw a few years back indicating the "Texas Stop  Sign"-  and showing the DQ logo - and we're not stopping!

That was our day, how was yours?

Tucson to Van Horn, TX

We got an early start today to avoid driving in the heat and pulling up the hills east of Tucson.  They aren't that steep or long grades, but I didn't want to hit them in 100+ temps.  Mission accomplished.

We drove 420 miles today and it was an uneventful drive for the most part.  I-10 parallels a railroad track for many miles in Arizona & New Mexico.  We saw a first today with wind turbine blades being shipped via freight train flat cars.  They looked like special made cars to hold the blades and appeared to be much longer than regular cars.  

Lunch break occurred west of Las Cruces in the rest area there.  Since it was so hot, we had lunch in the motor home with the generator and a/c running.  We did see a big bird along side of the road and he looked dangerous.  What do you think?

The Rio Grande River flows west of Las Cruces and it is almost always dry when we drive by it in the fall.  Not so now with the snow melt and rain they have been having north of Las Cruces.  It looked nice to actually see water in the river, even if it was only a couple feet deep.

We rolled through Las Cruces and El Paso without any problem.  Traffic was heavy in El Paso, but it was moving really well.  I stayed in the middle lane and kept up with the flow.  It is about 35-40 miles from one end of El Paso to the other.  

The Bekin Van Lines truck shown below had a neat saying painted on the back.  Check it out.  Nice to see someone there has a sense of humor.

A Passport America park was our intended destination for tonight, but when we drove by it to check it out, it failed inspection.  Probably would have been ok, but it just didn't look right to me.  KOA was the alternative choice and we snared a nice pull-thru site for a reasonable price.   The have a unique way to forecast weather at this KOA and the sign says it all.

 

 The computer in the motorhome dash was acting up so I took it apart and checked a few things.  I think some of the wires were jiggled loose due to the rough roads.  We use the computer GPS system installed for motorhomes, so it helps us with low bridges and other reasons to avoid certain routes.  It is working now until the next bone crunching bump we run into driving along the highways.

This will be another early to bed night, but we drove through two time zones and lost 2 hours.  Arizona doesn't go on daylight savings time and New Mexico is in the Mountain Time zone and does go on daylight savings time.  Confusing?  Well, in any case our bodies are on Tucson time now and in the morning it will be a chore to get up and on the road early.  

That was our day, how was yours?

Full Tank & Ready To Go

We use Fry's grocery store (Kroger) as our main source of groceries and they give gas points for every dollar you spend in the store.  The last couple months they have been giving double points on weekends and 4X points for gift cards.  We having been shopping on weekends as much as possible and also taking advantage of the gift cards.

We've accumulated an $.80/gal discount over the past month and today was our opportunity to take advantage of it.  We woke up around 5:30am and prepared to drive to the station at Fry's to fill up the tank.  We took on 90 gallons of diesel at an average of $3.39 a gallon and now have enough fuel to drive 1100 miles.  Of course, I will use the Gas Buddy website to check for cheap fuel on the way back.  So far Odessa, TX has a Texaco fuel station that is an easy in and out and has the cheapest fuel in that area.  Every penny counts  when you have a thirsty fuel tank.

The car is hooked to the motorhome, brake buddy ready to be connected and we will be hitting the road around 7:00am to avoid some of the 104 degree heat on Monday.

We met Gerry's sorority sister Katy for lunch in Green Valley and had a nice long lunch with non stop chatting going on.  Katy is very interesting and has some well known friends.  She is always surprising us with her wide circle of friends and interests.  Katy is one very active and interesting 92 year young woman.  She is recovering from a fall at the present time and seems to be doing well.

   
When we returned from fueling the motorhome this morning we decided to go out for breakfast.  Gerry must have been hungry since she suggested the Tucson Truck Terminal (TTT) along I-10 east of Tucson.  They serve the largest breakfasts and if you ate there every morning, you would surely gain a ton of weight.  I had a nice omlette and Gerry ordered a huge waffle with strawberries and whipped cream.  Now does this meal look fantastic or not?

 
Trust me, it is as large as it looks and every bit as tasty. 

That was our day, how was yours?

Change of Plans - Again!

