Welcome to CowansCrossing

Having left Nashville, we stop overnight on the way to Pennsylvania – somewhere through the Shenandoah Mountains. Beautiful scenery for sure, then a “nice” overnight campground, next to the freeway. A place that we didn’t have high expectations about. Turns out it was, well, ok. Not bad, just ok. The nearby town was quaint and quite historic – a good job a keeping track of each building’s history – all available with a simple Google search.

After a few hours of driving, we try to let Grayce out for some running and romping around, usually chasing her frisbee. Today was no different and a nice plot of grass next to the coach was welcomed by us and a good Grayce-run was had. Moments after putting Grayce back on her leash, up waddles an interesting visitor. He wasn’t interested in us and fortunately, Grayce didn’t see him! Based on her previous “affinity” for skunks we are glad that there was no exchange of greetings!

Hi there! Looking for Grayce. I am an east coast cousin of your striped skunks!

Walks like a skunk, shaped like a skunk, probably should assume it is a skunk!

Onward to Gettysburg! Beautiful country but not as lush as the Shenandoah’s. Almost immediately after exiting the freeway, it was obvious that we had just traveled back to the mid-18th century. OK, well, I exaggerate a bit, there is still the Walmart and McDonalds to remind us of where we are, but the well maintained Civil War era buildings command our attention.

Typical of Civil War era homes in the area. If these houses could talk, what stories they could tell!

Many buildings have survived from this era and are, in fact, well preserved and well documented with plaques like this.

Laura picked an incredible camping location called “Artillery Ridge”. In fact, part of the Gettysburg battle occurred right where we were located. There is a barn on the property that was used as a hospital during the battle(!). There are many signs around that say “no artifact hunting”, so we know we were walking and sleeping in the exact area where Union soldiers were. We are immediately adjacent to the boundary of the Gettysburg National Park and a couple of miles from the central area of this incredibly brutal event. It is hard to describe how moving and humbling it was to be in living in the midst of this great battle – just knowing that Union soldiers probably stood, ate and slept right where we were camped.

The Gettysburg National Park is a very interesting place – there are over 1,300 monuments in the battle area. They are nearly all Union memorials, although there are a few Confederate memorials as well. They are placed where a certain regiment was located during the fight. Typically a central memorial with inscriptions describing the city from where the young men came from, and often details of how many soldiers were lost. Although these memorials are important, they don’t elicit certain personal feeling. The fact that these were areas where boys and men stood, shoulder to shoulder, are clearly brought into focus with an almost nondescript stone marker on either side of the main memorial.

Memorials like these are lined for miles and indicate where specific regiments were posted.

Memorials in the center usually are accompanied with markers of the right and left flank of where the men actually stood. This type of marker is adjacent to another regiment and another and  then another…

These were marked “LF” and “RF”, the left and right flank of that particular regiment. Depending on the size of the regiment this “territory” that could be 30 feet long or perhaps 100 feet long. That was their duty, their territory to defend, that small patch of idealism to protect against the attacking Confederates. Just boys, standing shoulder to shoulder, rifles in their trembling hands, facing the just as terrified, adrenaline filled Confederate boys coming at them.

Starting just next to a RF marker would usually be the LF of another regiment. To be repeated over and over. It is difficult to imagine how many men and boys were pulled together for the common cause by Abraham Lincoln and fought this terrible battle.

The battle really only lasted three days – on that day the Confederate Army attacked the central area of this long defensive line of Union soldiers. They aimed their cannons at a “copse” of trees, now a protected area of significance, hoping to break through the Union defense there. As the bombardment continued, focused on the copse of trees, the confederate soldiers made their way through some of the Gettysburg farm land that offered little protection, mostly open land with a few stone and wooden fences.

Stone walls typical of the area. All of the walls are authentic, although some have been rebuilt, but are in their original locations.

Fences like this originally separated farm lands but became barriers for the Confederate soldiers to overcome.

The Confederate casualties in this part of the battle were tremendous, but some made it to within a few yards of the union. In this location a particularly brutal aspect of this war took place. Canons were used in much of the battle, but when their target was yards away, the cannon balls were replaced with “canisters”, essentially a tin can full of scrap steel, chain and other loose materials. These were then fired at the opposing soldiers.

