Had to put Reflectix up for all the windows as hail is indeed headed this way.  Winds are really strong so hopefully the Reflectix will slow down the rain if windows are shattered.  Will update a little later.  We are next to a shelter if the sirens go off.

For some strange reason I felt compelled to change rims since we needed new tires anyway.  Unfortunately the Casita factory was on the other side of Dallas so we got up at 0430 to beat the AM rush hour.  That strategy worked for morning traffic, but backfired for the afternoon traffic :(

It was good to get back and relax.  BTW, this is Hickory Creek COE in Corinth,  Texas.  The sun was down to provide the only shade we had.  No choice of spots because of weekend reservations.  Reflectix in the windows really helped keep the heat out and the cool in.  Fires had to be in the fire ring so I put my grill in their grill,  lol.

We took a 500 mile detour for this event!  3 years ago we came across the town of Garfield, Arkansas and discovered "the world's largest cone".  This was our 2nd time back and I suppose it won't be our last.  We overnighted at War Eagle COE in Springdale, Arkansas and as you can see it was a challenge fitting our rig. 

Anticipation was building as we stood in line awaiting our turn!!!

OH NO!  Wendy's a little disappointed.  She ordered a LARGE cone and this is all she got.  Wendy felt a little short-changed.  I must admit last year's was a little bigger.  We'll have to try again next time through and be sure to post the comparison!  I will tell you that the ice cream did not melt enough for her to lose a drip :)  We have become pretty adept at consuming them before any is lost due to melting.

On the way back we stopped to visit Pea Ridge National Military Park, a park preserving Civil War history.  Pretty interesting and a beautiful park.

Maumelle COE Park, about 5 miles north west of Little Rock, Arkansas.

This was a relaxing 3 night stop.  Pretty uneventful this stop except the fridge started acting up.  It wasn't cooling properly.  Ice buildup on the fins and freezer.  3 and 1/2 months into camper living and realized the longest we've be in "Cassie" before now was 6 or 7 weeks.  So we need to check the frosting every couple of months. 

This caused me to do a double take.  Thought I time warped back to Highway 17N in Awendaw, SC.  Those are Arkansas state road signs, not US Highway road signs.  :)

The best trip planner there is, planning our next trip!

Today was wash day!  The clothes, the camper and the truck...lol.  It actually wore me out :) Tonight Wendy's giving me a break....she's doing the cooking.  One of my favorites, spaghetti!

I need to really think twice before using any tomatoes from this plant!  Yes, that's the septic tank cap over there.

The Oliver factory visit was a grand success,  After meeting our totally awesome salesperson, Jason, we walked around the Oliver trailer factory observing the various stages of assembly.  We were very impressed with everyone's attention to detail as they constructed the trailers. 

We arrived in Tunica, Mississippi, after negotiating another line of severe thunderstorms.  Wendy is now very proficient at storm avoidance.  We'll see how she does when tropical storm Cristobal comes through in a couple days.  Seems like bad weather has been the theme of this trip so far.  The frogs came out to greet us from within the framework of our picnic table.  One sounded like a dog instead of a frog!  Really!

A picture of our campsite.

A couple more pictures of us.

Well, we made it to Hohenwald, Tennessee after a moderately long haul through the mountains (really just big hills).  I did get quite a bit of much needed practice with the transmission, manually shifting up and down hill grades.  We ate Mexican this afternoon and retired to the Casita and started chillin' out.  Wendy tuned into the one local news channel and saw a weather person highly excited, trying to relay information about a tornado warning.  I listened for a few minutes and determined there was indeed a tornado spotted on the ground some 30 miles from us and generally heading our way.  But the weather person was not making much sense and her panicked attempt to relay information was only succeeding in freaking me out.  They would never pan out more than a 1/2 mile or so and we couldn't get a fix on the track of the storm.  And they would just spin the map around, up and down.  Well, from all the info I could gather online, it looked as though it would come within a couple miles so we decided to gather everything up pronto and get out of Dodge.  We ended up traveling a 70 mile or so loop to avoid the storm.  A 70 mile or so loop back through the hills, at night and bugs so thick it looked like it was snowing. Not to mention 20 foot drop-offs less than a foot from the highway edge lines.  Yes, my fists were tightly wrapped around the steering wheel.  We made it back around 11 pm, just in time for another thunderstorm attack.  This one however, does not seem severe according  to the online resources.  So we will stay put.  BTW, the tornado did pass just north and we returned to our site and found it undisturbed.  We are thankful!