Gerry's dentist appointment was originally for Thursday and they changed it to Monday.  Gerry asked them to call her if the partial came in or anyone cancelled and they had time to get her in before Monday.  Well, this morning they called and now she is scheduled for Friday morning.

We paid for an additional week when they last rescheduled her, so we are leaving on Monday morning bright and early.  The weather forecast is for light winds out of the west and that is the best possible forecast for us.  Tail winds are always nice to have in a motorhome, versus side winds.  It will be hot, but hopefully we can get past the few hills east of Benson before the temps get in the triple digits.  If not, we will take our time and cruise on up the hills.

If at all possible we would like to make it to Van Horn, TX the first day and take advantage of the winds.  It is about a 425 mile drive on good interstate all the way, so it shouldn't be a problem.  There are only a few campgrounds along this route, so we may actually stop early.  This will be a make time and get back to NC asap type drive, rather than to sightsee and take our time.   Not much fun checking out places in 100+ heat and possibly having bad weather anyway.

The strap on the bike rack broke while we were in Camp Verde and the replacement strap came in yesterday.  The rack is good to go now and in place on the back of the Saturn.  We will load up the bikes on Sunday as the last stop in getting ready to leave.  Sometime Sunday I will stop by the fuel station and fill up the car and motorhome since the prices here are better than anywhere along the road.  A penny saved is a penny earned and when you take on 90 gallons of diesel fuel, the pennies add up really fast.

Puzzle for readers of the blog

There isn't much exciting or interesting going on around here today so I thought I'd leave a little puzzle for you to solve.  At the last minute we decided to eat out at one of our favorite places in Tucson.  Send me a comment if you know the name of this place and what is the specialty.  

If you have followed this blog for any length of time the answer will be easy to find.  Good luck.

Any takers of the challenge out there?  If you think you know the answer, send me an email or a comment. 

That's all folks.

Father's Day & I Got The Boot!

When I was a child Father's Day wasn't such a big deal, especially in our house.  My dad wasn't a sentimental person and I don't remember him sending cards, gifts, etc., for events.  I did give him a cheap set of screwdrivers one year and he acted like I gave him a million dollars.  That doesn't mean he wasn't a great dad.  I loved him very much.  We hunted, fished and did many things together.  He would take me along on his many and varied expeditions to by more stuff than you can imagine.  He was a "picker" long before it became fashionable to be a picker.  Every trip was an adventure and my brother and I never knew where we were going, why, and who were were visiting.  I loved it.

He would say we were going to stop at such and such farmhouse and visit people.  Introductions other than I was the "baby" of the family were one way.  If he mentioned names, I promptly forgot them and never knew who the people were.  This came back to haunt me in later years when I was doing family research and would tie in the people by where they lived.  I'm still not 100% sure I have the right names with the people.

I was his "gopher" when we worked on cars, trucks, tractors and whatever was broken at the time.  I knew what a 3/4" box end wrench was before I even used one.  Later he taught me how transmissions worked, what valves were for, gaskets, gears and all those thing associated with repairing what was wrong.  I still remember he had an old hand telephone with a car antenna stuck in it.  He would extend the antenna and listen to the motor and diagnose what was wrong.  That really impressed me.  

For the younger generation, phones weren't digital like today and actually had cords attached to them and were attached to a wall.  They worked fine and if you were on a party line you could get all the news in the area without the internet.  Neat times.

I received phone calls from my three children (on their smart phones) and enjoyed hearing from them.  I always enjoy hearing from them whatever the occasion.  Hint Hint!  My "Tucson Daughter" sent me a text message on my computer as she always does.  It's nice to be remembered by them and singled out at least once a year.  Just kidding, they chat with us all the time when we are away from them.

I did get the boot today in a big way.  Gerry and I had a few errands to run and wound up at a familiar spot for us.  Tubac was our destination today and even though it was 100 degrees, we headed out there this afternoon.  This is how I got the boot.  Guess where we were shopping.

 
We were looking for a nice sedate place to have lunch and ran across this restaurant.  Do you think it is a little bit gaudy?   Naw, I didn't think so.  I wonder if they have sushi there?

 
We returned to the motorhome but stopped to talk to Ron K on the way back.  He will be leaving the park on Tuesday or Wednesday and we decided to go out to dinner with him at a local Mexican food restaurant.  The service was terrible at first and when we complained it picked up very fast.  We had a nice long chat with Ron over the great meals and adult beverages and finally called it a day.

