Saturday - April 18

 Brrrr.....what a difference a day makes.     Ater 3 beautiful days of weather for traveling, today was just the opposite with chilly temps, strong winds and rain!

We were up early with the time change and ready to leave the Loves truck stop in Quinton by 7 AM.    The first hour was great with hardly any traffic on I-22 and such a nice road.    But then that changed with more and more foks out and trucks on this Saturday morning.   We stopped n Tupelo, MS (Elvis' birthplace) to check radar and in Olive Branch, MS for some hot drinks.

We did our usual praying the rosary together and me listening to my oldies (sometimes Seriously Sinatra) as we just kept truckin on down the road.    We went thru 5 states - Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.    The rain started in Mississippi - not too heavy but the worst was Missouri just as we crossed the state line - yikes....a good 1/2 hour and most of that was heavy!!!    Not fun!     

Saw more beautiful wildflowers - pink in Mississippi and yellow in Arkansas.   And the huge FedEx facility at the Memphis airport.

We arrived in Sikeston, MO at 1:00 (49 degrees) and planned to eat here at Lambert's Cafe - "home of the throwed rolls"    They have a 30-site RV park behind the restaurant that is on a first come first serve basis.   Sooo much water standing everywhere.    The parking lot was packed including a Peoria Charter bus.    Mark got Flo settled in an RV spot hooking up the electric and water in the rain and dodging the puddles.

We drove Ruby to the restaurant and hard to find a parking spot - oh my.....people, people everywhere.    We originally thought we would have dinner here but then decided on lunch; but sooo crowded, so came back to Flo for a bit and changed into warmer clothes.

Went back to Lambert's at 2:30 and had a 45 minute wait - crazy busy on a Saturday afternoon.    Folks were bundled up in jeans, sweatshirts, jackets, even stocking caps - brrr....we Floridians are not ready for this big change in the weather, but in a few days, it will be warm again.

So, Lambert's was good as ever with generous portions of great Southern cooking + their delicious warm big rolls they throw at the customers.   Their servers (guys and gals all wear jeans, denim shirts with red suspenders) come around with metal bowls of fried potatoes with onions, fried okra, tomato/macaroni salad, etc.   I forgot how big this place is - we were in a very large dining room and as we were leaving, we walked past another one just like it.   We have plenty of leftovers.    Still lots of people waiting for a table and this was just the lunch crowd!

So, back on November 7, 2003, Ryan and his cousin David (Ron and Vicki's son) were in aviation at SIU-Carbondale.    They were working on their multi-engine ratings and building hours, so invited their parents for a little surprise trip "somewhere" for Mark's birthday.   Unfortunately, Ron and Vicki couldn't go as Ron had had recent eye surgery and was told not to fly.    So, Anne and Patrick joined us and we left  Bloomington flying south for dinner.    And tah dah....they landed in Sikeston, a shuttle service provided by Lambert's picked us up and took us to the restaurant and we had a very memorable dinner in such a unique place.    Mark and I were also here November 13, 2014 with Daisy enroute to Florida.   It's as good as ever - just a really fun place.    There are 2 other locations besides Sikeston - Foley, Alabama and Ozark, Missouri.

Mark is happy after that delicious meal

Lambert's is same age as my brother Bob

Anne and I beat the computer 3 of 4 games tonight!

  

Friday - April 17

Mark started the day with a trip to Hardees and enjoyed his biscuits and gravy fix   He brought a biscuit back for me!   I love 'em.    Hot today, but no complaints as we've had beautiful weather for traveling.    We left Big Rig in Lamont just before 8:00.  We were back to interstate travel today - 10, 85, 65 and 22.    Heading west on I-10 this morning we came across another accident in the eastbound lanes which caused a major back-up.    Lots of emergency vehicles on the scene and saw a charred pickup truck....not a good sight 😟

We drove a total of 350 miles with a few stops along the way including Troy, AL for diesel for Big Red and while Mark was taking care of that, I went to 7 Brew for coffees for us.   Happy to be back on central time and gain an hour.

Yesterday we saw so many beautiful purple wildflowers along Florida's roadside with some pinks and whites sprinkled in.    Today, lots of Dollar Generals in Alabama.   😃 

We are at the brand new Loves truck stop in Quinton, AL for the night.    This place just opened last Thursday and has 5 RV spots (we really like these places and their RV facilities are getting to be really popular).   

Mark is thee best logistics guy - once again routing our trip today as to which roads, rest stops, fuel stops, etc.     A task he handles so well each day and enjoys for the most part!

So today we hit 87 and tomorrow, only in the 50's.   Another change of clothing coming up!

Anne and I lost 3 of 5 games to the computer tonight - the cards were not kind!

