I will still keep our web site up to date but I know this won't help those who are already on the road and can't access web sites. You can always email us and ask where we are, but I won't do a travelogue. Mostly we will update the What's New page with short little paragraphs. I have a lot of work to do on the Places section from our old paper newsletter and I will work on that next winter (2000-2001) when we are sitting still and I have a land line. We still want to help those who want to join us on the road by keeping our web site and all its information available.

TRAVELING U.S.84 THROUGH MS AND LA
FINAL REPAIRS IN TEXAS
CLASS B DRIVER'S LICENSE
A SHORT STOP IN OKLAHOMA
BACK IN MESA
WIRELESS EMAIL
OUR PLANS FOR THE SUMMER
LETTERS
COFFEE BREAK
POTPOURRI by RON
THIS n THAT

On this two lane road, we noticed three motorhomes ahead and Ron said, "they must have read our book"---the part about traveling red roads. It was an enjoyable ride until we entered the state of Mississippi where we lost any semblance of shoulders. The two lane road dropped off into ditches. It was a little scary.

As we entered Waynesboro, Mississippi, we were greeted with a sign stating that Waynesboro is the home of Melinda King, Miss Mississippi of 1998. The town was not big and since it was a Sunday it was very quiet.

We easily found our way to the Maynor Creek Water Park. It was a gray overcast day and the park was nearly deserted. We were given a long paved site right on the water, but it sloped badly to the rear (probably for drainage). We liked being on the water so decided to try getting level. It didn't work. We had our back jacks up as high as they would  go and we were still downhill. On Monday Ron went into town to find the lumber yard to get more boards, but that didn't help much either. We figured it was okay to sleep with our feet elevated. As we rode our bikes around the park we found level sites and made a note that those not on the lake are much better suited for motorhomes with long wheel bases like ours.

We stayed for three days but when it was time to leave our rear air bags wouldn't air up. We couldn't drive that way. It had happened before and was always a valve; we didn't have a clue where we could get help in this little town as there were no big truck facilities. We called American Coach and they immediately set up a conference call with someone at Spartan (our chassis manufacturer). When I explained that we had had the jacks up high and now the air bags wouldn't fill, he knew the problem was simple. He instructed Ron to crawl under the motorhome (we had to put the jacks up first so he could get under) and to push a little rod the opposite way. They stayed on the phone with us until we confirmed that Ron accomplished his task and that the bags filled once the jacks were back up. That one phone call alone was worth whatever the cost of our cell phone. We were on our way in no time.

As soon as we left the water park, US 84 became four lane and divided. It is new and wonderful; the grassy median was at least 50 feet wide. The rolling hills and good road made for a wonderful ride. Collins looked like a nice town, but it was too early for lunch so we just kept on going.

After Collins, US 84 became two lane again with no shoulders and those same drop-offs we found on US 45 There was a moderate amount of traffic---mostly logging trucks. It looks like they plan to widen that road too, but I don't think it will be in the near future.

Before Montecello we saw a lot of damaged homes here and there. It looked like a tornado had been through there, although not recently. Until we reached Brookhaven, we still struggled with drop-offs and no shoulders. Ron said, "I never realized how much difference shoulders make." U.S.84 was like a freeway from Brookhaven all the way to Natchez and the towns were by passed so it wasn't very interesting.

Natchez, Mississippi
Although the road leading to the state park looked a little scary with tumble down shacks on either side of the narrow road, the park was beautiful and the sites were large and paved. We liked the park so much that we stayed nearly a week. We toured two of the lovely old plantation homes and took a horse and buggy ride downtown, but the downtown was disappointing with so many antique shops and not much else. The visitor center in town was great though. The rangers at the state park were great and it was easy to use their FAX line to get email. I will post pictures of Natchez in the Places section of our site soon.

Louisiana
U.S. 84 in Louisiana was terrific. They had wide shoulders and new blacktop; it was 10 times better than I-10. Where Mississippi had been heavily forested, the eastern part of Louisiana was rolling farmland which had been freshly plowed.