Adjacent to the “copse of trees” is a memorial of note, dedicated to “Cowans First New York Battery Artillery Brigade – Sixth Corps”. It reads “Double Canister at 10 Yards, July 3rd, 1863”. I don’t know of a direct relationship to the Cowan’s of New York, but it really hit home for me. The plaque displays what must have been a terrifying experience for all, shooting a cannon a these men at 10 yards away!

Cowan memorial at the Copse of Trees

At this location the Confederates were turned back and marked their “high water” mark. The turning of the Civil War started here where Cowan stood.

The reverse side of this memorial gives this description of the battle:

“Erected in memory of our comrades, July 3rd, 1887. “The world can never forget what they did here’. During the cannonade preceding Longstreet’s assault, the battery was engaged a short distance father to the left, but by order of general Webb it was moved at a gallop to this position, which battery B, 1st R.I. artillery had occupied. Skirmishing had just commenced. The confederate lines were advancing and continued their charge in the most splendid manner up to our position. The artillery fire was continuous and did much execution. Our last charge, double canister, was fired when some of the enemy were over the defences and within ten yards of our guns. Our loss was four men and fourteen horses killed, two lieutenants and six men wounded. The battery was relieved on the morning of July 5th and returned to the sixth corps”

Battle description for the “two canister” assault.

Many of the 1,300 plus memorials contain battle descriptions like this. What bravery and sacrifice was made on these three days. It is hard to comprehend this. In fact it became a bit overwhelming at times!

Not all of the Gettysburg area is battleground, there were plenty of other beautiful areas to explore – like this covered bridge. But, as you might expect, there is Civil War associated with this, too. Some of Lee’s Confederate army retreated back to Virginia across this bridge.

President Eisenhower’s only home is located here as well. We toured through the compound and found it to be quite “quaint”, old school, unassuming. Certainly there were memorabilia on display, collected during Dwight and Mamie’s travels, but the house was surprising modest.

Eisenhower house in Gettysburg.

All in all, this area was inspiring, humbling, sometimes event overwhelming, but always beautiful. And always at the same time. A place to remember and respect for what happened here and how this single event changed how our country grew and continues to grow.

Having had a nice time in Red Bay, AL at the Tiffin factory, we head over to the Natchez Trace with Nashville our next destination. The NT follows an old trading route, originally native Indians, and later the European settlers, from Mobile Bay, up to Nashville. Many parts of the old trace are still evident and the highway parallels the old route. We joined it about halfway up its 444 mile route and had a fair amount of rain. It is incredibly lush and green, no doubt due to the rain(!), and overgrown in places.

Traces of the Trace

Hundreds of years of trade along this route, what tough men passed through here!

The low hanging branches slapped the top of the coach a few time, but for the most part, the drive was totally enjoyable. Along its route we came across a very nice waterfall.

Beautiful!

Lush and green all along the Natchez Trace.

There are many historic stopping points, one of which is Meriwether Lewis’ (of Lewis and Clark), place of death and memorial. We had seat “down in the front row” for this!

To the final resting place for explorer Meriwether Lewis. Fitting memorial.

Memorial for Meriwether Lewis, intentionally unfinished monument representing a life unfinished.

Along the Natchez Trace, what a great way to explore!

Everywhere we go, new insights into our history and culture. What an adventure!

Nashville is known for all of its music, and we found plenty of honky tonks along Broadway. Crazy few blocks here with live music blaring into the streets. Some of it was quite good and some was pretty average – the quality you might hear in a Howard Johnson’s Lounge. I sure that most people are not very critical or picky and it seemed that everyone was enjoying themselves, except this one kid! (Click on the video link here). “It’s too loud”

Just about everybody loves the live music on Broadway.

While in Nashville we took in a paddle wheel boat tour of the Tennessee River, through downtown Nashville. A stage show and a buffet meal were part of the show!

Getting ready to board the General Jackson on the Tennessee River.

Live music and all you can eat buffet on the river.

In the middle of the river, downtown Nashville in the background.

