Greetings from Caney Cove RV Park

Ahh, pictures! Not too many, but a few. This one was taken going down the road on Interstate 35 AFTER the cloud burst. Bill was driving in the afternoon & it was still pretty messy, but at least you could see the vehicle in front of you!
I didn't put the window down so it's rather spotty, but I just wanted you to get an idea of how high the corn is! Knee high by the Fourth of July? They probably will be chopping by then & those back in PA/NY won't have even gotten theirs planted!

This is the view as we step out our door of the trailer. Looks toward the playground & there isn't another site between us & it. So we have a huge front yard!

This is looking along side toward the road behind us where we came in. We pulled through. The site must be at least 100 ft. long! What a spot!

This is across the road from us.

Looking toward cove - jet skiers, fishing pier & swimmers.

Looking down the Cedar Creek Lake. Beautiful!

Two boats with happy fishermen. Wouldn't you be if you were one of those guys that would "Rather Be Fishing"??

Standing on pier looking into cove. Bill was talking with fisherman. He was catching crappies & catfish. Anything else he throws back in.

Even a place to clean what you catch so you don't "catch" the devil from mom/or the wife for making a mess at the campsite!

More of Caney Cove RV Park.

I was talking to the owner's yesterday afternoon as I was waiting for my laundry. They said this has been in the family for several years & they like to keep it simple. We love that it was in our price range for a few days. Not necessary to have all those amenities when you aren't staying that long. Just a place to hang your hat, refresh your senses & visit with friends. Good Sam's come every year uninvited to rate them, but just say they are "just a fishing camp" & move on. Maybe that's all some people want!

Speaking of friends: An update.

We got an email from Phyllis this morning saying that Tom had come home from the hospital on Saturday, but much, much too soon. He had way too much fluid & they ended up calling 911 around 1:30AM to take him back to the hospital. He was in congestive heart failure. They are getting to the bottom of miscommunication as to why he was released under such conditions. Thank God Kathy (the nurse) has extended her stay to help out & talk with his doctors & the staff! I talked to Phyllis briefly this morning after the email & he was doing a little better. Today is her birthday - Happy Birthday, again. We know how thankful you are to have gotten Tom back to the hospital as soon as you did! Keep praying folks, he's not out of the woods yet!

Larry is still in ICU in Pittsburgh. He still has his sense of humor according to his stepdaughter. That is good. He may be moved out of ICU if his blood count continues to improve. Hopefully by the weekend when Donna will be going back down to see him.

Ray, our friend in Michigan, is hanging in there! He's worried about getting all of their yard work done while he's laying in the hospital for 5 days recuperating from a ruptured appendix! Heal first, worry later. Either someone will help out or it will be there when you get home! Let's hope all those great friends & family will step in & help out.

Today Bill & I went to Gun Barrel City to go to Walmart. I was going to get a perm while he shopped. Guess what? A Supercenter Walmart & no hair salon! So we had to drive back down the road to find one. Bill sat in the truck & read the paper & then walked a little while I got beautiful. Ya right! Let's just say, it makes my mornings less stressful! Since I keep it so short, perms are about an every other month thing! Bill bought me a cowboy(girl, more boy than girl, it's black) hat while I was in San Antonio, so I plopped that on my head before heading out the door this morning. That way it covers up what I had no control over this morning!

Then we went to get diesel, ate lunch & back to Walmart to shop. We didn't have to get too many things, but we did have freezer stuff. Oh, that reminds me, Roger......you know that neat little wiring job you did for us?? Great job, except when you plug the blue to blue it makes the cooler hot & when you run the red to red, it makes it cold. Good thing we checked that out BEFORE we got our frozen food huh? Must have been something with switching the wires. Now you know we can't figure that out, that's your department! But thank you anyway. It works, that's what counts! You're a sweetheart!

