MERRY CHRISTMAS

Allan and I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This has been such a blessed year and we have enjoyed it tremendously.

Allan drove me half way to Birmingham and our daughter, Yancy, picked me up the Saturday before Christmas. I helped her with getting things ready for the Christmas season and also had a doctor's appointment. Allan left the RV in Florida and drove up in the Jeep on Wednesday. We had Christmas with our other two daughters and grandson and stopped by to see several friends while we were in the area. We attended Christmas Eve services at Church of the Highlands. We had Christmas at Brian's grandmother's house today.

We are staying in Yancy's basement room which has almost all we need. (TV, exercise equipment, bed, refrigerator) Katie has access to the large closet Allan built this year mainly to store our few things we don't have room for in the RV. She has explored, climbing on boxes and tubs. She also sits in the high window to look out and get her morning sunning. The last two days there hasn't been much sun. We have had snow all Christmas day. It probably measured about 2 inches but it is melting. The temperature is suppose to drop well below freezing tonight which may mean streets will be icy. It was so beautiful. I will post pictures later.

BUILDING PICTURES

The day I took these pictures was overcast. The first picture is the exterior of the church. The outside is almost completed except for landscaping and the parking lot. The subcontractor came in today to install the air conditioning system. Our guys are still working hard each day. Allan is working on the plumbing. I am filling in the screw holes with mud. I won't work anymore this week so I can prepare to leave on Saturday. Allan will follow on Wednesday.

From 2010-12-15

We went to the post office in Jay, Fl (Berrydale does not have one) and got a picture on the side of an old building. I have seen several in different towns. Hopefully, I will get pictures of those too.

From 2010-12-15

The roads look like it has snowed or hailed, but it is cotton. I wonder if any was left in the trailer that was taking this to market.

From 2010-12-15

Allan found this beautiful leaf that felt like velvet.

From 2010-12-15

Yancy called tonight telling us she had ice hanging from her deck and mailbox. I am glad she made it home safely.

EMERGENCY ROOM

Much to our relief we received a call from our middle daughter, April, saying she made it home to Alabama last night after driving in ice and snow from Oregon.

Allan came back to the RV soon after lunch saying he had cut his finger on some metal. It needed stitches so we headed to the nearest hospital in Jay, Florida. After about 2 1/2 hours he was all sutured, bandaged and ready to go home.

One of the couples from church prepared a wonderful meal tonight for all the volunteers. What a blessing.

NEW BUDDY

God has sent me a new buddy who has lots of goat friends. She and her friends live in a pasture adjoining the church property where we are living and working in Florida. I take her carrots occasionally.

From 2010-12-10

From 2010-12-10

From 2010-12-10

The guys are really working hard. Each day there are more walls up. The group went out to eat last night at another fish restaurant in Brewton, Alabama. We have had some cold nights in the 20's, but today and tomorrow will be warmer with rain coming in and then cooler weather again.

CHURCH IN BERRYDALE, FLORIDA

Here is a slide show of the church we are working on and some of the people in our group. We were on break. It is about 20 degrees colder than usual here. Brrr!

EAT, EAT, EAT

Thursday the RVers went to Texas Roadhouse for supper. It was a great meal. I think this is a weekly thing they do. Friday after work, we drove to Pensacola to do some banking and get groceries along with a stop at Lowes and Auto zone. We did not get back in time for the church hosting a meal for the group. Saturday we worked on the RV and then attended a Christmas Party for the older folks of the church. It was held at a local catfish restaurant. Against my better judgement, knowing my corn allergy, I ate catfish breaded in cornmeal. It was so good. I had not had any in a long time. I was sick that night and the next morning. It is very difficult to lose weight on these projects.

Today we went to church and then drove to Panama City Beach to look at a Phaeton. It was nice. Of course, we have to sell ours first. We did get some pictures of the Gulf at sunset. Thought we would share those with you.

From 2010-12-05

From 2010-12-05

From 2010-12-05

GPS

On our drive to Florida we stopped at the last Clanton, Al. exit on I-65. While getting back on the interstate to continue south to Florida, a woman's voice called out from our Garmin saying " go north on I-65". Sorry, but she must be a blonde. She also said I had arrived at our destination before we even crossed the Florida line.