It was a great day for me food wise with Gerry preparing a great ham and cheese omlette for me to start the day.  I am very partial to omlette, but don't eat them that much since eggs are supposed to be bad for a person.  You have to live dangerously every once in a while, so today was the day.

Other than not being with my children, I had a great day.  I hope yours went as well as mine.

Leaving town on June 21

Gerry went to her dentist appointment and it looks like we will be heading East around June 21.  She has a June 19 appointment to finish up the work and we will leave shortly after that.  We plan on taking I-10 from Tucson to I-20 in West Texas and stay on I-20 until we hook up with I-85.  That's it,  3 Interstates and we will be back in Concord, NC around the end of the month.  We've been this route a number of times and have done the sightseeing bit quite a lot, so this will basically be a put some miles on the RV every day trip.  It's 2,000 miles to Concord and making the trip in 7-8 days shouldn't be that difficult.

One thing about traveling across NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, NC during June is to watch the weather for storms.  We've been caught in two hail storms in TX and had damage to the motorhome and car.  I'd like to avoid that this year.  Also, the wind can play a huge factor out West and can delay you for a couple days if it gets up in the 25-35 mph range.  I don't know what is worse, the storms or the wind.

It was 106 degrees in Tucson today and we had the a/c running all day and were comfortable in the motorhome.  Since we are here on a weekly basis, the electric is included in the camping fee.  That is a good thing because I am sure we are really sucking up the KWHs during this heat.  It was in the 90s late in the evening and didn't cool off that much during the night.

I did get a chance to watch the Spain-Netherlands World Cup soccer match yesterday.  It looked like Spain was going to run away with the game and dominated most of the first half.  They were leading 1-0 as a result of a penalty kick and seemed to be in controal.  The Netherlands scored on a beautiful header late in the first half and tied the score.  The 2nd half was all the Netherlands as they scored 4 more goals.  The final score of 5-1 was a surprise to everyone.  Great match if you like the Netherlands.

That was our day, how was yours?

 

Pool Tables & Barbara

Barbara is our oldest daughter and led the way for her two younger siblings.  I won't go into all that means, but she also loves sports and was a very good softball player.  She and Cassie were integral parts of their softball teams when they were in Jr. High and beyond.

Barb also liked to play football and liked to rough house with the neighborhood boys.  That was fine when she was younger, but there came a day when I noticed they wanted her to run with the ball all the time and that was the last football game for her.  Of course, she was mad at me and thought many evil thoughts that can't be repeated on the blog.

After high school she attended Montgomery Community College and carried a full load.  She started off fine and got the good grades we expected of her.  Then something happened.

Let me back off here a minute.  We had a real nice slate pool table in the basement and it was in use all the time by the kids and us.  We managed to almost wear the table out in the years we had it.  As much pool as I played you would think I would be good.  Not so, I would get beat on my own table all the time and Barbara almost always beat me at the game.

The Pool Table

 Ok, after a couple semesters of school, I noticed that her pool game had improved a lot.  Upon further inquiry we found out she was honing her skills and became a Pool Shark and was playing in the Student Union building.  That was not good.  She was good at pool though!

Later in life she played some more softball and also joined a volleyball league.  It was difficult for her to be there all the time with 4 young children and a husband who worked long hours.  Whenever the family got together at her house the old volleyball net would come out and the game would be played for blood.

Barbara got married and moved out of state the year that I was posted overseas, so we didn't get a chance to see her play a lot of sports after that.  Pictures were mainly of the grand children as they came along, rather than sports.

Did I tell you that our three children are competitive in sports?  No?  Well, I imagine you have figured that out by now.  The funny part about them is that all their spouses aren't really into sports that much except as spectators.  Goes to prove that opposites do attract each other. 

I played industrial league basketball into my 40s and was very competitive, so I guess I am the blame or can take credit for their interest in sports.  I accept either of the two reasons above and have enjoyed watching them develop as players and people.

I've written about each of them and their sports the past few blogs and want to thank them for giving me many father's days even though it wasn't in June most of the time.