On the way home we had put our friends address into the GPS & we found it. But, they must not be home from Vegas yet. There was a cobweb across the front door entrance & one from the fender to the tire of the truck. Something was stuck in the door & before I got my note written, 2 gentlemen who were suppose to do some work inside for them pulled up & they didn't get an answer either. So we are still waiting to hear from them. Hope they make it home before we leave on Thursday! They had their 5th wheel in the driveway & they were right, it was pretty muddy on the side of the house. Good thing we didn't plan on parking there! Plus, they weren't home yet!

We came back home & sat outside & relaxed & read. It's 8:30pm & we still haven't ate. Neither of us were hungry. Another 1/2 hour & we will be into the snacks or ice cream. Great Supper huh? Last night Bill cooked while I did laundry. Great meal. Grilled chicken. Oh I think there is some of that left over. Sounds like it might be good about now. Thinking of food, I'm getting hungry. (Oh, Bill just closed his boojk & said "I'm going to have a sandwich".)

Well, that about tidies up our day. So until next time.............The Traveling Cardinals

What a Beautiful Day - Sunday

Did you ever wonder why "Sun"day was called that? As I sit here in Malakoff, TX (southeast of Dallas) looking out my window at this beautiful campground toward the lake with the sun shining through the trees, I think.....it truly is "Sun"day! Thank you Lord for so much to look at & enjoy on this earth! It is so peaceful & quiet here. I'm sure next weekend won't be (Memorial Day), but for the next 3 days we will be able to enjoy the relaxation & peacefulness here.

Son Mark, you would love it here! And the best part is, it is a huge pull through site, full hook ups & only $25.00 a night! Thank you Internet! This park was not listed in any of the Camping Books we have either. Of course not, it's too reasonable. As we ate breakfast this morning we watch two girls & two little boys play hide & seek. What fun they were having.

We will take a walk a little later & snap some pictures. It rained this morning, but is beautiful now.

We are here because friends bought a house about 12 miles up the road. Waiting to catch up with them.

Forgetting that it was Memorial Day weekend next weekend, I thought I'd better find a campground at our next stop. I checked Lawton, Oklahoma's 10 day weather forecast (Thank You, Roger!!) & it looks great (so I hope there are no surprises). No campgrounds had any openings, all full. So I went to a town called Duncan that had a Good Sam Park listed. She said sure, they had lots of spaces open.....and guess what......only $25.00 a night before our 10% discount!!!! Not bad! I only wish we would luck out that good when we get near our kids! Ya right! You might know, they are the most expensive!!! Wish we could get into the military park through our son. That would save a bundle!

Hey, Snookie, thanks for the comment! I was surprised to see the counter on mine had rolled over to 1600. I never dreamed!!! But, you are right, the nieces (Dee & Lisa) print it off & send it to Bill's & my sisters & brothers & they all read it. It is terrific that they can share in our journey. Sometimes I think they get more out of it than my kids. They are too busy or it's too boring for them! Oh well, some day they will appreciate traveling themselves I hope! By the way, Snookie.....I might get to have lunch with LaVon. We are going to be pretty close to each other when we get to Oklahoma. Hopefully neither of us will have blown away by then! Just kidding! But it does make me a little nervous.

I received word today from another friend from Super Sun. My friend, Marquita, from Michigan....her husband, Ray, had emergency appendectomy done yesterday. It had ruptured so there is infection & he will be in the hospital for about 5 days. Please pray for a speedy recovery & that there will be no other complications!!