The town of Jena looked very nice. In fact we felt that it was the first decent looking town we had driven through on US 84. Even though the town had a Wal-Mart, the shops downtown looked like they were healthy and in fact thriving. We parked on the main street while Ron took a little
break.

Getting through Winnfield was a little tricky with lots of tight turns. The west side looked a lot nicer than the east side.

After Clarence we turned south on LA route 6 because we wanted to check out the town of Natchitoches (NAK-a-tish). I had read that it was the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase. From 1714 until about 1825 when the Red River channel retreated 5 miles east, Natchitoches was an important trading center. Sadly we had used up all of our free time staying at the Natchez state park so we could only stay one evening. Since our day there was a Sunday not much was open. We did walk along the river and admired the lovely iron work on all of the shops; it looked a lot like New Orleans. We learned from the brochures that there are many plantation homes all along the river which can be viewed via a nice drive. Next time. I will be putting pictures and a little more about this charming town in the Places section soon.

We left Natchitoches on I-49 and went north to catch US 84 again. Mansfield, Louisiana, boasted a civil war site which we did not stop to explore. This area was especially beautiful in all of its spring glory. The trees were all in bloom. The colors ranged from snow white to glorious gold and blazing fuchsia accented with bright green leaves as fresh as spring itself. It was amazing to me that nature had so beautifully decorated itself for Mardi Gras and in the Mardi Gras colors
too.

Texas
As soon as we crossed the Texas state line we were impressed with four lane divided highway with wide shoulders. But in only a little while it deteriorated badly. And we lost the shoulder too. We also noticed a large amount of truck traffic. Until the town of Rusk, the towns were run down and very sad looking. Rusk had a nice town square and some big old houses in need of repair and the state park was heavily wooded. They boasted pull through sites and they were---but the semi circle kind. The only problem was it was heavily wooded which made all turns tight. We would not go back there. And we were about a week early for the Railroad part of the park. We did not unhook the car so didn't explore Rusk either.

We continued on US 84 until we got to I 45 where we jumped on for just two exits to get fuel then off again on US 79 heading southwest. At Texas route 77 we went straight south to I-10 then west until exit 610 which led us to Pro-tech RV where we had an appointment to get the final
repair work done on the motorhome.

All in all the route from Alabama was interesting. We decided that Louisiana was prettier than Mississippi and the towns looked more prosperous. We were sorry that we didn't spend more time there and will go back some time.

It was like coming home when we arrived at Pro-Tech. We got hugs all around. Besides fixing the little trim work (from the accident) we had decided to get four new rear tires to match the new ones Fleetwood put on the front. Fleetwood had offered them to all of us American owners at cost because of the recall. We also had our musical horns installed. What fun!!

Long time pen pals, Mark and Donia Steele, were on their way up from the Rio Grande Valley so they met us at Pro-Tech and stayed a few days to keep us company and give us some bridge lessons. It was nice to finally meet them and to have a house to visit while we were homeless during the working hours.

We arrived in Seguin on March 7 and left at noon on the 16th.

Since the driver's license place happens to be next door to Pro-Tech we had decided that we would get our Class B driver's license there. So as  soon as we pulled in on March 7 we walked over to take the written test  thinking that we could do the driving part yet that day and then the repair could begin on the motorhome the next day as scheduled. Well, we both flunked the written test. We had no idea that they would ask so many commercial type questions even though we had to swear that we would never drive commercially with that particular license. The clerk handed us a booklet so we could study before taking the test again and  informed us that we had 90 days to retake the test. Take a lesson from us; get the book first. You only need to review chapter 15 and the questions in the back.

The book says: A Class B driver's license permits a person to drive a single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, and any such vehicle towing either a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating that does not exceed 10,000 pounds or a farm trailer with a gross vehicle weight rating that does not exceed 20,000 pounds.

The book also says: Class A driver's license permits a person to drive any vehicle or combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, provided the gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds....

