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| Football Road Trip |
It was only four nights after we got back from our delayed honeymoon that we were on the road again in the truck camper (TC). I had the oil changed and the parking brake replaced on the faithful Ford one ton. She had just rolled over 240,000 miles. All of our trips had a theme and this one was to go back to Virginia Tech and catch some early season football games. Of the two of us, Daisy is the dedicated fan of college football with the season football tickets. So enough said!
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| Daisy-cam from the road |
From Arkansas we motored north and east thru Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and West Virginia. We were motivated. We trucked to avoid the edge of
Sandy that was coming into Arkansas with forecasted heavy rains. We stuck to the Interstates and stayed in paved campgrounds that would support the heavy weight of the TC on anticipated soggy ground.
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| USFS campground in IL |
In West Virginia we stayed at an exhibition coal mine campground that displayed the lifestyles of those who managed the underground workplaces as well as labored and died in them. It was worth the stop.
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| Panoramic view from the New River campsite |
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| Floaters away |
Our base in Blacksburg, VA was a little tubing campground that we had discovered just before the wedding. The weather was beginning to turn cool, which impacted the floating conditions, but there were some partying souls who took advantage of the warm days to float one more time in the New River.
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| Awesome VA location |
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| We won all 3 home games we attended.... |
The first two games were only one week apart. We won them both and all of our hopes were high for the remaining season. In between games we visited friends and classmates who still lived in the area, took advantage of a campus guest lecturer on Lincoln, and enjoyed quiet evenings by the campfire.
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| Tom was lead guitar in our band |
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| Daisy's office staff in the TC |
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| The train: all good campgrounds have one. We had two! Yikes. |
Three pictorial keys to a fantastic dining experience for Ms Daisy:
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| Prepping for Daisy's request campfire meal.. a great fire... |
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| A tranquil setting and .... |
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| ...well cooked dogs |
We also reconnected with several of her old friends from campus.
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| Bill and Theresa...Old friends |
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| Abe..she has been here a long time! |
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| A collegiate way to travel in fan style |
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| Cool dude with best girl at game 1. |
One of the football games that we attended was highlighted by a Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (VTCC) all class reunion attended by several classmates from my year. We marched onto the field as we used to do 40 plus years ago and were honored by the fans in the stadium as we "executed salutes" and had a WWII aircraft flyover. It was an emotional moment for me and others.
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| Ann and John |
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| Attent-hut!! |
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| Presennnt- Arms! |
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| Pretty lady and her guy |
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| Jean, Daisy's cousin, sharing a meal |
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| A rose among..... |
A day comes to an end...
While in VA Daisy and I went to Winchester and Petersburg to see family, this time with Ms Daisy as my wife. It so happened that Ann was having a birthday celebration at the time and we got in for the celebration. Now Ann was a little upset that her new sister-in-law would prefer to stay on the street in a trailer rather than in her house. That took a little explanation for her to realize that this was an acceptable option in that we had a complete home at the curb.
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| Bruce and Ann at work |
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| Street camping |
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| Angel with her brood...Happy Birthday Ann! |
I was born in Winchester and decided many years to be interred there as well. I had options for another spot with me in the veterans' area. I showed it to Mrs C. She found another spot there that would be a better option for both of us. (To Daisy's family: No final decisions have been made!)
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| Center memorial stone at the Veterans' cemetery |
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| Side by side here, and in time to come |
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| It will be an honor to lie here with these heroes. |
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| In Petersburg, my Sis Kaye and Gary took us out to dinner. |
We headed south to North Carolina and South Carolina to see more family and friends. They tend to get peeved if we see others and not them!
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| Sisters Pam and Deb with Brian |
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| Country living at Brian's |
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| With friends at Betty and Bill's |
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| Suburban living in Bill's driveway |
Maybe my sisters get upset at times because we stop and spend time at wineries en route...go figure!
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| A wine tree |
This winery allowed us to camp in their parking lot after the wine tasting, for free.
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| Camping in the vineyard |
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Of course our grand boys in Alabama had to be visited when we made our return trip. We planned this special in order to go camping with Matt, Shannon, and the boys.
This was to be the first time Daisy and I had had gone camping with the kids in
their new RV.
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| The Miskowskis' rolling home |
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| Josiah up high |
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| Levi down under |
For 4 weeks (4,574 miles and 17 states), we did the football, family, and friend thing, then it was
time to return to Arkansas. But first we had to make a trip to Texas to
deal with construction of long-term improvements on our winter lot.
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| Resort entrance |
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| RV on concrete and shed underway |
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| Connect part A to B... |
We had the shed constructed and decided we could go play before returning to Arkansas.
There is nothing better for play than to go to the beach.
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| The beach daisy |
South Padre Island was having a sand castle designing event the day we went. It was done by professionals.
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| I liked this one and its designer. |
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| What a great office to work in! |
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| Daisy liked this one for some reason. |
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| A sand dragon |
After our day at the beach we decided to head back to Arkansas and unpack a few more of Daisy's boxes. On the way there we investigated another casino campground. I have a book that lists a bunch of them and this is one of the largest, just inside of Oklahoma from Texas. We will go there again.
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| I-35 entertainment and RV haven |
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| It was getting cold as we checked into the campground |
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| It has an around the world theme featuring France, England, Spain etc. |
And so we made it home to Arkansas
We will remember the roadways and the rainbows,
We will remember the sunrises and sunsets,
even the clouds of butterflies that gave their all on the radiator
Mostly we look forward to creating more memories and discovering them together.
Until next time...
In West Virginia we stayed at an exhibition coal mine campground that displayed the lifestyles of those who managed the underground workplaces as well as labored and died in them. It was worth the stop.
Our base in Blacksburg, VA was a little tubing campground that we had discovered just before the wedding. The weather was beginning to turn cool, which impacted the floating conditions, but there were some partying souls who took advantage of the warm days to float one more time in the New River.