We are getting in the routine here. Allan is hanging sheet rock. I along with other ladies are picking up after the guys and sweeping. I have been trying to get all of the tax information together so I will be ahead of the game. I cleaned out the basement in the RV today. The group went to Texas Roadhouse for supper tonight. Had a great steak with good service. I will get pictures tomorrow and post them. Things are starting to dry out after all the rain we received. The temperatures have dropped big time. It was 27 degrees last night. It should warm up tomorrow and be in the 60's through the weekend.

A FIRST FOR US

Boy am I behind on posting on the blog. Sorry, to all our readers. I will try to catch you up on our life.

On our last post while we were in Calera, Al. I failed to mention that Joe Segler came by for a visit. It was so good to see him. Sorry we did not get to see Carolyn. Hope your house sells soon so you can get on the road.

I had an eye doctor's appointment on Friday (the week before Thanksgiving). After returning back to Sun Coast, we pulled in the slides and were headed to Odenville to be with our daughter and her husband for Thanksgiving. Brian, our son-in-law, had the coughing crud several weeks ago and supposedly Yancy caught it from him. After going to the doctor twice they finally decided she had walking pneumonia. Now Allan is coughing up a storm and feeling poorly although nothing ever seems to get him down for long. He made a trip to the VA since we would be leaving soon. The doctor said it is likely to be walking pneumonia. If not, it is a viral infection. I have been trying to take my Vitamins especially C and eating fruits. So far I have not come down with it.

I baked our turkey on Wednesday so it would be ready for Thanksgiving when Brian's grandmother, mother and stepfather came for lunch. We had a good time.

Friday Brian and Yancy had friends over for the BIG football game. Auburn vs. Alabama. Auburn won and we were happy. Brian and Yancy were elated during the first half of the game while Alabama was ahead but not so enthusiastic at the outcome.

We have worked on the truck and trailer, sprucing it up. Katie had a vet appointment to get her rabies shot. She also has "blackheads" under her chin. The vet said it goes along with a plastic allergy. Katie was not a happy kitty. She was very VOCAL. Allan had a dental appointment. His new crown will be ready the week after Christmas. This all seems to be very medical. Sounds like we are all falling apart including the cat. Sorry, maybe too much information??

Yancy and I got a chance to sneak off and do some shopping. You know how ladies like to shop. Allan was happy to stay home and help Brian with projects around the house. Brian stood in line in the cold rain on Black Friday at Sears and got a washer and dryer. Saved over $700. Dave Ramsey would be proud of you Brian.

Today was a first for us. We traveled with me following Allan in the Jeep. This really worked out good. We drove to Berrydale, Florida for a church project. After we crossed the state line, Allan pulled over since we were not sure of the exact location. I drove the jeep ahead and found the turn off for the church and gave him a call that is was ok to continue and I felt he could make the turn in easily. We got settled in and went to church which is presently being held in an old community center building.

WORK DONE AT THE FACTORY

We arrived in Smith Center, Kansas on Sunday. Although we were on a work in basis, we were the first to pull in at the factory. There was no one there, but they leave the lounge open all the time. There were two large rooms with TV's, tables and chairs and over stuffed chairs, vending machines, bathrooms with showers and washer and dryer. All the comforts of home. Two other couples (from Canada and Iowa) came in later. We spent the night in our RV. Everyone had to be out of their RV by 6:15AM so they could pull the RV's in the shop and start work.



We took a tour of the factory on Monday. We are very pleased that Peterson Industries that build Excel RV's has not gone out of business as many other RV manufacturers have. We learned that they did down size considerably and stream lined their production so they are producing the same amount of units with half the number of employees. They showed us all the new models they are producing, but we are happy with our Excel model. They have made lots of improvements each year.