Click on the video link:Big Wheel Keep on Turning

Nashville Meets Maui!

We move on to Seiverville, which is adjacent to Pigeon Forge, (Dollywood), and Gatlinburg. I’m sure these are great vacation spots for kids and families, but all of the traffic and touristy spots didn’t interest us too much.

We take a short day trip through the Great Smokey Mountains, the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. For this we traveled just in the Jeep – it is too tight and congested for the coach. Along this route we end up hiking to Grotto Falls, a few miles round trip. As intimated by the “Roaring Fork” name, there was lots of water along the way which makes every view stunning.

Water, water everywhere. Just gorgeous views around every corner.

Roaring Fork River

Upper Reaches of Roaring Fork

The prize at the end of the trail!

Waterfall in the Grotto

The trail goes behind the waterfall. Fun stuff.

After a too short visit we head off with plans to return.

One of the few “planned” stops on our travels is Red Bay, AL. This is in the northwest corner of the state, just a couple of blocks from the Mississippi border. Our Tiffin motorhome was built here, and our plan was to return to take care of warranty items. One of the considerations in selecting a brand of motorhome to buy was warranty and service reputation. No question that Tiffin is at the top of this list!

From day one we kept a list of warranty items, less the ones I took care of on the road. After 3-1/2 months of continuous use we had compiled quite a list. Nearly all of the times were minor and many of those we could probably have lived with, but hey, it’s new only once, right?

Tiffin has a “campground” for both warranty and paid service or repair work. I don’t know of any other manufacturer that provides that sort of support.

We arrived on a Saturday and were in one of the 66(!) bays on Wednesday, 7 AM. Not bad for not having reservations. They had taken my list and transcribed it into their work order list. Our two techs were patient and methodical in their approach to the work being done, i.e., not in any rush. For a “city-guy” this slower pace was a little frustrating at first, but I kept telling myself that they were thorough and, really, there is no rush or immediacy, at least in our case.

It turns out that the lengthiest repair was due to some “mongo-work” by the selling dealer in California. The external tv door was damaged and had to be replaced. A couple of partial days was spent replacing and adjusting it, but a couple more days had to be scheduled to paint the new door. The paint tech’s original attempt at matching the swirls and paint fades was just not good enough. No problem at Tiffin. A new paint job followed and was deemed acceptable.

Since this is our home on the road, we stayed in the coach as work was proceeding, along with our dog Grayce, and the two cats. We got to know our two techs, their hobbies, (mostly fishing), and their food preferences. Laura would often go in the mornings over to the Ole Country Store in Belmont, MS. and bring back sausage and egg biscuit sandwiches, which were devoured.

So, there’s really not much around in Red Bay, or nearby Belmont. The Ole Country Store was suggested to us by others at the Tiffin campground, and is genuinely a “full service” convenience store. A gas station on first glance, with live bait tanks and a couple of picnic tables outside. Inside are a few rows of typical convenience store supplies, like chips, sodas, paper towels and so forth. A grill is located in the back corner, but there is no menu. “What would y’all like?” They will fix anything they have supplies for. For breakfast that is mostly eggs, bacon, sausage, cat-head biscuits (the size of a cat’s head – huge), fried baloney, gravy and chocolate gravy.

Two new to me things here, fried baloney and chocolate gravy. Of course I tried both. The fried baloney was a lot like fried spam, just not as strong tasting. Not bad. The gravy was basically a morning sausage gravy with a little chocolate mix in it. I am not a big chocolate fan but I tried it anyway. It’s a southern thing and mostly like biscuits and gravy with a little chocolate flavor. Clearly Laura liked it.

With time to spend, we went on the factory tour and watched numerous coaches being built. A few people followed the construction of their new RV. Pretty cool to have such access throughout the whole process!

We visited the Rattlesnake Saloon, a great cave like dining area with live music on most nites. Unfortunately, when we visited it was Karaoke nite.

We also visited Helen Kellers childhood house and learned a lot about this amazing woman. What she accomplished shows what potential we all have, and makes one rethink what we really have accomplished in life. Humbling.

Oh, and the Coon-Dog Cemetary, (yup, there really is such a place).