We made it to Cartersville, Ga. after an uneventful trip from Appling Ga.  This campground is ok but not very well laid out.  It is nice and quiet though, with laughter of children playing in the distance, a sound we find very welcome.  We'll probably try a different campground if we come back this way.

We met Bonnie and Dennis at our last campground in Appling.  Fellow Casitans!  We didn't talk long but he showed me all his trailer modifications and I shared mine.  Hope to see them again soon!

Finally we are on the road again.....yay!
Short Stay is in the rear view mirror as we head out to new adventures.  We couldn't have started out any better than Worship at the 0830 Pentecostal Sunday service!

Our wonderful Pastors Ginger and Kris.  We are so blessed to have you in our family at All Saints.  We wish you all a fun-filled and safe summertime and we look forward to seeing everyone this fall.

We did make it, without incident, to spot 27 in Winfield Campground, Appling, Georgia.

Word has it Sasquatch has been sighted around these parts.  Wendy may have even captured him in the above picture.  I looked and looked but couldn't tell for sure.

We could do this every night :)

Here are a couple of pictures of the old home.  Mom, do you recognize your bedroom?

These were taken last week,  and below is what's happening with our new home.....the paint is finally dry.

And the Mayflies are starting to roll in :)

Bob and Gizmo are keeping an eye on us!

These good friends check on us every day :)

We will surely miss Joe and Mel and their wonderful family.  But the good news is we may meet up somewhere down the road.  I can see us around the campfire with a cool one and singing a few campfire songs :)

In keeping with tradition, another picture of God's magnificent Creation.

It's been a while since my last post, so here goes.  We were sorry to see Susan and Gary leave this morning but are happy they are onto their next adventure.  We hope to see them again soon.  Our next door neighbors will be leaving all too soon as well.  Mel and Joe have been such wonderful friends and have been a blessing to us.  We will be leaving at the end of May if all goes well and are looking to make our way west!  Wendy performed her last official duty at All Saints last Friday and I was able to capture this picture of her (socially distanced) handing a document to our wonderful and beloved friend, Lisa, containing all 1803 members of All Saints since it's beginning. 

We are both well and our prayers are out to all affected by this terrible virus. 

Here is a short video of another big wind here.  It busted a rather hefty plastic anchor and the tent went crashing into our camper.  We will assess damage tomorrow.  Well, it seems I can't load a video at this point in my brief experience as a blogger!  So I will now give you MORE placid lake views :)

Seeing and being with loving friends at All Saints this morning was certainly a blessed moment I won't forget.  It didn't sink in that we are "moving on" until I saw the look on Wendy's face as we stood there listening to the many "honks" and watching the flashing headlights usher us on to our next adventure in life.  Many kind comments, cards, and gifts are very much appreciated and will be always treasured.  This is but a new beginning for us that we will anxiously look forward to sharing with ya'll the next time we pass through Mt Pleasant.  22 years ago Wendy started working at All Saints.  22 Years ago I was Baptized at All Saints.  All Saints is our home and will always be, our home.  We will miss seeing you every Sunday but you will always be close to our hearts.  May God bless you and keep you.  Love you all,  Wendy and John :)

The wind just doesn't seem to quit here at the lake.  I had to put up our "other" shelter so she could do a little more paperwork!

Social distancing observed at Wen's farewell luncheon.  Weather was perfect, company was perfect, and we are very thankful she was able to work with so many wonderful people over the past 22 years.  It's difficult to imagine where the years went, but here we are, ready for the next step :) We hope to be back in the late fall and catch up with everyone. 

On the way home I went by our old home again and met with the buyer.  Mark showed me around and I went inside for a look see.  The brick is painted a very light gray with darker gray trim, as are the sheds and gate.  The flooring inside looked great and felt very solid underfoot.  I think he's doing a good job.  I took a bunch of pictures, or so I thought, with my flip phone, but without my eyeglasses I could not tell I wasn't pressing the "take" button.  Needless to say I have no pictures to show today!

