California or Bust Part 1 Texas

W0W how time flies!  When we started this blog we had every intention of fatefully updating frequently, well so much for good intentions. This will be my attempt at redemption.

Last time I made an entry here we were in Louisiana heading for Texas. The DW had plans of obtaining temporary employment for a few months to build up the old bank account before continuing our travels. Once again the God of fate snatch us by the shirt collar and said think again on those plans. Upon arriving in Texas Dw applied for her nurse licence. She was assured this was a very simple process, apply, get a temporary license and work well the permenent license was process.

We set up camp a Lake Livingston State Park in the Piney Woods portion of Texas, what a beautiful location.

                                                                Our view at sunset

We had 4 fantastic days of of lounging around, enjoying nature and it's beauty when we here informed by the rangers that the park was sold out for the weekend to a rally group and we'd have to leave. So much for Texas hospitality.

After a search of area campgrounds for available and affordable space we decided to move westward about 80 miles to Huntsville. Huntsville is the prison capital of Texas something like 6 prisons along with the Texas State Prison Museum are located there.

Huntsville is a nice small town with lots to do and we availed ourselves of their many attractions. First we visited the museum, It really was quite interesting with the history of the prisons, art and crafts created by inmates over the years, guns made of soap. knives made of toilet paper. my guess on that one is it was self cleaning, soaked up the blood as it killed no mess to clean up afterward, also they had the original "Old Sparky" the first Texas electric chair. I personally found that fascinating, the DW on the other hand was a little unnerved by the site and the fact I enjoyed it. It took the rest of the day to convince the DW that the reason I was smiling well view the chair was not that I was picturing how she'd look sitting there.

We also visited Sam Houston's home and he's grave in the local cemetery. If you have no idea who Sam Houston is look it up online I'm writing this to tell our history not his.

At this point we're feeling good just killing time waiting for the license approval. Bam, God of fate jerks us back.  Seems that Dw's finger prints were unreadable, therefore she needs to submit another set before issuing a license. No problem, can do. Submitted another set of prints and they also were unreadable. I thought it was a great idea to sand off our finger prints when we started robbing banks with hindsight I see now that created problems. Durnig this time Dw had received word that lots of jobs were available in the California prisons. After much thought and careful planning we decided to start toward California well waiting for Texas to approve her license. Now if you every traveled across Texas you will know it takes about 3 days of hard driving and in a motor home it takes 5 days so we figure we would have 5 days in which to either get the Texas license or leave Texas for California, sort of our way of fence straddling. By the time we reach El Paso Texas once again rejected the finger prints as unreadable and suggest live-scan fingerprinting which is suppose to be foolproof. Yup you guessed it, the DW fooled them and the live-scan prints were unreadable. Now we're not dealing with some had core master criminal here, seems like the DW had been taught as a child the cleanliness is next to Godliness so she was here hands frequently and has washed away her finger prints. I vote for really robbing banks now. Texas says the next step is a complete background and name check with the FBI which can take up to 3 moths, Goodbye Texas!

Campgrounds - Bathrooms - 400 lb. naked men

I am well aware that everyone wants to know about the 400 lb naked man, I will tell you that story somewhere in here but you have to read the whole thing to find it. You really didn't think I would make it easy did you.

First a little lesson on a MH bathroom, tiny is just to big of a description, so think minuscule. Our bathroom is located in the middle of the MH you have to pass through it going to or coming from the bedroom. The layout is Sink and shower on one side and the toilet in a small closet sized enclosure on the other side. The MH is only 8 feet wide so you have 2.5 feet of hall in the middle of the bath that leaves 2.5 feet for the toilet and 3 feet for the shower and sink. When using the toilet, at least for me, it is best to drop the pants and back in, that is not a sight that DW looks forward to every morning. Now the shower is another little problem. It is basically the same size as the toilet area. Just getting in the shower is like running an obstacle course, the cats litter box, food and water are located in front of the door. Now getting in is ok I can stretch out that much, but getting out is another thing. There is no way to dry off in the shower so it is necessary to get out first. Gets a little tricky because your wet feet tend to slip in the shower and not being as agile as the cats it better than even odds that one or the other foot will end up in the litter box which creates another set of problems. Now the DW being a good bit smaller then me has no problem and does not wish to see me laying naked in the hall with cat litter on my feet has suggest and alternative to showering in the RV. The "Comfort Station".