From 2010-11-09

From 2010-11-09

Because they were not finished with the work on our RV, we drove to the Ingleboro B & B where we had stayed two years ago. We spent two nights there. The house was built in the late 1800's by a wealthy banker. It later was turned into the local hospital. It has also been a restaurant more recently and now is a bed and breakfast. We had a large bedroom with a large sitting room and a modern bathroom. We had the whole downstairs to ourselves the first night. One lady came in later that night and had a room upstairs. It was very restful for the both of us.

From 2010-11-09

From 2010-11-09

From 2010-11-09

From 2010-11-09

We took a walk downtown to Smith Center, a small farming community. We had to board Katie which she was not too happy about that. We went by each day and took her for a ride and played with her. Several other couples were there that week, one of which was Ken and Sarah Hoenig whom we had met at RV Dreams rally in Branson, Missouri in 2008. Small world. We were just starting full timing on the road and now they are just beginning the same lifestyle. On Wednesday we decided to sleep in the lounge at the service center. On Thursday night they pulled our RV out and we were able to sleep in it. It was raining and we were tired. I think we slept about 10 hours and Katie didn't move from her spot on the bed. We got back up about 5:00AM. There were a few minor things the guys had to finish up and then we were on the road by 8:30.



While in the area we drove to the geographic center of the United States.

From 2010-11-15

It has turned cold. On leaving we found the weather producing off and on rain with occasional snow flakes. We spent the night in Topeka, Kansas. Saturday we spent the night in Danville, Missouri and Sunday we drove around St. Louis, Missouri and spent the night in Herrin, Illinois.

The deer population must be down because we saw so many deer on the side of the road and in the back of pickups (hunting season had opened).

Due to rain we spent two nights in Goodlettsville, Tn. We had supper at Cracker Barrel with my cousin, Ingram Howard and his wife, Vickie. It was a very good visit. We made a stop at the Welcome Center in Paducah, Ky.

From 2010-11-22

This brought back many memories. We would always stop here on the way to visit my family in Missouri. This is where Allan almost drove off and left me with a bunch of bikers. He thought I was in the back seat asleep.

We spent two nights in Calera, Alabama at Suncoast RV. We had the hot water heater checked out and a part replaced and Allan took the truck for an oil change. Suncoast will allow you to park free one night with full hookups. You can stay longer if you are having work done there.

BACK IN ARKANSAS AND OKLAHOMA

Nov. 3, Wednesday, we drove in the rain until we passed Little Rock, Arkansas. The sun came out which made a much better drive particularly for Allan. We spent the night in the Old Post Road COE campground in Russellville, Arkansas. This was one of the nicest parks we have camped in.

From 2010-11-06

They have long backin campsites with room for extra cars. There are picnic tables, some of which are covered, with lantern stands. There is plenty of room between sites. There are playgrounds, basketball courts, soccer fields, tennis courts and many more things to do. Although the lake level was low, there is a boat ramp. There is a lock and dam which we observed barges going through the locks.

From 2010-11-06

From 2010-11-06

They can accommodate larger groups with covered pavilions and large fireplaces/grills.

From 2010-11-06

We drove to Stillwater, Oklahoma the next day. Even though the trip was longer it went by fast. After getting settled in, Jim Webster, Allan's cousin, took us to his house for a visit and supper. Arletta had baked lasagna ready for us. Boy, was it good.

From 2010-11-06

Friday they took us riding around the area. Stillwater seems spread out with lots of agriculture activities. Oklahoma State University is located there. Jim and Arletta were affiliated with the university during their working years. We went to a museum outside of town that had so much history. It would take you days to see and read all the information. We had lunch at the famous Eskimo Joes which is a college hangout.

From 2010-11-06

We returned to Jim and Arletta's house for another great meal and discussion of old family stories and genealogy.

Saturday on our drive to Russel, Kansas we saw lots of wind turbines. Even though it was a very windy day, there was no rain. We were happy today since Auburn won their game with Chattanooga. We are staying up late but will have an extra hour to sleep in the morning.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

I had my stitches removed. I saw a different doctor who answered all my questions. It may be a year before I get all the feeling back in my nose. The same day Allan and I had our teeth cleaned.