Some local sightseeing around Red Bay.

In all we spent about 3 weeks there, in spite of the polite and friendly nature of everyone there, we were ready to move on. Every repair was completed to our satisfaction, plus some improvements were made as well. Nicely done Tiffin!

As we headed north from the beauty of the Florida and Georgia coast – the incredibly emerald waters – we stop over in Birmingham and pay a visit to the worlds largest motorcycle museum. Over 1,300 significant motorcycles on display, with another 400(?) ready to be cycled in and out, no pun intended 😉

It is hard to describe how impressive the entire display is, in fact it is a bit overwhelming for a one day visit. Walking through the displays, I felt I couldn’t ignore any motorcycle: “this must have been significant to somebody, to some company, to history…”

Back in the day, motorcycles were a big part of my adolescence and early manhood, and now I see some of these motorcycles being displayed as history. (Guess I’ve come this far in life). I had the privilege of tuning a factory racer, Yamaha TZ 750 for Wes Cooley. His image is on the T-shirt below. I can’t help but focus on the word “vintage” here. Geeze, has it really been that long?

This is a TZ 750, similar to the bikes I worked on for Wes

Other images from the museum:

All in all, a great, great exhibit. So much to see and appreciate how motorcycles have developed since the early 1900’s.

After spending nearly all of our lives in the western US, it is surprising how quickly we cross from one state into another. After Texas, however, all the rest of the states really are small 😉  After a great taste of Louisiana, we buzz through Mississippi. Laura’s aunt Wendy lives near Mobile and it has been a while since we visited, so a stop near there was in order. We chose an awesome state park in Georgia, Gulf Shores. Incredibly beautiful, spaces are generous and the scenery is stunning. Close to the ocean and just along a couple of lakes. We stay here about a week and explore around.

A visit up to Fairhope, AL to visit Wendy and her husband Bob plus their labs was very enjoyable – a great visit in their beautiful home and dinner at a stunning marina on Mobile Bay. Laura and I have been keeping an eye out for places to settle down in – someday. We love our Lake Arrowhead home, but as long as we’re out and about, we realize that SoCal is not the only place in the world that we could move to. Well, Fairhope is so inviting and homey, with that small town atmosphere, and, well, inexpensive, that we have tentatively placed this city at the top of our list. Just beautiful! Even if we don’t settle down there, we’ll be back to explore and enjoy this area some more!

The Gulf Shores coast is like many beach towns that clearly cater to vacationers. There are many, many hotels and restaurants along the beach, but we are there at a low time, with not too much beach traffic. Our real attraction was the state park: lots of water, an osprey nest, alligators(!) and a quiet park. Very enjoyable.

A day trip to Fort Morgan, at the western tip of the land that protects the entrance to Mobile Bay made an interesting history lesson.  Its predecessor, Fort Bowyer was built in 1813 to protect against a possible British attack, it was taken over by the Brits in 1815 but was later returned as part of the treaty that ended the War of 1812. Fort Morgan was then built starting in 1819 and it is quite evident that it has seen better times. A lot of water damage to the huge walls, and foundation settling under those walls are quite noticeable.

Sadly, we are not able to extend our weeks stay in Gulf Shores – it is very popular and we cannot get reservations. Not surprising since this is such a beautiful park. It turns out that regulars there, book 6 months in advance!

Eastward-ho we go, towards Florida. I’ve got to say that the Emerald Coast is incredibly beautiful. Never have we seen ocean water that is this brilliant emerald color. Photos don’t do it justice. We stay in a “motor coach resort” in Fort Walton, which is adjacent to Destin. With water all around us, the ocean directly across the street and the inland bay about 30 feet from our RV, we were very pleased with our location. (Of course we paid for this “privilege”). This is another beach town with a lot of traffic along the coastline but, oh the location, and oh that water.

We are finding everywhere we travel that there is so much history everywhere to appreciate. We haven’t focused our destinations on history but this is hard to ignore, in fact, the historic areas and features are turning out to be an attraction to our explorations.  Our travels turn up something new and unusual every day. What a great adventure!

