Sunday, June 19, 2011

Texarkana, Arkansas

We left at 8 o'clock this morning with Tommy and Susan there to see us off. We headed northeast and traveled into Arkansas. There was a median grass fire in the vicinity of Livingston that looked as if it had just started. There was lots of smoke but we got through. I'm sure traffic backed up when the fire engines arrived.

We were only on the road for 5.5 hours but with temperatures in three digits, we wanted to get off the road and set up to beat the worst heat of the day. We've stayed at Sunset RV Park before and knew it had a pool. It's OK for an overnight stop but certainly not a destination park. When we travel, easy on and off the X-way is what we look for.

By the time we had talked to all three girls who called to wish Ted a Happy Father's Day, we were set up to take Sam and Morgan to the mall the day after we arrive because Kara has a meeting and we had planned to take them there anyway. Morgan has a Build a Bear gift card and we promised Sam a gift from the Lego store for his birthday. And Kelly asked if I would paper her master bath. I'm happy to be able to do both things. And we wished Cassie a Happy 21st Birthday. Later on I received a photo from dinner where she had what looked like a strawberry something or other. Her first cocktail in a restaurant.

By 4 o'clock we had eaten, fueled up, had the RV cooled down and we took a nap instead of heading to the pool. No one was in it. It's pretty bad when it's too hot to go swimming.

We have an even shorter day to Memphis tomorrow. We will stay at one of our favorite parks, Tom Sawyer in West Memphis, AR, across the river from Memphis. You park right on the levy at the river and I always think of Huck Finn, steamboats, the movie Showboat, etc. when I sit on the bench and watch the barges moving up and down the river.

If we have time, we want to visit the Pink Palace. This is the mansion (now museum) of the founder of Piggly Wiggly. For you northerners, that's a supermarket in the south.

We received two e-mail newspaper articles about a 5-foot boa constrictor that got loose in Addison Oaks park where we'll camp in Michigan. Hope somebody finds it before we get there. A camper brought it in a backpack inside his pop-up camper! He received a citation but that doesn't help anyone find it. It's a youngster and not poisonous so is only a danger to small rodents. That doesn't make me feel any better!

I'll think of nicer things like the words to this famous song:

Watch them shuffling along,
See them shuffling along!
Go take your best gal, real pal
Go down to the levy, I said to the levy,
and join that shuffling throng
Hear that music and song!
It's simply great, mate, waiting on the levy
Waiting for the Robert E. Lee!

1 comment:

Carol said...

Since staying with the kids haven't been staying up with the news - that said, I hope all the flooding along the river is under control and you have no problems with the campground along the banks. Have fun and I will be traveling with you in spirit!