We are 3 hours and 10 minutes from Memphis and if Ryan had been there and not working tomorrow, we would've met him somewhere, but he's back home at Lake James.

Thursday - April 16

We left Sanlan and Lakeland at 8:57 this morning - took a LONG time to get thru Lakeland with lots of traffic, construction, and stop lights!    We went thru very rural Florida and saw so much poverty and very sad living conditions.    Passed thru many small towns (never heard of them) but for the most part, we were out in the boonies.  It may take longer, but sure beats the stress of interstate travel.

The highlight of our day was stopping for lunch at Olive Garden in Inverness and meeting friends from several years ago - Ross and Carly were RVers and we were together at Water's Edge in Okeechobee.   They are the nicest people and a few years ago, sold their RV and bought a beautiful home on 3 acres in Hernando, FL.  They have done a lot of work to their home and the property is sooo Wow!!!   Carly had a video.   We had a 2 hour lunch and visit - fun, fun , fun!   The last time we were together was March of '22 when they came to Fort Myers.   We "HOPE" to not wait so long to get together again.    Carly is from Vancouver, BC, Canada and Ross is from CA, but they have traveled and lived all over the country.

Carly and Ross

And the 4 of us

And then back on the road again - Ruby and I following Big Red, Flo and Mark.    We came upon a very tragic accident with a badly damaged car and stretcher beside it with a covered body   So many emergency vehicles there.....police, rescue squad, ambulance, fire trucks, etc.    Praying for those involved and the first responders.    So scary to see this and know how quickly an accident can happen.

We arrived at 4:30 at the Big Rig RV Park in Lamont, FL.    This is a fairly new park (in the middle of nowhere) with only 25 sites.

After we were settled, Mark took Ruby for some gas and lo and behold, he came across a Hardees, so you know where he's going for breakfast and what he'll be ordering!  😋😀

Wednesday - April 15

Unusual morning with a start to the day at 7:30 of text messages and reminder that we had 2:50 and 3:00 appts. with Dr. Kagen. our dermatologist.   At 8:00, more text messages that due to unforeseen circumstances, Dr. Kagen had to cancel for today and we needed to reschedule.   And then a phone call at 8:30 from the dermatology office that he would be able to see us and at Mark's suggestion, I asked if they had anything earlier which they did.  

At this point, we were downtown for Mark's haircut with Jose, but first, coffee/breakfast at Peter's and a final good bye to Marika, Stefan and Dani.    These folks are the best.....Mark and I love coffee shops and we've been to a lot, but Peter's is by far, our favorite!!!    Till October....

Sweet Marika

 So our 1:50 and 2:00 appts., worked out well and we were out of there by 2:10 and headed back to CT.   Not sure what all that was about, but everything worked out!

So back at CT, Mark and Flo pulled out of 102, he put up the chain across the lot and Ruby and I followed.    

Day 1 was short with a stop and overnight stay in Lakeland.    Arrived at Sanlan RV Park at 5 and met my brother Ron and Vicki at 6 for dinner at Catfish Country.    We heard about this place from Bob and Linda, but had never been and it's fairly close to Sanlan.    Great to be together and catch up over very fresh and delicious catfish, sweet potato (rice 'n beans for Mark), cole slaw, biscuits with cinnamon butter and hush puppy - all excellent!

Ron and Vicki

Beautiful evening - we went for a walk around Sanlan before heading into Flo for the night.

Tuesday - April 14

 I had a 9:00 hair cut with Destiny, then shopped at Publix for a few things and on home.    Later I went downtown to get a manicure from Alisa.

On home for lunch.   Mark had Big Red hooked up to Flo and was finishing up getting things organized for our trip.  Jim and Lydia stopped in and the guys got their sister Joan's cricket in the she shed.   Soooo appreciate Jim helping as this is definitely a 2-man job.    Not sure just how Mark and I have done it in the past?    But anyway, the she shed is full to the brim and all set for the summer.

The guys getting the cricket ready to go up the ramp

Jim and Lydia

We'll sure miss them!

We both took a nap in the afternoon!   

We so enjoy the "Find Friends" app and can see where our kids/grands are (a Philip idea from many years ago as the kids wanted to know where we were.....and then we can see where they are with all their travels).   Tonight Mark happened to check...........Michael was flying from Charleston, WV to Minneapolis; Philip was in Houston but ended up in Orlando tonight; Ryan is in Dublin, Ireland and Drew is in Cincinnati.

Went for our last walk in the park tonight - more and more have left and we know some leaving tomorrow.    Our street is really deserted!

I watched episodes 3 and 4 of Call the Midwife the past few days.....tonight's show was a tear jerker for sure.

Back on the road again........tomorrow afternoon!