Bienvenue Louisiana

We finally made it down the highway at two o’clock Wednesday. I know that it’s a late start for a travel day. However, our main goal was to get out of the woods. We drove for about five hours and stopped just north of Birmingham at Cracker Barrel for dinner. Since there was a Walmart at the same exit we drove over there and after getting permission to park for the night we called it an evening.

Thursday morning found me awake at 4:30 and with coffee brewed by 4:50. We were back continuing our travels toward Louisiana at a little after five o’clock. We crossed into Louisiana around 10:30 and stopped at the Visitor’s Center.

Welcome to Louisiana

Nice to see these two Flags flying

Both Angel & Zoey need to potty since they were still sleeping when we got back on the road this morning. We could have easily made it to our house in Denham Springs, Louisiana by noon. However, our friends John & Sandy and Jim & Ellie were at Fontainebleau State Park. We haven’t seen John & Sandy since July in South Dakota and haven’t seen Jim & Ellie since March back in the Arizona desert. We decided to stop for the day and visit with them all. After getting our home parked and setup we both took showers and got cleaned up. Just as we got dressed we heard a knock on our door and it was Sandy. After exchanging our hugs with her we chatted for a while until John walked over. We continued our chat for a little while longer and then made plans to meet at their home at four o’clock. We then decided to take a walk down to Lake Pontchartrain and take a few pictures.

The grounds here are filled with Live Oak trees

Old Live Oak trees make for beautiful pictures

High grass on the edge of Lake Pontchartrain

Nice color on these Bald Cypress trees

Sandy drove Gina down to the lake to capture this sunset

Gina and I haven’t been to Fontainebleau State Park since we were in high school when we went on a couple of youth retreats with our church. That’s a story for another day.

We walked over to John & Sandy’s and sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather and catching up on our happenings since we last saw each other. They invited us for dinner, which was a great treat. Thank you guys for the wonderful meal and great fellowship.

John, Sandy &Koko

Later that evening Jim & Ellie arrived back home and we walked over and visited with them for a while.  What a wonderful and fantastic day.  It's always special to spend time with our friends.  

Jim & Ellie

The friends you meet out here in this traveling lifestyle is yet another reason why we love it so much. However, I need to post this entry and get going down the road to our house.  Our travel day is only about an hour and my sister and brother in law have a special meal planned for us this evening. Can’t wait to see ya Sis and Gina said, "she can’t wait for that hug from her brother either".

Gina and I are both looking forward to a lot of laughter and spending time with our family during the holidays.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Home of the Screaming Eagles

Tuesday morning found us waking up to rain. Instead of sitting inside for the day we decided to drive down to Fort Campbell, The Home of the 101st Airborne Division. They are better known as the Screaming Eagles.

101st Airborne Division Patch

We first stopped by the base exchange and unbeknown to us Oliver North was there for a book signing. We decided that since he was here why not buy his new book, “American Heroes in Special Operations” and have it autographed.

Oliver North signing his book for me

We then shopped for a little while and since we didn’t find anything we couldn't live without we headed over to the commissary. Gina had made an extensive list of all the groceries she needed for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She has a whole lot of baking and cooking planned for her and our daughters.  Nicole and Ashley always love to bake the goodies while mom does the cooking.  There are always fond memories made in the kitchen during the holidays.  We then went about getting everything on her list. This only took three and a half hours, of course it didn't help that it was the day after payday. I think everyone else was doing their holiday shopping too.  That is way too much time in a grocery store.  However, she assures me that she will not need another grocery store for a while except for milk, eggs and bread. Only time will tell so we’ll see. We finally got everything loaded into the truck and left the base.

Our next stop was the Flying J truck stop where I filled up with diesel. I sure am glad we don’t have too many of these expensive days. I know it all works out the same at the end of the month but it sure hurts when it all occurs in one day. We finally made it home around 8:30 and we were exhausted. We had a good day considering it rained all day. We grabbed a quick snack before going to bed.

We woke up early this morning with Gina getting our home ready to roll down the highway while I write this blog entry.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Wonderful Weekend

Gina and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend here at the “Land Between the Lakes”. The weather has been beautiful. We have woke up to temperatures around 35 with highs in the 60’s. We have spent the weekend hiking around Lake Barkley and enjoying the wildlife. Each evening we have spent sitting by the lake waiting for our daily dose of Bald Eagle watching.

We are loving all the Fall colors

Looking down one of the many trails

A few white pelicans and Anhingas floating

A Bald Eagle flying through the trees

This guy was too cute to pass up while he was soaking up some sun

Another Bald Eagle Soaring over us

Gina holding up an American Sycamore leaf

(she is so amazed of how big they are)

We have also spent time with my Aunt Diane, Uncle Jerry, my cousin Rachel, her husband Clint and their three wonderful children Noah, Lilly & Teresa.

Uncle Jerry gave Gina a bell with an eagle on it for her garden

Rachael's son Noah, we had a great time at his Birthday party

Aunt Nadine, me with Teresa and Aunt Diane

We woke up Monday morning to 31 degrees and the high was only forecast to be 56 degrees. We built a fire and enjoyed the heat from it. We have really enjoyed our time here. However, it’s time for us to say our goodbyes to Kentucky and move further south. We plan on departing here tomorrow morning and arrive back at our house in Louisiana on Friday.

Even Angel is enjoying being out here

Of course Zoey is enjoying it too

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.