Month: April 2016

If you have a bucket list, we suggest you put a long weekend in Kansas City, MO, on it.  So much to see, do and enjoy.  While in KC, we toured the Federal Reserve, World War I Memorial, Union Station where we enjoyed lunch, and picked up a trolley tour of the area.  Two of the reasons we put KC on our itinerary was Harry Truman‘s Library and to take in a Royals ballgame.  As it turned out they were playing the Detroit Tigers, beating Detroit 4 to 0.  The Royals are an exciting team to watch and they did not disappoint the night we saw them.

Truman Library was well done.  The lilacs were in full bloom at their internment.  Mary’s father could not stand Harry.  Not sure why other than he was a dyed in the wool Republican.  When they were transferred to Eau Claire, Wis., back in 1955 they looked for a home in a new subdivision called Putnam Heights.  All of the streets were named for presidents.  Her mother fell in love with two homes one on Tyler and the other on Truman. Guess which street she grew up on?  Too bad dad, we think Harry was a cool dude.

There was so much more to see that we have to save for next time as we moved on to Des Moines, Iowa.  Here again another really nice area as well as the State Capitol which we toured.  The public transportation is awesome so we took in the downtown area which is extremely well done and ate at a cool French Restaurant, “Django”.   We finished out the day by going to the Iowa Cubs minor league ballgame.

The last two days we finally hit inclement weather took in a movie and relaxed.  Tomorrow we are off to the Science Museum.  Friday we are off to Iowa City to see the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library which will bring us to seven presidential libraries so far.

We have met some really nice people along the way.  Everyone is so friendly and helpful.

Hello to all,  we have a lot of catching up to do on our blog.  We left the Rio Grande Valley March 30^th.  A very different place, hard to get used to some of its’ “attributes”. For instance the wind – OMG does it blow! – makes it hard to play golf. We did play golf at a couple of nice courses and got our games back on track.  For Mary, personally, if she never eats Mexican Food or BBQ again, it will be too soon.  Tom on the other had could eat it daily.

The good side of staying at Llano Grande for five months was no snow and all the nice people we met.  Tom was able to play pool and start a small computer service.  Mary learned how to make jewelry in a lapidary class as well as a beading class.  She then found a place in McAllen where she learned to loom, knit and crochet. She is presently make hats for babies and homeless people who will be dropped off at shelters along the way.    

 

 

We were three miles from Mexico so we visited Progress Nuevo a few times.  Going to Mexico with all the vendors is best defined, “shopping for what you did not know you needed and then buy it”.  Good thing storage is limited in our RV.

We made some nice, hopefully lasting friendships but we were ready to leave and explore new frontiers.  I

 

 

Our first stop was the San Antonia area. We stayed in San Marcos, half-way between San Antonia & Austin.  We visited Lyndon Johnson’s Library and ranch. The hill country is gorgeous! We visited the German community of Fredericksburg on a very crowded Saturday. Mary was so pumped to enjoy a dish of Sauerbraten. Alas after finally finding a parking place and a German Pub, no Sauerbraten on the menu – bummer. The ride to get there was once again through the hill country with spectacular views.  In San Antonio we visited the Alamo, did the river walk boat ride and met our new-found friends for dinner before we all took off in separate directions for the summer. 

 

Our next stop was New Orleans where we camped out on Lake Ponchartrain.  The shuttle took us to the French Quarter where we met Allison, (Tom’s daughter) and her friend for lunch.  French Quarter Fest was in full swing with all the different music venues.  We had a short but nice visit.  We left Sunday morning for Vicksburg, MS, spending a couple of days there getting caught up on laundry etc., then moving on to Little Rock ,AR. 

We needed to have minor repairs done on our RV at Mayflower RV/Auto Center in Sherwood, AR.   These people were great and the hospitality was warm and welcoming during our three-day stay.  We took in the Bill Clinton Presidential Library, trolley car tour of the area and some great fried oysters and catfish. 

We moved on to Branson, MO. where we are now.  A white knuckle ride to say the least pulling our 8 ton 5^th wheel through the two lane roads of the Ozark Mountains.  A very beautiful area but “hilly” is putting it mildly.  Branson area is also very hilly and getting to our RV park was another white knuckle challenge.  It is also very beautiful here away from the “strip” where there are lots of entertainment venues.  Downtown is full of shops and eateries.  Tee shirts and lapel pins purchased to mark another destination visited.  We are T-Shirt rich!  Today friends we met this winter who live here in MO., are meeting us for a show and dinner.  We will leave Tues. morning heading to Kansas City and a Royals ballgame.

To this point, we have seen some beautiful places and met many nice folks.  We are happy with our decision to “roam” and experience a new lifestyle.