After a great time in Texas, it is time to move on from Austin and head into Louisiana. We head east on I10 and spend a boondocking (free) evening in Winnie, TX. A nice county park, lots of open space, in fact we are the only people there. A few people had horses there for an evening workout but what a change for us – no neighbors, no freeway noise, just us! the park area is quite large and is the location of their annual Rice Festival – I’m sure it is a big deal there!

In the morning we continue east on I10, a particularly rough section of freeway, until Louisiana. We are told that LA was the last state to adopt the 21 year old minimum drinking age, and that was tied to federal highway funding, so highway repairs are more recent than Texas. Anyway, the freeway over the water was quite scenic, smooth and easy to drive!

We exited at the Atchafalaya (Swamp) visitor center, with the intention of overnighting there. After resting up a bit and getting our share of brochures and maps, Laura finds a great campground, just down the road a bit. Frenchmans Wilderness campground, in Breaux Bridge was incredibly beautiful. Located right on a swamp, there was plenty of space for Grayce to run and walk, and for Jeff to walk, too. No running these days 😉

On a walk with Grayce we saw an alligator dive into the water. Of course her Labrador instincts kicked in and she bolted towards the movement, but I have learned to “always” keep her on her leash, (remembering the skunk encounter). Fortunately, the alligator was far enough away, probably 20 ft, and her leash was short, probably 10 ft. No real danger, but still pretty exciting.

The swamp areas are stunningly beautiful and spooky at the same time.

One evening we traveled between the Atchafalaya River and the swamp, for dinner where the locals eat. Pats restaurant is right on the water, where Laura sees a water moccasin (from a safe distance) and a wait staff said that is common, in fact they often get alligators visiting the restaurant. On the “interesting” side, on our way back to the RV, after a beautiful sunset, the bugs were everywhere. So many, in fact, that driving through them sounded like driving into a rainstorm! Fortunately we only had 10 miles or so to go and the road was still somewhat visible through the thickly covered windshield!

We learned how to “prepare” and eat crawfish, had fried oysters, crabs, Etouffee and other southern Louisiana dishes. All from the swamp and local river. The French-Cajun-Creole culture is so rich (and their accent, too!), there that we definitely will be back!

Next we  head over to New Orleans. The RV park is on a canal from Lake Ponchartrain, although we could not get right on the water, it was still a good location. An on site restaurant, (complete with crawfish boil), and plenty of room for Grayce to chase her frisbee, plus it was only about 15 minutes from the French Quarter. The FQ was very busy with tourists. More than just the tourists made it feel much like Disneyland. All of the tourist swag that you could ever “need” is there. Stops in Jackson Square for the requisite photo documentation, then to Duvals for beignets, to Central Market for muffuletas, (see a food trend here?)…

We took the hop-on-hop-off bus around Nolo and found the guides commentary generally informative, (some attempts at humor were, well, what you would expect). There is so much history there and the importance of this city to the early growth of the US was lost on me, (maybe snoozing in history class?). The early 1800’s must have been an incredible time! So much (brick) building after a couple of fires destroyed much of the wooden buildings.

The Mississippi River, of course, is the reason that the city exists at all, but all up and down the river the importance of trade on the river is still very evident.

There is still evidence of hurricane Katrina today, although these are in depressed areas that probably should be cleared and rebuilt anyway. Speaking of this, the central part of the French Quarter appears to be quite healthy because of the tourists, but surrounding areas don’t look like the Disney-esque Nolo that most tourists will remember. My impression of the reason for this is the “not my job” syndrome. Numerous comments by locals support that: A waitress blamed the flooding from Katrina on “men – if they had just done their job” there would have been no flooding. I didn’t pursue this any further.

We also took a walking tour through the Garden District.  Great homes, many with varying examples ornate architecture, largely copied from Paris. Lots of wrought iron fences and balconies. The pink colored home below is where Mark Twain stayed for a while. Across the street is a house that Jefferson Davis (president of the Confederacy) lived and died. So much history here, this city is a place to revisit some day.

