April Fool's Day

We're back in Wichita, camping at Blasi Campground on the west side of town. But here's the fun we had getting here.



I took this picture just before we left Wayne's so I didn't get it on the blog on the day they had all that fun re-wiring the TV.







We decided to pull out of Texas on Friday, March 27th, and head for Oklahoma even though they were predicting some really bad weather for the day. Apparently the bad weather formed behind us as we traveled north but we did run into some good rain.



We set up at Afton Landing, a small Corp of Engineer park just west of Wagoner, OK. The next day as we were visiting with Larry's brother Dean and his wife Lethia, the snow hit. Tulsa got 6" but Wagoner only got an inch or two. By bed time it was mostly melted off. Me thinks we came north way too soon.




Dean & Lethia have two pot bellied pigs, 7 Guinna's (that are quite vocal), three Bantams, and several other assorted beautiful chickens. They also have 2 large dogs and 4 cats. The Bantam hen laid eggs and a Bantam Silkie hen sat them. When we got there she was raising one of them that Larry is holding. They are so small. The breed is BB Red.








That afternoon we went to visit Don in a care home in Muskogee. First time we've seen him up in a wheel chair and out of a hospital in a couple of years. He looked really good.







March 29th, Sunday, we again spent the day with Dean & Lethia and went to visit Don again. His wife, Kathy, was already there and we got in a good visit with everyone. The weather was so pretty that we went out to the courtyard to visit.

Monday, March 30th, we drove up to Salina, OK which is east of Pryor and visited with Jim & Judy Wilson whom we had met while wintering in Corpus Christi. On the way up, we stopped at Chouteau at the Amish bakery. Apparently tour buses stop here too. Anyway, we bought about $40 worth of goodies. We bought raisin/oatmeal, iced sugar and snicker doodle cookies, no bake cookies, banana nut bread, apple butter, beef jerky, gummy bears and two dry mixes for corn noodle chowder soup and bacon cheddar soup. I'm sure this is all stuff we needed. Could have bought more - like maybe several different cheeses but we weren't going to be close to refrigeration for awhile so we passed on that.

They have a beautiful home with a view of Lake Hudson. We enjoyed sitting on their deck. Judy BBQ'd some chicken along with several great side dishes and some left over smoked brisket and smoked ribs. We had a great meal and visit.

A severe storm was rolling thru Oklahoma that night so we headed back around 9:00 pm (also, the campground closes and locks the gate at 10:00). We got home just in time to sit thru the storm. No hail, just rain and wind. Larry wanted to camp under trees for protection, but after we got parked we realized that the trees are still dormant with no leaves. Not much protection but possibly there was some wind break. I think the storm was pretty mild as it passed over. It was a little more intense south of us toward McAlister. Me thinks we came north way too soon.



We pulled into camp and were setting up when Trina came by to visit. She'd been further west of town at the gun range practicing for gun qualifications. We then went out to eat and she actually paid for our dinner. What a surprise that was.

After dinner, we drove to Rebecca's and she was cooking dinner. They're all doing well and Nathen (14) was even filling out a job application. I told Austin (12) that he needed a hair cut - that he looked like a really pretty girl. He said "Well at least I'm pretty!" I told him that was not a goal he needed to be striving for.

Larry got up this morning and went over to the camp ground's laundry and washed a jeans load because after 1 1/2 years of this, we both only have one pair of jeans that we can get into and they were dirty. Actually, Larry has had to purchase another cheap pair that is a size larger than he started out in. He has now left to visit the dealerships about how to do consignments for our trailer.

Late this afternoon, we went apartment/home looking. That was depressing. What we can afford looks like an apartment. What we liked was a little expensive for our situation right now. We really think we'd like a duplex or town house. Only one neighbor and a little yard to play with.

Tonight I did our taxes. That was also depressing. Merrill Lynch was unable to deduct taxes when we were first taking money out of our accounts to put into a cash account to live on. So we owe money again this year. Hopefully next year will be better.

I'll try to keep the blog going for awhile because we have lots of friends and some family that are way out there - from the state of Washington to Prince Edward Island and south thru Oklahoma and into Texas - who will want to know how we're holding up. We will try to stop the eating out so much, however, the cruisers have already let us know that they're going to a local Mexican restaurant Saturday. Some things will never change. We do plan on joining the local Y to get more exercise and, who knows, maybe loose some weight so we can get back into our clothes.