Speaking of cleaning, our carpets have also been cleaned. They really needed it. Since we have washed everything else in the RV, I feel the RV is squeaky clean now. ( I guess this is spring cleaning in the fall).

Yancy, Brian, Allan and I met Joe and Shirley for lunch at Cracker Barrel. We exchanged some articles that belonged to my aunt and uncle.

Sunday we drove to Alabaster to attend church at Kingwood. We had lunch with Butch and Sue and then spent some time with Venus and Josh.

Monday I took Yancy to work so I could use her car to deliver her burnt cabinet door for repairs while Allan drove to Hoover for another dentist appointment. His night guard was broken. Since we were planning to leave the next day for Smith Center, Kansas, we have been working hard to get all errands and things done. Allan filled up with LP.

Because of some mix up on our truck we were not able to pick up our truck until Tuesday morning after Allan went back to the dentist to pick up his night guard. They had our truck for 8 days. We hooked up and pulled the slides in, ran down the hill in the Jeep to vote, said our good byes to the dog and then headed out. It started to rain when we drove through Birmingham and continued to rain all day. By the time we stopped for supper at Captain D's it was getting dark and still raining, so we decided to spend the night in the WalMart parking lot in Senatobia, Ms. We went to bed early since there was no electricity and slept great. Katie didn't move all night either.

PAINTING

Allan got the rooms taped and painted the two dark walls this week in between going to the VA twice. Everything checked out ok.

From 2010-10-26

Friday I helped him paint the lighter color on the foyer, living room and hall. Yancy and Brian said they were going to Cades Cove and then pack up and come home a day early. They only saw two deer from a distance. While driving home on the interstate in the dark they saw 9 deer and 2 coyotes. They got in about 1:30 AM on Saturday. They had a wonderful time despite the problems they had with their accommodations.



Saturday they were off to friends to watch football games. Auburn beat LSU and are #1 now and Alabama beat Tennessee. That night a bad storm came up with tornado watches. We went over to their basement and got soaking wet. I bent over and picked up Katie, the kitty, and felt pain in my nose, then blood started pouring out from the incision. After about 15 -20 minutes of pressure it stopped. Other than moving a heavy swing on their deck, there was no damage here. Other places did have building damage.

We took the Jeep in to get a spare key made. $217 for a key??? In 1965 who would have thought that a key would cost that much.

I cooked supper for Yancy and Brian after their first day back at work. Then we played a game of Rummykub.

We want to welcome all our new followers.

WEDDING

While driving through all the agriculture areas, I noticed I was getting a scratchy throat and sneezing. It was very dry and dusty. They are harvesting crops and defoliating the cotton which is apparently causing a lot of people to have similar symptoms. We were parked at the Agri-Center in Memphis while they were having a fall festival with music. There were thousands of people there. I was amazed we could not hear all the celebration going on while we were in our RV thanks to the good insulation.

This week we met April, our middle daughter, prior to her departure to Portland, Oregon where she is relocating.

From 2010-10-19

The week before the wedding Yancy and I worked on wedding related things which kept us busy. As I was feeling worse, I started on antibiotics in hopes of hurrying the healing process. I was improved by the time the wedding came around. A number of Yancy's friends and I met at the church on Friday to decorate. We had the rehearsal and dinner afterwards at Olive Garden. That was a long day. On the day of the wedding, Oct. 16th, Yancy and I arrived at the church at 8:45am. The wedding was held at Kingwood Church on the other side of Birmingham. The wedding party got their hair and makeup done. Time sped by fast. We looked at the clock and it was time to walk down the isle.

From 2010-10-19

From 2010-10-19

Everyone said it was a beautiful wedding and Yancy's dress was beautiful also. The reception followed the wedding in the foyer of the church. There was an abundance of food. As Brian and Yancy left in a Limo they were showered with red clown noses which was a surprise for him as he is a clown with the Shriners.

From 2010-10-19

From 2010-10-19

Afterwards lots of friends pitched in to help with the clean up. Allan and I left there about 8pm. That was another long day. We slept in, the next morning. Yancy called me several times that night. One time they had a fire in the building and had to evacuated down 15 flights of stairs. They never saw the fire or smelled it, but this will be a memory of their first night together.