A short stroll through one of the above ground cemeteries was “necessary”. The commonly held, and incorrect, belief is that the grave site was located above ground due to the high water level, however, the reality is that these are family burial plots, with a pit directly under the above ground structure. The most recent internment is in the raised portion with the previously deceased tenant “delicately” pushed off a ledge into the excavated area below, called the caveau (cave). A long pole was used and the saying “I wouldn’t touch that with a 10 foot pole” came into use.

A trip to Louisiana would not be complete without a visit to Avery Island where Tabasco is made. The self guided plant tour was informative but the adjacent Jungle Gardens was incredible! It is a botanical garden that is driveable. Back in the day, when the McIlhenny family was actively making the famous hot sauce, this must have been world class. Now it is showing its age but the variety of plants and eco-zones is impressive. One area that is fascinating is a protected area for nesting Snowy Egrets. A raised structure above a lake with alligators provides safe nesting – the alligators keep predators away from the hatchlings. A raised viewing area for us humans gave a great view of the hundreds (thousands?) of birds. Oh, and can you say noisy? Wow!

Along the Mississippi River were hundreds of sugar cane farms in the mid 1800’s, each one, a slice of land that butts up to the river. Today there are still some very impressive remaining plantation houses, though, fortunately the practices associated with them are gone.

We toured the Laura Plantation, (no small mystery as to why Laura picked that one). It turned out to be incredibly fascinating, humbling, sad and left us with strong emotions weeks later. The daily life on this plantation was brutal. On the tour grounds are the main house, pretty grand, some outbuildings, like the kitchen and some slaves houses. The houses were moved close to the main house for the tourists. The actual location of the slaves homes was 3 miles off. Imagine having to walk that distance each day, through that oppressive heat and humidity. Brutal.

All in all, Louisiana was a very memorable place with so, so much more to explore, visit and eat. Gonna come back with my camera and an appetite! Next stop, Mississippi.

Austin has so many things to see and do and we have found it a very attractive city, similar in ways to our Southern California home. In that respect we found it comforting and familiar, but with much better brisket 😉 One of our first stops was Terry Blacks BBQ, where we had eaten before. We were shown the BBQs an briskets in process by a proud pitmaster! So cool. They use post oak, (an indigenous oak in central Texas) so it was actually blazing hot, but still a really cool experience.

Part of the fun of Austin is the great variety of food options, lot’s of bbq and the Texas version of Mexican food. This isn’t like So Cal Mexican food and I find that the “queso” (that is added on lots of food there, is just melted Velveeta cheese with some salsa, probably made in New York City), is not to my liking. Oh well.

Everything we tried was really great (except for queso) and discovered Kolaches! These are a meat filled pastry introduced by early Czech settlers. Wowza.  They are usually filled with a sausage, cheese and sometime brisket (so Austin, huh!). This town doesn’t seem to cater to vegans! 😉

Although the first thing that comes into my mind when thinking about Austin is all the yummy food choices, there are so many other things to do and places to see.

A visit to Texas requires new boots! So cute – the boots, too!

Austin is also famous for music, so I had to pay tribute to the best blues guitar player ever, Stevie Ray Vaughn:

While sitting in our RV, in pulls a really interesting guy, Kimball Ferrell, with the Marshall Tucker Band road crew. After sharing some of Laura’s awesome tacos for dinner and some interesting stories about the band and the road, we then were treated (really) with some of Charlie Daniels “whiskey”. I learned that you never drink moonshine from a glass – it can only be enjoyed from the jar! It sounds scary, but was quite smooth. The things we learn on the road!

A trip south to New Braunfels led us to more music at the oldest continuous music venue in the Texas, Gruene Hall, (pronounced “green”). Built in 1878, you can just feel the rich history while enjoying a beer and live music.

A lot of history in New Braunfels.

And of course, food at the Gristmill River Restaurant, overlooking the Guadalupe River in an old cotton gin. Lots of family, friends and adventures in Texas!

