Home Sweet Home

Friday morning found us packed up and ready for that final 60 mile stretch to our stick & brick home and Gina’s beautiful garden. First, item was to get a few more minutes of visiting with John & Sandy and Jim & Ellie this morning. We finally said our “see ya down the road” and pulled out of Fontainebleau State Park around eleven o’clock. We made it to I-12 and headed west. Seeing exit 12 was a welcome sight. We turned into our driveway and Dana, my sister was there waiting on us. We got parked and after some long hugs we all walked around Gina’s garden then walked into our home. As Gina said, “It’s such a wonderful feeling to be at our home and spending time with family”.  A very special thank you to Rickey, my BIL for keeping our yard looking beautiful and to Paige & Josh for keeping both our home clean and Gina's garden looking fantastic!!

Gina, Rickey, Dana & Addison

A few minutes later my dad came over and even though we just spent time with him in Kentucky it was nice to see him again. Dana and Gina left to go buy some turkeys for smoking and frying for Thanksgiving while I turned our home around and got it setup. Once they got back from the store we headed over to Dana & Rickey’s house for a much anticipated welcome home dinner. What a dinner it was. Fried catfish with Crawfish Etouffee served on top with stuffed potatoes on the side. It tasted GREAT!! Thanks sis for that special welcome home meal. We then decided to play spades and yes, we men won. We had such a great time with them and finally said goodnight around two o’clock in the morning.

Saturday morning found us back at my sister’s house for some fresh & hot Mary Lee’s donuts (there the best IMO) and continuing our catching up. Around noon Nicole, our daughter came by and picked up Gina for a girlie kind of day. First, it was to get their hair cut and styled then they were off for that manicure & pedicure.

After they left I went back home since Jimmy, my brother called and said he was at our house. We enjoyed a wonderful visit and once he left I went back down to my sister’s house to watch LSU take on Ole Miss with Rickey. It was a very close game. However, LSU pulled ahead with 44 seconds remaining. Gina and Nicole arrived just as the game was ending. I know they had a great momma and daughter day since they didn’t make it back home until after six o’clock.

My sister had already convinced me to stay for dinner again tonight. Of course she didn’t have to convince me all she had to say was “Fried Shrimp”. Thanks sis for another great dinner. Gina and I both commented to each other that after two days of eating like this we definitely will need the desert just to lose weight.

We have really enjoyed being back home with family. Well, it’s Sunday morning and I need to get this posted since we’re heading to church in a few minutes.


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

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.