May on the Road Again

Monday, May 11^th

It’s time to start getting ready to hit the road again. This year we will be traveling northeast and heading for NJ. We have a new Jeep to follow the RV so, we’ve ordered the parts and on Thursday it will be made ready to tow. We made some lists and put some things aside then went to bed.

About midnight or so, the skies were alight with flashes of lightning, rain was pounding down and the wind was howling. Sometime later we lost power and we could hear some hail in the rain as it pounded on the side of the house. There were times when the thunder seemed to go on in continuous peels. It was so violent it seemed as though the house shook at one point. Then it calmed and sleep came on, good because I had and early doctors appointment.

Tuesday, May 12^th

Went to the kitchen to make some breakfast and when I looked out I saw cars driving along the main road outside the gate? OK, the mind is slowly catching up…..OH MY GOD, THE FRONT FENCE IS GONE!

As we drove out the gate (which was still there and working) on our way to the doctors, all we saw was the storm damage from the night before. No one was injured, whew! One house had a 4x4 driven through the back , another had a part of a sculpture driven through the roof into the living room. Several houses had roof damage, broken windows and skirting blown away and about 60% of our fence was either damaged or blown away. Remember when I said it seemed as though the house shook, well I’m sure it did. We had experience a tornado or wind shear, call it what you like, it was a lot of twisting powerful wind. We were one of the lucky ones, no damage, even with the RV parked on the lot next door escaped damage.

May 13 – 25^th

Getting the Jeep ready to tow turned into one problem after another, but everything did finally come together the Friday before Memorial Day, just in time. Most of our time was spent getting everything ready to travel and helping clean up the park after the storm. By Memorial Day, we had the house closed and we were moved into the RV ready to leave early on Tuesday. They asked us if we could leave before the guys came to pour cement for the driveway entrance and of course we agreed.

Tuesday, May 26^th (7am)

RV with Jeep in tow and away we go. Looks like they screwed up the brake indicator, well it’s just a light to tell us we’re pressing the brake in the Jeep, we’ll have them fix it when we return. 

First stop on our adventure is Victoria, TX. I can’t tell you how many times we have passed by this town over the past 15 years we have been in Texas and never stopped in, This Is The Year!

We are parked in the campground before noon and went into town finding a wonderful little restaurant called The Rosebud Fountain and Grill across from a nice little park. We found a map for an auto tour of the stately homes of Victoria with a little history of each and off we went. There were over 40 beautiful homes, many were in excellent condition. No we didn’t take any pictures.

The day we left was the start of clearing skies, which was a relief for Texas. Many counties were declared disaster areas due to the flooding. Every river we crossed was out of its banks. There was a restaurant recommended called the Pump House which is located on the Guadalupe River that sounded intriguing. We googled it and came up with two restaurants by that name one in Fairbanks, and yes, we have eaten there when my nephew was a manager there and this one, so of course, we had to give it a try. So, we dined next to the overflowing Guadalupe River and had quite a nice meal. 

Pump House Restaurant - Victoria, Texas

Our experience in Victoria was quite pleasant, we do recommend it as a stop.

Wednesday, May 27^th Waco

What can I say about Waco. We did drop the car and drive around for a bit. Everything was still wet from all of the rain and more was coming so, we went home had dinner and went to bed early.

Thursday, May 28^th Savanna, OK

Oops, we blinked and missed it. We did call ahead and the campground we were going to stop in no longer honored Passport America and yes, we blinked and missed the campground so, on to the next town called McAlester where we found another Passport campground and parked. What are they famous for, I asked the young lady. The answer was the prison, this is where they put them in for hard time and even provide the death penalty.

We rested a day, found a wonderful little restaurant called Heavenly Delights which was also a bakery with the best marbled rye. We also did some browsing in their local antique shops, so, it was a pleasant break, even with all of the rain.

Friday, May 29^th Eureka Springs

Wow, what a ride. There was a choice of two routes in and after talking to Chip we followed the northern one which had fewer twists and turns. All I can say is if that was fewer, the southern route would have been torture. The grab bar next to Pat has her finger prints imbedded into it. Needless to say we took our time and probably made a few of those folks behind us a bit mad, but oh well, we made it safely. That said, what a delightful town. First we were delighted to find that Chip and Daisy were not traveling and we were able to visit. The town itself if filled is an artist community, so you know Pat was in her element and wanted to explore every nock and cranny.

Let’s start with the Thorncrown Chapel which is the result of a dream put forth by Jim Reed who was inspired to build this chapel on the site.

Thorncrown Chapel

 

You can’t believe how peaceful this setting is until you visit. Keeping the religious theme going, we visited the Crescent Hotel, which is built on the highest point overlooking Eureka Springs. 

The Crescent Hotel - Eureka Springs, AR

Why is this religious you ask? Well from here you can see Christ of the Ozarks similar to the Christ of Rio de Janeiro. I did take a picture but all I got was a picture of lush green with a white stick in the middle, not worth printing.

Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty or why is Eureka Springs. Well there were plenty of mineral springs here and of course someone decided that bathing in them would be good for your health. Now that the springs are not the highlight of town, the artists have moved in and reinvented the town to the crafty village it is now. And yes, I did just blow away any of the good history of the place. 

Spring Street Eureka Springs, AR

Paintings, jewelry, pottery, quilts, t-shirts and anything else you can craft is sold in these shops along the way. And this is but one portion of  many blocks. Somewhere along here I was getting peckish and started looking for a restaurant.

Indian Cuisine Restaurant

I did find this one which is Indian Cuisine and I was not interested. However I thought you might, the seating was up top (on the street above). The Next day Pat returned for more of this while I headed a little further south for a round of golf at a small course that did not have cart path only.

I would love to show you some pictures of Chip and Daisy at their lovely home, but dummy (me), did not take any, sorry.