This past week Allan and I purchased a Jeep Liberty. It has really come in handy to transport things for the wedding. I think we are going to like it.

Monday I had surgery to remove a basil cell cancer on my nose. It went well with very little pain. This was a special type of surgery where they check the specimen to make sure they removed it all while you are there, then they sew you up. I bled a lot and have a lot of post operative swelling. Not a pretty sight. I am to return in 10 days to get the stitches out.

Allan made his annual visit to the VA medical clinic. He will return there on Thursday for an eye exam.

Our plans were to paint several rooms in Yancy's house while they are on their honeymoon and dog sit. Due to the surgery, I am not allowed to bend over or do anything that will increase my heart rate. This leaves most of the painting for Allan to do. Poor fellow!

From 2010-10-19

Katie loves being here as she is entertained with birds and falling leaves out our back window.

Homecoming

Sorry for not posting in a long time. We have been so busy with the wedding and related things.
I will start to catch you up on our activities.

We left Carlinville, Illinois on Oct. 8 and drove to Sikeston, Mo. where we found a campground and hurriedly set up as we were suppose to be in East Prairie at 4pm for our homecoming parade. We didn't make it in time for the parade, but we met some of my classmates for the chili supper at the Martin Elementary School. I think this was the first time I had ever been in this building. From there we went to the football game. They played Portageville and won.

From 2010-10-19

At half time we all went over to Pam Williams home where she grew up. She opened the house for our informal class reunion.

From 2010-10-19

It was like going back in time.

From 2010-10-19

We had such a wonderful get together.

Jim and Carleen Burden picked us up for breakfast the next morning. It was good to see them again. After they dropped us off, we packed up and headed for Memphis to do some genealogy work and visit with some relatives in the Howard family.

From 2010-10-19

Lynn, my cousin, took us to Capleville, Tn. to visit the Bethlehem Cemetery. Allan spotted the Howard graves quickly. I found my twin aunt and uncle who had died during childhood and 2 other family members. I was able to see Ruth Howard, Lynn's mom, and get some information for the genealogy quest on the Howard side of the family.

RV MAPS VOLUNTEER CONVENTION

It took us three days to drive to Carlinville, Illinois for the convention. We settled in and that night went to register for all the events.

From 2010-10-08

The remainder of the night was free to see old friends we had worked with on previous projects and meet new friends. Sunday we attended church services and an orientation meeting for first timers. All first timers received a bag full of goodies. Allan and I attended numerous seminars during the week. Some were more geared for women and some for men. Many of the projects for next year had representatives who gave a presentation of their project. The projects included churches, schools, camps, conference centers, children's homes and teen challenge centers. All the men especially enjoyed the tool time so they could purchase new toys.

From 2010-10-08

They fed us well.

From 2010-10-08

Harold and Jeanetta drove us around the conference center and gave us a history lesson. The big barn was alleged to be a hideout for Al Capone and his bootlegging.

From 2010-10-08

There is a beautiful lake on the property.

From 2010-10-08

A previous nursing home has been transformed into housing for youth groups. The work we do no matter what type helps people and brings glory to God. Next year will be the 25th anniversary of US MAPS with all kinds of speakers and celebration being planned. We don't want to miss that.
MAPS volunteers wear red vests with patches for each project they work on. Many people worked many hours to prepare this wonderful yearly convention. Allan and I want to thank them for a job well done.

MAPS CONVENTION

We left Alabaster at 2pm on Thursday and drove to Cornersville, Tn. Got up the next morning and drove to Marion, Il. This was a much longer drive and we were tired by the time we pulled in. Saturday it started raining just after getting on the interstate and then we came upon road work with delays. The speed was slow but we kept moving. By the time we got past the work area the rain quit and we made it to Carlinville by 3pm. There are many RV's here and they are packed in close, but everyone is used to that. We have full hookups. Lake Williamson Conference Center is a very nice facility. Saturday night we had registration and a time to visit with friends. It was so good to see people we had worked with previously. We also made new friends.
Sunday we attended church services which was great. Pastor Mike Lynn preached. He is the pastor from Robertsdale, Al. AOG where we worked last Jan/Feb 2009. It was good to see him. They had a cookout for us after church. We attended an orientation for 1st timers at the convention this afternoon. We are having fun. Hope to have some pictures for our next posting.