We’ve been on the road now for about 2-1/2 months, enjoying each others company and the daily attention that we have desired for so long. We are blessed to be in good health, in love and to have the ability to live like we are. Although feeling fulfilled with each other, and of course, the dog and cats(?), it is with long awaited anticipation that we meet up with Laura’s cousin, Holly and her growing family. They have made their home in Austin and know all of the great places to eat – the best brisket in the US is here – and we have been waiting for too long a time to meet up again! Patrick, and sons Thomas and James, became our regular evening guests at the RV. After their work day is over, we would all meet up at the RV park, go to the kids playground area and visit. A great meal always followed!

Of course, showing 2 and 3 year old boys all of the switches, buttons and of course the bellowing air horn(!) was perfect entertainment, except for the air horn after a while (sorry neighbors). What a fun visit, to enjoy the little boys and to know that they will go home to their house at the end of the day, lol.  Man, to be parents of little kids again…what a job, but what rewards for such great boys!

Austin turns out to be home to a Jr High school girlfriend of Laura’s, Donna Toomey. A girls day out was in order and a great time catching up on old times and lost times was had. (So nice to meet you Donna!)

While Laura and Donna were out, Jeff goes to the State Capital building and meets with Patrick Lopez, who works a block away, for a personal tour of the impressive building and surrounding grounds. The state government is open for business every other year(!), and since this is an “off” year I was able to walk throughout the building, into the Senate and Assembly chambers, just about anywhere. The area is full of rich history and makes you appreciate how our country has grown.

A planned part of our motorhome based travels is to use the motorhome as a home base and travel out and about, centered around it. We took a day and drove up to Dallas and visited the JFK museum and the area where Kennedy was shot.

Haunting childhood memories of this event, and yes, “X” marks the spot.

From the book depository window down to the street below made JFK a clear target and sitting duck.

This is the window from where Oswald assassinated our president.

The view from the window, 1) is the location first shot, 2) is the location of the second and fatal shot, 3) is the grassy knoll where the Zapruder film was shot. It is surprising how small an area it really encompasses.

Not all of the Dallas trip was focused on Kennedy:

Leaving “Port A”, (Port Aransas as the Winter Texans call it), we head north for a few days. As with many highways, we find a lot of construction on I35 and find narrower lanes and many lane reroutes. Not quite white knuckle time, but full driving attention is needed to thread the motorhome thread through the Interstate needle.

The narrow lanes were a challenge for us, being relatively new drivers for this wide of a beast, but evidently for professional(?) truck drivers, too. During a particularly curvy section of construction, an 18 wheeler truck wiggled and swerved across to our lane and scraped his trailer against our driver side mirror. Fortunately it only “left a mark” and didn’t physically damage the housing. I can’t imagine the replacement cost!

As we arrived at our RV park, a low level flyby of military jets occurred – I could not see them from inside the coach, but could clearly discern the difference from commercial jets and the military type. Turns out that the Blue Angles were in town and were practicing for their upcoming weekend show. Lucky for us that we got daily, personal shows of the Blue Angels. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty lousy, (very low cloud cover), on the air show dates, so they only did low level fly-bys – nothing at altitude would be seen.

Unbelievable weather here, we arrived at 90 deg F and within 24 hours the high was hovering around freezing! Never have we seen a 60 degree drop overnight! Crazy stuff. The motorhome kept us all nice and toasty – even turned on the (electric) “fireplace”.

The RV park was pretty nice, had a very large grassy area that Grayce could run on, chase her frisbee and tennis balls. Happy dog! A nice benefit was a free prepared breakfast every day – not a continental breakfast, but eggs, bacon, grits, etc. It also was a nice place to meet and visit with other travelers. Everyone we have met so far are so nice, with differing backgrounds, but with this shared trait of traveling by motorhome, trailer or 5th wheel.

We visited the Magnolia Farms location, (from HGTV’s Chip and Joanna Gaines fame), and got a couple of souvenirs. Nice place with a great “backyard” area that was clearly set up for kids. Lots of toys, some food trucks, a stage with a band that made a great family destination.

We also visited the Dr. Pepper museum, where the soda was bottled back in the day. Interesting history there, but was a little disappointed that the $10 admission didn’t include at least a little sample taste. Oh well, it’ll probably be at least another 20 years before I have a desire to try it 😉

Next, a day trip to Dallas and then heading down to Austin, to visit family a see the MotoGP race!