Monday, January 12, 2009

January 12, 2009 Heading for Texas

January 12 ....


Managed to get to the far side of Atlanta..... traffic there is a legendary nightmare, so we pulled over and waited it out. By 7:30 we have found another Walmart and the lights go out early. The big joke with motor home people is that 9PM is "Motorcade Midnight". We wake up at 4AM, get on the road by 5 and it is deserted. Wonderful! Slip into the Central time zone and by 9:30 we are in Mississippi. Toomsuba (nice name!), Meridian, Jackson ...(I start thinking of the Civil Rights marches that took place in those cities, and the Inauguration that will be taking place in a very few days ... awesome). Suddenly Vicksburg and we cross the Mississippi River into Louisiana. One note ... heading from Jackson to Vicksburg I see a giant billboard with 2 big faces and the lettering STATUTORY RAPE IS A CRIME!! Listed are the names of the defendants and the ages of the victims. Mississippi does not mess around with criminals!!

Once again, as soon as we cross to the west of the Mississippi , the roads get better and the people get decent. They don't cut you off, move to the side to let you pass, wave as you go by and and don't seem to be in a hurry. Cross the Big Black River, which has overflowed it's banks .... a very bad accident (going the other way) involving a tandem Fed-Ex truck on it's side down in the grassy median. Lots of emergency vehicles and flashing lights. Soon we slip onto a smaller road and into the back country for a bit. In Bethany, LA we see the "Hungry Possum" pizza shop ... gotta wonder about the toppings! Next door is the "Lickskillet Feed Store" ... who are they feeding?? Not many barnyard animals eat from a skillet. Before you know it you cross the line into Texas where the sign reads "Drive Friendly .. The Texas Way" and "Proud home of President George HW Bush". I wouldn't advertise that ... but that's just me. One more hour to Nac!! whew!!

Nacogdoches feels like home, now. ... I have been there as much as any place! My big wish was to have the antennae reconnected. but .... several thousands of dollars later, I now have a rather impressive self-seeking satellite system attached to the roof and less closet space for all the boxes and gizmos that operate it. I have more remotes than I know what to do with, but I get a cartload of channels and ... most importantly ... Mr. Wonderful is happy! When it starts to raise itself and search for a signal, I rival anything I can imagine at NASA ... I expect the Mothership to come honing in on me. Now ... let's see if we can actually remember how to work it!

Our friends Peggy & Kent drive down from Oklahoma City to join us in Nacogdoches. They have never had their Foretravel to the factory for maintenance, but for anyone who owns one of these coaches, it is like a trip to Disney. Big, fancy coaches pull in and out as people come in for service appointments or to pick up parts or even just to stop for the night on their way to some other destination. It is a very nice club to belong to! And I have never yet met an unpleasant person in Texas. they have all been gracious, friendly and smiling. I always wait to hear that first Texan I run into say ... "Ha Yew? Ha y'all doin'??" They never let me down.

No comments:

Post a Comment