HEADING FOR ILLINOIS

At 10 PM we had to take away Katie's food for her teeth cleaning the following morning. By morning she was climbing her cat food bags trying to get my attention. She couldn't figure out why I wouldn't feed her. I had her at the vets by 7:30 and she was ready to be picked up by 1:30. She is back in HER routine and very happy.

The weather in Alabama has finally cooled down. Boy am I sure happy. We have not run our A/C in several days. We are still running lots of errands and taking care of personal business. I could not believe how many people we have run into mostly by accident in the last few days. It is always good to see old friends. We stopped by Birmingham South Campground to see friends there ( we lived there for 8 months before quitting our jobs in 2008). Allan and I had read that Jim and Ellie had car trouble and were staying in this campground. We hoped they had not left before we got there as we missed them in Arizona earlier this year. Sure enough they were there and so were Mark and Dortha. It was good to see them again. We had originally met them at the RV Dreams Rally in Branson, Mo. in 2008.

Today we moved to Alabaster back to our other daughters house (Venus) for one night. More errands and have an appointment to get our hair cut tomorrow before we leave for Illinois for the MAPS convention (volunteers for Assembly of God).

BUSY TIME AT THE HOME FRONT

Allan and I have been very busy while in Alabama. The Daddy-Do-List is quite long with not as much time this year to work on them. Of course, there are many preparations for the wedding. I am also trying to help Yancy organize her house. Boy is that a job. We are also downsizing some more as we do each year when we come home.
Allan worked a week at Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center. They were upgrading some of the rooms. I was there Sunday and Monday. The ladies folded sheets. One of the workers told us they had about 1000 rooms, each having 2-5 beds in them. That's a lot of sheets! Because of the wedding, we will not make the Campers on Mission Christmas Party or the Oneida project in Kentucky.

When we first arrived, the weather was cooler, but the temperature and humidity has progressively increased. It has been in the high 90's, not to my liking. I am envious of you who are in cooler climates.

Katie is scheduled for her teeth to be cleaned on Thursday. We have to pre-medicate her for 3 days prior to surgery and 3 days post surgery. She says this medicine is nasty tasting, but she still loves us, as much as a cat can.

CORINTH RECREATIONAL AREA

The weather was very hot the whole weekend so we preferred to stay in the air conditioned RV. Brian, our future son-in-law, has been working about 80 hours a week and was just happy to chill out. Allan and Brian did get the two man kayak in the lake but did not stay there long. We drove around and got a few pictures. We saw an armadillo and some deer. We also played games. We had pork roast one night and buffalo burgers and brats on Saturday.

From 2010-08-27

From 2010-08-27

The campground was nice. We had a long pull through site, with enough room for our big truck, 5th wheel and their car with lots of room to spare. The bath houses were close by. The manager got us an application to camphost after he talked with Allan and learned we had been camp hosts in Vermont. They are closed December - February. This is probably the only time we would be available to volunteer. I don't plan on being back here in Alabama again when it is hot.



Sunday the kids left and we packed up to move to our other daughter's house. It had rained all night and we drove in heavy rain off and on, but we got parked in the driveway with no problem.

Monday I had an appointment with the orthopedic doctor at 8:00am for him to look at my swollen knee and leg. He removed a large syringe full of fluid from my knee. After the doctor's appointment, Allan drove me to Yancy's house where I will stay until Saturday helping her with wedding stuff. He and Katie will stay at Venus's working on her house.



We probably won't have time to do much blogging until after the wedding (Oct. 16th).