Every Rv Campground has a restroom/shower combination that for some unknown reason they decided to refer to as a Comfort Station.  In the men's you will find a couple of toilets, a couple of urinals, a sink or two and 3-5 showers which a small stalls with a shower curtain across the entrance. The problem with that is they seem to take one curtain and cut into thirds therefor avoiding having the buy 3 curtains. These tiny curtains do not in anyway seal of the opening so privacy is nonexistent. But that's ok I'm not bashful and have seen my share of naked men, so no problem. Where the problem comes in is following the DW's instruction on how to shower properly in a public shower.  First thing I need was shower shoes because unknown to me there are dangers lurking in the shower. Who would of thought that that with all the hot water and soap being used that a zillion different fungus are lurking just waiting to attack a shoeless foot. Ok, I'm adaptable I got shower shoes, must be working no fungus yet. DW really takes good care of me. DW went on to explain that when done showering you dry off your feet then you dry the shoes off befor putting them back on to walk back to the MH. So far so good in theory. Heres the problem, you dry your body first then lift one leg and dry the foot, then pick up the shoe and dry it, put it on then repeat with the other foot. Are you seeing the problem yet. Here I am dancing around on one leg in a slippery shower naked. I know I have to wait till the foot is dry before putting on my pants, you might want to try this in the privacy of your own bathroom before going to a comfort station,  hopping around on one foot, pulling pants up that leg while avoiding all contact with fungus infected surfaces of the shower. Ok got the pants on one leg, the dry foot in the dry shoe. Now it's just a matter of holding the pants up with one hand, holding the towel on the other hand while drying that foot. That is difficult but doable. Now it's just a matter of holding the pants in one hand, the towel in one hand and picking the shoe up for drying with the third hand your going to need. WARNING!!! If you do not have three hands you can not use the shower in the comfort station without being in danger of fungus infection.

Now comes the 400lb man part of the story.  Being a fairly inteligent person I found a solution to the showering/drying/fungus problem. On the wall opposite the shower is usually a small bench, I figure that all this drying of feet and shoes is best done sitting down. It is s simple thing to wrap a towel around my waist walk to the bench and sit down, but then I have the towel around me and not available for drying. The only way to solve this problem is to walk out naked sit on the bench, dry the feet then the shoes pull the pants on while sitting. Ok, what could be the problem with that? Well number one DW tells me there all kinds on nasty germs on the bench so my naked butt should not touch it. Number two is that it is a public building so there is always someone in there. I decided it is impossible to protect my feet from fungus and my butt from germs so I am willing to sacrifice my butt to keep my feet safe. (Tara just figured butt workers would keep me safe there.) If anyone is wondering about butt workers call Tara she is a trained professional and can explain it better than me.  Ok while showering it is common to see other naked men hopping on one foot while following the orders of their DW. That is not a problem to see them or them to see me but in Nashville while doing my one foot drying dance I backed out of the shower just a hopping and a drying and came face to face with a naked 400lb man doing the same dance which is ok just a matter of hopping in a different direction. The problem came when he thought it was social hour at the comfort station. He begins to talk about the weather where hes from and asking questions. That became the one and only time I said fungus be damned I''m out of here. So out the door I went hopping on one leg while pulling my pants up all the way across the campground. The nightmares of that experience are starting to fade and I am actually beginning to enjoy the showers of the comfort station.

My Turn

Ok it's my turn to write something, well that's what Laura tells me and as you all know when she speaks I listen.  So here it comes ready or not.

First let me get you up to speed on the RV lingo.  Naturally RV stands for recreational Vehicle, and MH is Motorhome which we are traveling in. That's pretty simple. Now it gets a little harder. First there is DW and DH in future post these will be used frequently, DW is for Dear Wife and of course DH is for Dear Husband or as Laura will tell you in private the she really thinks DH is either Damn Husband or Dumb Husband. Due to the amount of time I spend lost and asking directions she has had ample opportunity to use each.  As we travel about we either take the 4 Lane which is obviously a 4 land road such as Interstate highways or we travel on the Blue Roads which are those little squiggly blue lines on the map that goes through every tiny town. The blue Roads are the ones I prefer to travel on but the DH hates as there are plenty of bumps, dips, rail road tracks, turns, stop signs and stop lights and also each one has their very own Barney Fife. Those of you older enough to remember Barney please explain that on to the youngsters. Now I enjoy the Blue because of the slower pace and the sights to see, the DH thinks I drive them just to disrupt her sleep, there may be something to that but I'll never ever admit to it.

More lingo Our MH has diesel engine which is located in the rear and therefore is called a Diesel Pusher or DP. That means we are traveling in a MHDP. A MHDP has 5 tanks that are always needing attention, there is the fuel tank which holds 75 gallons and averaging $3 per gallon so far, you do the math and you'll see why I cringe every time that tank needs filled.  Next is the propane tank which is 30 gallon the propane is fuel for the on board generator which we run as I'm driving so that the DW can stay nice and cool in the bedroom while I'm wondering around lost. It also powers the Refrigerator so when I finally decide to ask direction I can have a cool drink well planning my next move.  Then comes the fresh water tank which is 35 gallons and supplies water to the sinks, shower and toilet, of course, when in a campground I can connect to their water supply and not use the tank. Next is the gray water tank that is where the water from the sinks and shower are held it is a 45 gallon tank. Last but surely not least important is the black water tank, it also is a 45 gallon tank and that's where all the crap goes when you flush the toilet. Now the nasty part of my job to keep this circus on the road is emptying the Gray Water and Black Water tanks when we stop at a campground. I'll leave up to you to picture that process it's something that just can not be described, you have to experience it.