I intended to boast about all the different flavors of Cheez-it crackers we have tried since our lock down.  I then Googled Cheez-it crackers!  I will now squash that idea and humbly mention we were only able to consume a few of the many different flavors.  The idea of my being able to brag has vanished into thin air.  I am surprised "thin air" is not a flavor.  Queso Fundido,  Buffalo Wing, Duoz Bacon and Cheddar, and Extra Toasty, must be newbies since they are not even listed by Google (circa 2018).  But with those and the likes of Extra Cheesy, Extra Big, White Cheddar, Reduced Fat White Cheddar, Cheese Pizza, Asiago, Baby Swiss, Cheddar Jack, Mozzarella, Hot and Spicy, Four Cheese, Colby, Provolone, Whole Grain, Original, Original Reduced Fat, Duoz Jalapeno and Cheddar Jack, Sharp Cheddar and Parmesan, Caramel Popcorn and Cheddar, Cheddar Jack and Sharp Cheddar Pretzel, along with several different flavors of grooved, yes grooved, Cheez-its, I boldly make the statement I will not be trying them all!  I cannot bring myself to spend money on Whole Grain!  Don't get me wrong, I like my grains.....JUST NOT IN MY CHEEZ-ITS  :(

Here ends my rant as I leave you with "Extra Toasty rules!"

The weather here at the lake (seems like it's all there is to talk about) is so much different than back in Awendaw, in a good way.  Here are some more pictures of the "angry seas" as we hope for the days of travel ahead. 

I looked and looked but could not find where this puzzle piece fit.  I zoomed in and I zoomed out. I had Wendy look and it just didn't seem to fit.  The subject came up this morning and I remember the context, and it struck me as memorable.  I ultimately figured it really doesn't matter that I can't see where it fits.  What matters, to me, is that when faced with an important part that seems to be missing from the big picture, so to speak, what do I do.  Carolyn made up a piece, drew in the details, and patched it into the missing hole and completed the task at hand.  What i liked, when I heard Carolyn talk, was what she did when she was confronted by the challenge.  She put together her imagination with a little artistic creativity and came up with a solution that completed the big picture.  I probably would have given up, looked for a few hours in places where I knew it wouldn't be, muttered something, and given up hope of finishing and put it back into the box to be thrown away.   So finally I come to my point.  Without Carolyn's point of view I would probably have gone in a totally different, and certainly worse, direction.  I pray, daily, for help to make right choices.  I need to seek help from these kinds of friends to help me in those situations where I might need help.  I love that I am surrounded by God's children in times I need to fill in the pieces of my life, knowing that I can't figure out a lot of this stuff on my own.  I sure am thankful for His love and all of ya'll.  I'm lucky ya like me!  So WOW again with my attempts to put my mind into a blog :)

I surely forgot to post about our Easter worship service this past Sunday.  Our past several services have been "drive up".  But this past Easter Sunday seemed extra special.  It was a beautiful morning. Still air, cool, birds singing.  My first ever sunrise service!  We had to set the alarm to 3:45 AM.  Argggg!  Look out for deer along the trip to All Saints.  As we all sat in our vehicles listening to Pastor Kris a wonderful feeling came over me.  I realized the setting around me.  We weren't inside, sitting together in the indoor setting of a building following familiar rituals I'm used to.  We were gathered around Pastor Kris listening in the setting of God's great creation.  It wasn't a "sermon on the mount" setting exactly, but I did have some sense of what it might have been like for people to receive God's word through Jesus back in the day, gathered around Him.  Well, just wanting to put my feelings on paper to jog my recollection later.  We are both doing fine, as are the rest of our families.  These times we're going through are sure different and hopefully we'll be through them soon.  My hope is, before we're through it, we will have united as God's creation in a way that, through His help, we will have a stronger bond with Him and each other.  So WOW, I didn't mean to get preachy, just wanted to get my thoughts down!  And now for a couple more (lol) pictures of last night's show.  I just can't get enough of these sunsets :)

Not much in the way of a descriptive photo, but this is where we huddled up when a tornado moved through.  We're in a campground bath house with 3 other families.  Gary saw a funnel that hit down a couple miles from here in Moncks Corner.  Thankful to God for His protection!  We're all ok here.

On a good note, it's starting to subside as it dips down into the low 40's for tonight.

Surf's up !                           

I thought hard about whether or not to post this page but it's a part of us, so here goes.  Some before and after pictures of our home.

Here are a couple more from the marsh and from close to the road looking up to the house

Just a couple more.

This is the one I had a hard time with, my dear Wendy peering in to see what was left of our home of 33 years.

Well, that's all behind us now and the pictures make us sad as we look at them.  But we are very excited to be starting out on a new adventure with much hope and many prayers for the next steps in our lives.

For our Thursday morning companions, Linda, Carolyn, Jim and Paul :)

Be Well :)