Once we studied the questions and learned such things as how far from the road the mud flaps should be and how many of what kind of reflectors are required on what kind of vehicles we aced the test. We couldn't take the driving test until they were through with the motorhome and that was about lunch time on March 15---just as one of the clerks was going for lunch. We thought we would do our little drive then be on the road again, but we were told to come back at 3 and 3:30. So much for getting  on the road early.

The driving test was okay. We each drove separately. We couldn't believe that one of the things they have you do is parallel park the motorhome without someone guiding you. First of all, we would never do that and secondly one of the questions on the test is "What is the safest method to use when backing up a large truck?" The answer happens to be "try to have someone in a safe place to guide you by signaling." We did it anyway. From the center of the driveway we backed the motorhome up and lined it up to the curb (there were no cars in the way). The drive included tight turns as well as entering and exiting the freeway. We both passed.

We didn't leave Pro-Tech until noon on Thursday March 16 because after the driving test, we noticed an electrical problem which had resulted in a power surge. They fixed it right away Thursday morning and we took off.

We took TX 46 from Seguin to US 281 and continued all the way to our night's stop at our first Wal-Mart ever. Although we had only driven about 250 miles, it was dusk by the time we hit Mineral Wells. Although it was cold, it was quiet, level and we felt safe. This Wal-Mart was part of a small strip mall which included a MacDonalds. Guess what we had for breakfast? That was a good route all the way. It was easy driving with little traffic and the road was great. We continued on  281 to Jakesboro when we turned north east on TX route 59 then I-35 to Moore. There was no other good way to go since my son lives only a mile off the freeway.

It was cold and rainy for our whole time there but we enjoyed our visit. We stood in the cold mist all bundled up to watch two soccer games and didn't mind---after all it was our grandson's game. They were exciting games. We have a few pictures on What's New.
 

Jim helped me with a couple of computer questions and even designed a program for me which will help me make changes to the web site. Thanks Jim. Our daughter-in-law's birthday and their anniversary was the 18th  so we were able to celebrate that with them as well as the anniversary of Ron's retirement.

The weather report predicted big snow for northern Arizona so we made a quick decision to head south. We took I-40 west to Amarillo then south on US 60 to Clovis where we turned south on US 70. Both of these roads were good and we continued on covering lots of ground. It was a tough drive because we were bucking a strong wind the whole day. We spent the night in Las Cruces and finished the drive on I-10 and US 70 all the way to US 60 in Arizona. We were a little scared when we woke up to snow in Las cruces but it didn't last long.

We are back here for just a little while to recoup, get hair cuts, perms, a dentist appointment and prepare for our April 4, house boat trip on Lake Powell. It is good to see friends here who are just preparing to leave. But we will be leaving too.

Last month I mentioned that with the help of Mel Chaney the phone cable had been ordered so we could use our Nokia 6162 phone and our AT&T one rate plan to get email. The cable was in our mail this week and just  this morning we drove to Comp USA to get the necessary modem.
IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM!!!!! OH HAPPY DAY!!!

If you have that kind of phone you can call 3com at 1-800-846-2233 (or visit their web site at www.3com.com) and order the NOK6 cable (part number 3CNOKA6). The cost including shipping was $91.60.

Next you need a compatible modem. There were four that could work and I found the 3CXM556 model easily. It is a 56K cellular modem PC card. The cost was $219.99.

It was a simple process to install the software and Mel had already set up a dial up thing (don't you love my sophisticated terminology?) so all I had to do once the modem was installed was follow the directions for which cable to hook up first then hit the connect button on the dial up
screen.

The first email I sent was to Mel to thank him, then I checked My Yahoo home page to see what the news was, meanwhile 26 emails were coming in. If I thought the cell phone liberated me, this really did. Anyone can do it if you have the proper equipment. All it takes is money and a little help from Mel. You too can get Mel's help. I have posted a wonderful article he wrote in our Guest Articles section. Computing & Communicating on the Road

We will leave the motorhome here at Valle del Oro when we drive the truck up to Page to meet with our group for the house boat trip (April 4-10) then we will drive back to Mesa. Ron has a dentist appointment on the 12th and we will leave early the 13th for the Palm Springs area of California. After a short visit with friends there, we will head for Lancaster and the Escapade (April 16-21).