Ok that covers some of the lingo, more on that later. I'll stop here and write more later about where we've been, how we got there and where we're going. I

Leaving GA

Hello to you all,
 Well, we finally made it out of GA, Ken swears it takes 2 weeks to get out of. We were in the mountains of north Georgia. When we left we went through parts of NC, then back to GA, into TN and then back into GA. Now we are clearly in TN! Ken and I stayed near Chattanooga for a couple of days and went to see the famous "Rock City". It was so much more than what we expected. The trails were all in a natural setting between large boulders. At one point, you could stand at "Lovers Leap" and see 7 states-so they say. I just wonder how they could see to tell! They had several different caverns, all with their own unique story. In the "Gnome" cavern, there were all of Mother Goose's fairy tales. Each one was in its own little cavern with all the characters in them. I don't know how they accomplished what they did, (done in 1967)but breathtaking to look at.
 Of course you can't go to that area and pass up seeing Ruby Falls. I had seen signs for this place almost all my life. It was the worst cavern tour I had ever been on, so said Ken, but there was no doubt that it was truly magnificent to see the falls. It was amazing that there were waterfalls 145 ft. underground. In places around the main waterfall you would swear that red water was dripping down and at other places, a beautiful Hawaiian blue. To this day the source of water is unknown. I know it is almost a cliche`, but I really felt something when I looked up towards the source of the light. You could see the rays through the small crevices but it almost looked like sparkles of some sort. You all know that I am not artistic but this was as beautiful as any picture I have ever seen. I really don't have the words to explain how it felt but I do hope if you get the chance you will see for yourself.
  We went to Nashville for a few days and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. The weather was hot but not what we were having in south GA, it actually rained and cooled off-the humidity wasn't bad at all most of the time. Our first day there we had odds and ends to take care of during the day so we really didn't do any sightseeing. But, we were able to get tickets to see a tribute to Elvis. I know, it does sound kind of cheesey but it really was fantastic. We went on Monday night which happened to be the 25th anniversary of the guy doing the show so it was sold out. We waited patiently for the show to start and it just kept being delayed. We were close to the front, the 4th row and noticed that the 2nd row was still empty. Finally, people were ushered into the row. I looked over and told Ken that it was Wynonna Judd, he didn't believe me. I politely took a paper and pen and excused myself from the row (of course we were at the other end!) and went and sat beside her. Without any fanfare I asked for her signature, she was very pleasant and friendly and immediately asked who it was for. She signed her name, added a cute little heart and musical notes. Her only request was that I didn't tell anyone else she was there because this night was about Elvis and the performer, not her. Later, I found out she is a huge fan of Elvis. The show was out of this world. I love Elvis' music and knew every song he sang. It was easy to slip into days gone by and think that it really was him! Of course the guy looked like Elvis, moved like him, and sounded like him until he sang "Amazing Grace". It was still nice, just not Elvis. On Tuesday night we went to the Grand Ole Opry at the War Memorial, (because the Opry had been flooded in May and still is being renovated). We really were not going to go because we didn't think it would be worth the money-boy were we wrong! I wanted to stay and go back again on Friday AND Saturday! Though we didn't know all the performers it really was great. The Opry does a live radio broadcast during the entire show and the crowd was fantastic. The early bands that played were mostly the "old" country music: Riders in the Sky, Jean Sheppard, Jimmie Dikens. They may have had some years on them but they were marvelous and so full of energy. Then started some of the younger singers. We loved Troy Olsen's, "Summer Thing", Mark Wills "Don't laugh at me" and "Jacob's Ladder". Blake Shelton came on and played "Ol Red". Miranda Lamber came out and sang part of another song with him, it was pretty good. We were so glad that we decided to go to the Opry (the War Memorial had previously been 1 of the 4 homes of the Opry, back in the 1940's.) I would like to go back again sometime and perhaps see it at the venue with the red barn but if not, I have the memories of this trip.
 Today we drove to Jackson, TN and will drive to Memphis tomorrow. We will be there a few days, then, who knows where the road will take us.

Laura

Welcome

Hello everyone, family and friends. I'm sure there is not a one among you that at sometime in your life has not thought about chucking it all and running away. Running away is not an easy thing to do, especially when you take stock of your current life and how involved you are in your family, work, church, school etc., and the financial aspects.
Therefore through this blog Laura and I will attempt to share with you the how, what, when and where of our decisions to run away. Also as we proceed on the journey as a way of keeping in touch, sharing our experiences through words and pictures. In return we would enjoy receiving updates and pictures from you as we truly treasure each and everyone of our friends and family and wish to remain a part of your life as we travel.