I do draw the line at playing Pictionary with them.  They are too cut throat for me and I enjoy watching Henry's face when the kids and Gerry go at it over a Pictionary play.  Too scary for me to get involved in that game.  When the dictator showed his ugly face one night, that was it for me.

Three reasons for celebrating Father's Day

 Now the wait is on to see what presents I get this year.  LOL

Thanks for reading the blog this far.  Aren't you lucky that I don't have 8 children?

More Softball & Cassie

Our daughter Cassie played softball from the time she was about 10 years old and was on coed teams, girls teams, both fast pitch and slow pitch.  Early on she played on teams where the girls were older but she more than held her own.  Barbara & Cassie played on the same church team in the Washington, DC area when they were about 15 and the team wound up with a 25-1 record.  That was a very good team to say the least.

I made it clear very early on that I didn't want her to play catcher on the fast pitch teams and the coaches agreed to my request.  One coach kept asking me if he could use her at catcher since she had the best arm on the team.  Nope!  No catching.  I showed up at one of her games being played during my working hours and found her catching.  I had some choice words for the coach and that didn't happen again.   You may ask why not catcher, well I didn't want her having broken fingers from foul balls and suffer with that later in life.  As the old saying goes, catcher masks, chest protectors and such are the "tools of ignorance".

She was very competitive and it showed on the playing field.  I think that was what made her such a good player.  In her prime she was one of the teams top home run hitters on the coed team, beating out almost all the guys.  She hit with power and ran the bases like a deer.

Cassie at bat with power to spare - 1983

Cassie playing 1st base 1983

The photo below was taken the night her all girls team won the championship of their league.  By this time she had been fighting health issues for many years, but she could still poke it out of the park.
  

 Larry Jr. and Cassie played on the same coed team for a number of years and were integral parts of the team.  This picture was taken after they won the league championship one year and Jr decided everyone needed to cool off.  He brought large coolers of ice water to the game and hid them until the team picture was taken.  Then, out came the ice water and I don't think I have ever seen Cassie move so fast.  In fact, she was a blur in the picture.

Coaching her bro at third base the same year as the picture above.  Gerry and I really enjoyed seeing them play softball together and the bond they had between them.   Cassie also served as team coach on a number of years and  was able to help of young players improve their games.  She knew the rules and wasn't afraid to challenge referees when they were wrong.  

What do I do, Sis?

Eventually age and her illness caught up to her and she had to hang up the cleats.  I think if she were able, she would still be out there playing softball on a team somewhere.  I am sure she still has her glove and some softballs in her basement

When Cassie was very young I taught her how to roll when hit and not put her hands out to brace the fall.  One day she came running down the hill in the backyard and wasn't paying attention to where she was in relation to our wood fence.  Too late she turned and saw the fence and in a flash she remembered my directions about not bracing her fall with her hands.  So, she lowered her arms and ran into the fence standing straight up and bounced back on her butt.  She was stunned and when I ran up to her, she said she didn't put up hands because I told her so.  I guess it was my fault.

Now she is a Baltimore Orioles baseball fan and follows them all the time.  She refuses to root for the Washington Nationals since the two previous Washington baseball teams moved out of Washington.  Don't get her mad at you, she doesn't forget.

Everything written above is true to the best of my recollection and I am sticking by what I wrote.

Hope you all had a nice day.

1986 W.A.I.S.T Tournament - Dakar, Senegal

Before you jump to conclusions, this is the definition of W.A.I.S.T (West Africa Invitational Softball Tournament).  The coed softball tournament has been held in Dakar, Senegal for many years dating back into the 1980s at least.  It has evolved over the years but it basically is held for slow pitch softball teams involving mostly Americans in West Africa.  The teams are composed of many different groups in the various countries and come together for the tournament in February of each year.

When we moved to Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 1982, Larry Jr. was 11 years old and loved to play baseball.  He made all-start teams in the U.S. and was disappointed that baseball wasn't played in Abidjan.  A group of guys played softball each Saturday at a local soccer field, so we started playing with them.  My softball skills had gone down over the years but I still enjoyed the competition.  

The group would let younger players join in the games and let them hit and make believe the youngsters actually got hits and throw the ball over the heads of the first baseman, 2nd base, etc and have the kids run the bases.  That applied to all the children except for Larry Jr, who they treated like an adult player.  He wasn't that big at that time and never got a hit for 2 years but he went out there every Saturday and played the game.  He had a great arm for his age and would throw out players and they soon learned to not try and take an extra base on him.