Son, Mark and his family live nearby so we will spend Easter and the following week with them. After that we are foot loose until July 7 when we need to be in Moscow Idaho for the Life on Wheels (LOW)Conference. We tentatively plan to be in northern California, Oregon and Washington until the conference, but have no exact plans.

Right after the LOW conference we need to hustle to Gillette and the big rally there and after that we really haven't a clue where we are going. Two grandsons (Kristopher and James) might join us for their special vacation with grandma and grandpa (if they don't have to move).

In October we will return to Valle del Oro and we will stay the winter. I will direct another Follies (big talent/comedy show) in February so if you'd like to be in a good show (or help back stage) come on into our park for a few months and let me know what you'd like to do. This is
your big chance for stardom.

Ron will be volunteering at the elementary school again next winter; we will also continue with bridge, bike rides, computers and whatever.

And finally we plan to travel (minus the motorhome) to Scotland, England and Ireland in the summer of 2001. I need a new duvet cover and don't know of a better place to find a really pretty one.

What a shock!   Sat, 26 Feb 2000

GOOD HEAVENS!  Our idols have feet of clay!  You have never boondocked at a Wal-Mart!? What's next?  A secret house on a foundation, Ron is  really a retired auto mechanic. Please, please if you have any other secrets, don't tell us. The disillusionment is just too great. We certainly hope you remedy this problem before the SKPs find out.  They may disown you.

Rich & Bobbie
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Right after our last newsletter went out Barton Taylor wrote and asked where the John Prince Campground (near West Palm Beach) was located. He couldn't find it in the campground directory. We responded with the following.

It is not in the directory for some reason or other. We knew that the campground was there from other years. It is about one mile south of Lake Worth Road off of Congress. It is on the east side of the road after 6th Ave. Their phone number is 561-582-7992. It is a very nice campground.

Have fun. It should be easier to get a site now.

Barb

Our 150 gallon fuel tank allows us to be more selective when purchasing fuel in this high price fuel era. Instead of being robbed we are only being gouged.

Thanks to some help from several bridge masters, reading bridge books and playing bridge on the computer I can now be considered a novice bridge player.

We now have a Class B driver's license, which allows us to drive any non-commercial vehicle regardless of weight. They didn't say anything about airplanes.

I doubt whether the gal who gave us our driving test could reach the pedals on our motorhome or knew anything about air brakes.

Granddaughter Mary is heading to Japan for a week on an exchange program. She even likes shushi. Have a great trip Mary. We are very proud of you.

We had to laugh at the name of a meat market in Mansfield, Louisiana, Would you buy steaks at "Tough Steak Meat Market?"

Now that we will be using our cellular phone to get email we'd like to ask that you NOT send us  forwarded emails. We'd also appreciate it if you did not send us photos and email using HTML format. While cellular is great; it does take longer to send and recive mail. Thanks in advance. I will still have to use a land line to update the web site.

We have been in close contact with Stephanie Bernhagen and have had the pleasure of reading the manuscript of her new book, "Take Back Your Life, Travel full-time in an RV." It is crammed full of lots of technical information and as she and her husband are young babyboomers she gives a lot of insight into the added concerns boomers have. She will be doing a prepublishing promotion and expects to be shipping those books out the beginning of June. If anyone would like to be notified of  this promotion they can e-mail her and she will e-mail the details as soon as she has them. You can also snail mail her at 164 Rainbow Dr., PMB 6431, Livingston, TX 77399-1064. I will also be putting the prepublication information on What's New.

When you get this you will know that I have added another of Ron's articles and three fabulous recipes from Donia Steele.  We can vouch for the cake and cookies and imagine the soup would be good too. I have also posted two terrific articles from Mel Chaney. Please check them out.
Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
Crunchy-Chewey Lemon Cookies
Healthy Vegetable Soup
Computers & Computing on the Road
RV Campground Etiquette

Happy Trails and please visit our web site often