Branson, MO

Nan and I are heading to Kansas from Little Rock, Arkansas, so we stopped in Branson, MO for 3 nights. Last night we saw Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede show. It’s similar to the Midevil Times show, except it is North against the South instead of knights fighting. When I made the reservation they asked if I wanted to sit with the North or South. Of course I said the North since (contrary to what they teach in the Southern schools) we won the war. GET OVER IT. They had several contests such as barrel racing with horses. The North was winning, so they had pig races with North and South colors on pigs. They put the North colors on the slow pigs so the South could win one. Then they brought some people out from the audience for stick horse races. They picked real beef eaters to represent the North, and flew in some Nigerian marathon runners to represent the South. By the end of this fiasco the South ended up winning the whole thing.

Tonight we saw the Andy Williams/Ann Margret show. Andy Williams was sick tonight so the Lennon Sisters flew in to cover for him. They were very entertaining. Ann Margret was also good (for being 70 years old). Half way during her show they showed her movie clips while she was back-stage for a costume change, and to suck on some oxygen. One thing about these Branson shows. You can see a two act show and still be back home in time to meet your 9:00 bedtime.

Little Rock, Arkansas

We spent some time in Florida where I had a 3-week job. It gave Nan and I a chance to visit my mother over the weekends. I have a couple of jobs in Kansas, so we are now working our way there.

We stopped in Little Rock, Arkansas for 3 nights. We are staying at a Corps of Engineers (COE) campground. COE is a federal agency that is in charge of lakes and rivers. Most COE campgrounds are too small for us, but this one has large sites. The back of our RV faces the Arkansas River, so it's a nice view. Friends we met in Alaska are also here, so we celebrated by going out to PF Changs restaurant. Yesterday we went to the Clinton Presidential Library. There we learned how he passed NAFTA while in office. NAFTA offers free trade to countries like China, thus increasing the workforce in the U.S. since we will be exporting our goods over there. It's a Win Win for everyone.

St Augustine

We spent the last month in Virginia. After spending all that time in Appalachia it was time to get some culture. So we spent the first night at the South of the Border campground in S. Carolina. Pedro says - You're always a weiner at South of the Border. We had Mexican that night but Nan didn't like it because they didn't give you a bottemless basket of chips.

The next day we arrived in St. Augustine, FL. We took a trolley tour today and then went to the beach. They had rip-tide warnings, so of course there were plenty of surfers out there. Nan then wanted her picture taken standing by the sculpture of David. What a smile she had on her face.

Richmond, VA

While in Gloucester, VA my brother and his wife came to visit for a couple of days. If crabs are around we generally try to get some. There was a guy that sold live crab nearby. We have a steamer so we thought about steaming our own. Then we found a grocery store that sells steamed crab for the same price so we went that route. We stayed at a Thousand Trails in Gloucester and it was very nice and right on a river.

We left Gloucester and drove a couple of hours because I had a job west of Richmond VA for two weeks. Since the campground was $41 per night we decided to stay the month and get a monthly rate of about $700. The two weeks I was working Nan rented a car and went visit family in D.C. and Cleveland. While she was gone she missed the 5.8 earthquake we had. The epicenter was only 30 miles from where I was working. We were working on the second floor of a bank and it started shaking. I knocked a couple of old ladies down and lead everyone to safety. The next week we had Hurricane Irene. Nan returned on Friday so she could be here on Saturday for the hurricane. She was so mad she missed the earthquake that she didn’t want to miss anymore excitement. We had steady rain for all of Saturday and lost power for about 1 hour. We were about 100 miles from the coast so not a big deal. The hurricane might have done some damage to the Gloucester Thousand Trails though. I’m sure we will find out through the grapevine.

Two things I miss from living in a house is my big screen TV with surround sound, and my Weber grill. We have surround sound in the RV but it’s kind of cheesy. I did just get a portable Weber grill though. We had it shipped to Nan’s Mom’s house and Nan brought it back with her. It hooks up to one of our RV propane tanks. I had grilled chicken and grilled asparagus for lunch. I feel civilized again.

Crabbing

I got up at 3:00 this morning to go crabbing. A guy at the campground told me when he did this he would come home with a 5 gallon bucket almost full of crabs. I crabbed until 11:00 and got 4 crabs. I set them free and stopped at Wendy's for a burger on the way home. Nan had considered going with me but luckily she changed her mind. I think it had something to do with the 3:00 wakey wakey time. There was another guy there crabbing. He told me he got about 20 of them. They are suppose to be at least 5 inches wide. After I talked to him the marine officer stopped by to check things out. I saw the guy throwing back little crabs when the officer wasn't looking.

Jamestown, VA

Nan and I left New Jersey and went to a campground in Gloucester, VA for 3 weeks. It not far from Williamsburg. It’s been really hot here - usually in the 90s. We are by a river so Roxy has a chance to go swimming. Unfortunately the river is like bath water so Roxy ends up panting even while swimming. We’ve used the AC more in a week than we’ve used it in the prior 2 years of living in the RV.

Nan and I went to visit Jamestown, VA. Below is a comparison of Jamestown and the Pilgrims so there’s no confusion as to who arrived first.

Jamestown was a settlement located on Jamestown Island in the Virginia Colony. Founded as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607,[1] it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States of America, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke. It was founded by the London Company (later to become the Virginia Company), headquartered in England. Jamestown was the capital of the colony for 83 years (from 1616 until 1699).

The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, (which would become the capital of Plymouth Colony), in 1620.[1] There were 102 passengers and a crew of 25–30. The vessel left England on September 6, 1620, and after a grueling 66-day journey marked by disease, which claimed two lives, the ship dropped anchor inside the hook tip of Cape Cod (Provincetown Harbor) on November 11. The Mayflower was originally destined for the mouth of the Hudson River, near present-day New York City, at the northern edge of England's Virginia colony, which itself was established with the 1607 Jamestown Settlement.

The London Company sent people to Jamestown because they thought there was gold there. They didn’t find gold, but they did find that it was a good place to grow tobacco. The rest is history.

Atlantic City

I working for 3 weeks by New York City. We parked the RV in a campground by Atlantic City since there aren't many by NYC. Nan is staying there for the 3 weeks, and I come "home" to Atlantic City on weekends. Working in NYC is different than I'm used to. All the women sound like Marissa Tomei, and all the men sound like they want to have me whacked.

I attached a picture of a shoe on Nan's foot. The pair costs $2,500. The store ordered 10 pairs and they only have 2 pairs left. They have a picture of Kim Kardashian wearing one pair. I told Nan if she buys a pair she will be wearing them while she's walking the streets earning money to pay for them. Who knows how long that would take.