Fast forward to 1985 and Larry Jr. had grown about 10 inches and put on some weight and started getting some hits in the pickup games.  They could no longer bring the outfielders in to cut off his hits and had to play him straight up.  He also had developed into a pretty good outfielder and could run down fly balls and hits to his part of the field.

When the 1986 W.A.I.S.T tournament was held the team invited him to play with them.  It was always difficult to field a team and then find players willing to pay the airfare to Dakar from Abidjan so that helped him a little.  I was on a TDY in Bamako, Mali and flew over to Dakar to watch the action and Gerry flew up with Jr. from Abidjan so we made it a little vacation for us.

Larry Jr & Tommy Weathersby

Larry Jr at bat & Cliff running along sideline to coach 3rd base

Larry Jr in 1998

Larry Jr cutting off Cliff for fly ball

Handshakes after winning game

Larry Jr on way to 2nd & Tommy Weathersby

Larry Jr. really came into this own in this tournament and batted well over 600, made some great fielding plays and ran the bases like a deer.  He played very well and many players of the other teams where asking who this "ringer" was and where did he come from.  Jr. actually got a couple votes for MVP in the tournament and Abidjan won every game and the championship.  We were very proud parents and were happy to see him play so well after all those years of struggling to get on base.  

Larry Jr. wound up being a very good softball player who grew to 6ft 3inches and put on some pounds to fill out his old bones.  He had a natural softball swing and lead all his teams in home runs and triples when he came back to the U.S. and played on many different teams.

Well, I bet you didn't expect the above in my blog, but I wanted to tell the story and acknowledge him hanging in there during those difficult early years in Abidjan.  

The memories came back to me today as we sit here in Tucson in 100 degrees and remembering playing softball in temps like that in Abidjan with the high humidity there.  After about 2 inning of ball our shirts, shorts, socks and shoes were soaking wet and 2 liters of water had already been downed by each of us.  We played from 1-4pm every Saturday and had a great time. 

Road trip to Tucson

We reluctantly got up at 6:30 AM this morning to get ready for our short 222 mile drive from Camp Verde to Tucson.  I wanted to get an early start to avoid driving in the mountains between Camp Verde and Phoenix.  There is one long hill heading south that is about 6-7 miles long and is a long pull.

I got an early morning surprise when I went out to stow the power cable, water and sewer connections.  They were watering the grass on each side of the motorhome and we had a flood.  They water the grass by pumping water from an irrigation ditch and flooding an area.  I had to bring in the slides so I wouldn't have to wade in the water.  It all worked out, so it wasn't a big problem.

It was an uneventful drive and we managed to get through Phoenix before the temps were around 108 degrees as forecasted.  With the generator running and both air conditioners on we were very comfortable driving down the road.  Traffic was light by the time we drove the 43 miles through Phoenix and even lighter as we were south of there.

We had planned on staying at our campsite from last winter, but someone else beat us to it.  No big deal, since all the campsites in this area are the same.  We do have a tree next to us that provides a little shade so that is a plus.  It looks like just about everybody we know has departed the area, so it is very quiet back here.

It doesn't look like we will be doing anything worth writing about for the next week or so and blogs most likely will be few unless something interesting comes up.  It will have to be very interesting for us to venture out in 100-106 degree weather.   At least the pool is open, so we can cool off in the evenings by taking a little dip.

That is all from us here in Tucson.  Hope you all had a nice day. 

It's time to mount up and fly out of here.

We have been enjoying our time in the Camp Verde/Sedona/Cottonwood area for the last 2 1/2 weeks but it's time to mount up.

We are flying (driving the motorhome) out of here early on Monday morning and trying to avoid the 109 degree heat in Phoenix.  I wish we had wings like this bird and the ability to fly high enough to reach cooler weather.

Black-crowned Night Heron

 Black-crowned Night Heron

 I wasn't sure what this bird was so I sent an email to Sharon of The Odd Essay   She knows more about birds than I could ever hope to and quickly identified it as a Black-Crowned Night Heron.  I saw the bird early in the morning and thought that our closeness to the Verde River and an irrigation canal provided a feeding area for the bird.  Thanks Sharon.