RED BAY, ALABAMA

Last night we drove around Red Bay and found where they do the maintenance and repairs on the Tiffin coaches. There was a long line of Tiffin motorhomes parked overnight. Today we took the Tiffin factory tour, guided by a delightful young man named "Red". He is 83 years old. We were able to talk to the workers and see the motor homes being built from the ground up. Red said they had dropped to making 3 a day, but now are up to 10. Somebody out there must be buying them.

We drove to Double Springs and are camping in Bankhead National Forest. Our daughter and future son-in-law will be here on Friday night and stay for the weekend with us. It will be good to see them and I will get to play with my grand dog Maggie.

EARTHQUAKE OF 1811-12

The area we just left, southeastern Missouri and northwestern Tennessee, was the center of a series of earthquakes in late 1811 and early 1812. New Madrid, Missouri, where the New Madrid fault line is located, is reported to have experienced the strongest earthquake ever recorded. There were numerous quakes and after shocks which were felt as far as Canada and Washington, DC. The Mississippi River changed its course and Reelfoot Lake was formed. Lots of destruction occurred but the area was sparsely populated and there were no census records for this area so no one knows how many people lost their lives. Must have been a scary time.

We spent the night in Jackson, Tn. This town has really grown. There are several colleges located here. We visited Max Blackman, a classmate of mine, who is recovering from surgery.

Today we drove to Red Bay, Alabama. Sweet Home Alabama. It felt so good to be here. The humidity has dropped to 59% with a temperature of 89 which included a nice breeze. Such relief! We plan to visit the Tiffin factory tomorrow.

DEAD RELATIVES

Here is a picture of Allan's school buddys.

From 2010-08-14

This is the house Allan grew up in as a teenager. When his family was living in it, the house was located 8 feet behind the church. It has been moved to this lot you see in the picture.

From 2010-08-17

Allan attended Morningside College in Sioux City for two years before going into the service. Here is a picture of his dorm room window. He was on the second floor.

From 2010-08-17

From 2010-08-17

Our next stop was a state park outside of Hamberg, Iowa.

From 2010-08-17

This is the view near the office.

From 2010-08-17

Here is Katie doing some filing. Such a helpful kitty.

From 2010-08-17

On Monday, Aug 16 we stayed in Columbia, Missouri, home of Missouri University. This area is so pretty. This was a quick over nighter so we did not get to do any sight seeing. We have crossed the Missouri River so many times. When we get to St. Louis that will be the last time as it flows into the Mississippi River.
Tuesday we pulled into Sikeston, Missouri. We stayed there three nights. I was able to visit with my elderly cousin in Cape Girardeau and go to the cemetery in Charleston. This is the area where I was raised. We ate dinner with Jim and Carlene Burden. They are such a nice couple.

From 2010-08-20

Jim let us borrow his truck for our trip to Cape Girardeau. They also have the cutest 6 month old toy Schnauzer puppy.

From 2010-08-20

I was able to do some genealogy work at the library in Charleston. I visited with Janice Nolen and Silvey and Sam Barker in East Prairie and saw some other graduates of the high school. Allan, Janice and I toured the historical museum and the alumni museum in East Prairie.

From 2010-08-20

This brought back so many memories.

From 2010-08-20

We are in Caruthersville, Missouri which is in the bootheel of the state. We are parked in the campground of a casino right on the Mississippi River. This is an area where my mother's family lived. It is so hot here and way too hot to be walking through cemeteries, but it is the only chance I will have to do this any time soon. One of these was on a hillside, not a good place for a cemetery. I was successful in finding quite a few graves. I went to the library in Caruthersville the first day here. The librarian showed me the room and asked me what name I was researching. She told me she had a friend who was in that family she thought. She called her and Debbie, my cousin, appeared.

From 2010-08-22

I have met most of her family now. If that is not neat I don't know what is.
Allan and I drove to Obion County, Tennessee to search more cemeteries. I wish I could have stayed longer at the library in Union City.
Today we went to church where Debbie's son was preaching and then went to several towns in the area and visited one large cemetery. We plan to head for Jackson, Tennessee tomorrow.
When we were visiting my elderly cousin at the assisted living we noticed this bird aviary. There were different breeds of birds and there were several nests with babies in them.

From 2010-08-20