Black-crowned Night-Herons are stocky birds compared to many of their long-limbed heron relatives. They’re most active at night or at dusk, when you may see their ghostly forms flapping out from daytime roosts to forage in wetlands. In the light of day adults are striking in gray-and-black plumage and long white head plumes. These social birds breed in colonies of stick nests usually built over water. They live in fresh, salt, and brackish wetlands and are the most widespread heron in the world.

We've seen a number of restored cars here in the area, but it's been difficult to get pictures of them since people actually drive them.  The car below was in the church parking lot on Saturday and we manage to get this photo of a beautiful 1929 Ford.

We noticed this car while driving through a nearby neighborhood.  There were others cars there, but we didn't want to invade their privacy anymore than we did.  I think it is an old Chevy from the late thirties era, maybe even sooner.

We spent the day putting craft stuff away, computers back in bins, cameras in cases, awnings retracted, tanks dumped and general straightening up of the motorhome.  It takes a couple weeks to mess it up and then a 1/2 day to get ready to hit the road.  It's always fun trying to find nooks and crannys to store stuff.  Thank God this unit has a lot of storage space.

I just saw in the news that two Las Vegas police officers were shot and killed today and the killers ran across the street and shot killed a person there.  It seems that they then committed suicide and ended the spree.  That particular Walmart was about 2 miles up the road from where we stayed in Las Vegas this past trip there.  It seems there are nut cases all over the country now.  Sad state of affairs we live with now.

That was our day, how was yours?

Triple Crown & Sedona

Gerry and I both have a love of horse racing and always make it a point to watch the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. (Triple Crown).   California Chrome had won the first two races and looking for the crown today at Belmont.  Each race is a different distance and it takes a special horse to win all three.  We were hoping to see the first triple crown winner since 1978, but it wasn't to be.  CC came in 4th and didn't really seem to be competing during the race.  What a disappointment.  

The owner of California Chrome was very upset after the race since a horse that only ran one leg to the crown won the race.  That horse was fresher and primed for this race.  I also think if they are going to call it the Triple Crown, then each horse should run all three races.  

Since we don't receive NBC at the campground, we decided to drive into Sedona and watch the race at an Irish Bar.  We had a great corned beef sandwich and a couple good beers.  I even had a chance to throw some darts, but my aim has seriously deteriorated over the years.  Hard to believe I used to be good enough to win beers throwing darts.

Only two bulls eyes

 

Dollar bills on the wall

This says it all.

Very smooth beer

We rode around Sedona for a while and checked out some of the sights.  It was a busy Saturday with a number of Pink Jeeps running up and down the street.  We've shopped in the stores before and almost every thing is overpriced or out of our comfort range.  We also found a 3/4 acre lot on a steep hillside for sale for only $249K.

Since we aren't early morning people, Gerry decided to go to the 5:30pm Saturday mass so we could sleep in Sunday morning.  The church was quite different from other churches and quite interesting.  The altar had large windows on each side one could see the red rocks of the mountains.  It was quite a beautiful setting.

After church we went riding around the area on back roads and managed to get some great photos of the area.  The photos don't come close to really showing the beauty of the area.  The red rock mountains were beautiful in the late afternoon sun and were stunning.  A couple of the photos below were taken in 3D, but it doesn't show up on my computer screen.  Viewing them on our 3D TV is very impressive.

Cathedral Rock

Side view of Cathedral rock

We would have taken more pictures, but the battery on Gerry's camera ran out.  I think sunset is the best time to take photos in the area since it highlights the rocks even more.  We drove down some gravel roads and were off the highway more than a few miles and were wishing we still had our Jeep 4X4 and able to explore even more.

Our neighbor next door stopped by for a visit this evening and we sat outside on the patio talking for a couple hours.  She is a little younger than we are and travels with three dogs in her Tiffin motorhome. She has been on the road for 10 years and loving it.  She noticed our South Dakota tags and was curious why we picked there for our home address.  After discussing why, we chatted on and on over various subjects.

She lost a arm in an accident just after she graduated from high school, but manages to do everything very well with one arm.  She only mentioned the accident in passing and didn't dwell on it.  You have to give her a lot of credit for her great attitude.

That was our day, how was yours?