Well, sorry no pictures, yet, but just wanted to let everyone know we were okay & had arrived at our next destination. So, until next time.............The Traveling Cardinals

San Antonio, Texas

Yesterday, May 14th, we started out our day early! The tour bus came all the way out to our RV park (approx. 23 miles) to pick us up at 7:55AM. (I thought it would be a small bus, but it was a full size coach!) We began our all day tour at 9AM from the San Antonio City Tour Stop at the Menger Hotel. Wow! What a hotel. Because we were early, we had time to stroll around, take pictures & make a potty stop before beginning our Grand Tour.
This is a miniature depiction of the battle of The Alamo. The Alamo was originally named Mision San Antonio de Valero. The Alamo served as home to missionaries & their Indian converts for nearly 70 years. Construction began on the present site in 1724. As you will notice in the picture below, there was no roof. At the time of the Texas Revolution (1836), the mission church was not completed & there was no roof when it was attacked by General Santa Anna's army. The defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna's army. Despite Commander William B. Travis' pleas for help to communities in Texas, only a band of 32 volunteers from Gonzales arrived bringing the number of defenders to nearly 200. Among the Alamo's garrison were Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and David Crockett, famed frontiersman & former Congressman from Tennessee.

While the facts surrounding the siege of the Alamo continue to be debated, there is no doubt about what the battle has come to symbolize. We remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against overwhelming odds - a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.
This is inside the Menger Hotel. 1859 was the date on the hotel & bar. It was not open at the early hour we were there to take pictures inside.

Beautiful lobby in hotel.

Our first stop was the Chinese Tea Gardens. This was made from the stone quarry where the stones were taken from to build the Alamo & its compound. Here we are at the entrance with our tour guide, Leroy.

Gazebo at the top of gardens.

The grounds were beautiful.

Don't know what they are, but the colors were vibrant.

Beautiful waterfalls

Time to hop back on the bus.

This is the Pearl Brewery. Never heard of it, have you?

Next stop was our River Walk boat ride.

It was a very hot day, but the breeze on the boat & in the lower section of the city on the Riverwalk was very nice. Ready to cruise.

There were a LOT of school kids visiting in the city while we were there. This little group had crossed over the bridge & waved to us. Looks like Dee & her Day Care Group! (Even looks like her at the top of the stairs!)

The Tower of the Americas. This was built for the World's Fair in 1968. It's 5 or 7 ft. taller than the one in Seattle. My friend, Judy M., said she had been up in it when she was working for Civil Service & had to go to San Antonio on business. Not me, I don't like heights!

One of my favorite pictures.

Everything is made out of rock & it is very pretty.

When Bill & I went back to walk along the Riverwalk on Fri., we walked across here. The stepping stones have water running between them. Weird feeling.

After our cruise, we went back to the bus & was taken to the IMAX theater to watch "The Alamo...The Price of Freedom". It was a 45 min. film featuring the battle at The Alamo. It was very informative & made our visit to The Alamo & the Plaza more interesting.

After the film we each were on our own for lunch. We then had about 1-1/2 hrs. to tour the Alamo area.

This is the memorial that was built & dedicated to the men who are known to have died in defense of the Alamo. Their names are inscribed on the sides.

James Bonham & James Bowie are on this side.

William Travis & David Crockett are depicted on this side.

The front of the mission, The Alamo, as we see it.

This is the Long Barrack (Infantry & Artillery quarters)

Miniature of what the mission compound might have looked like.

These are the 6 flags representing the siege. They are: USA, Texas, Confederate, Mexico, France & Spain.

Not very colorful, but this was the only "Yellow Rose of Texas" that I saw!

This was the entrance to the Gift Shop which was built in 1936. A display of Bowie Knives was on display as well as other artifacts.

We are back on the bus heading for the afternoon of our tour to include two other missions & Market Square. Boy I sure was glad it was Leroy that was driving that bus!!! The streets were narrow & I never thought a bus could turn the corner & get down through there!

This is Sunset Station - the old train station. Each one of the green doors used to be a separate track for a different train coming in. Each one of these now is host to night clubs. You can enjoy any type of music from Country Western to Jazz to Rock 'n Roll. I believe our guide said there were 12 all together.

A much better use than seeing it fall into disrepair.

Our next stop is Mission San Jose. We went inside to watch a movie first about how missions began along the mission trail, their purpose and what life was like then and now.

As an arm of the church, the mission was the vanguard of the spiritual conversion of the Indians. For the Indians, the missions offered sanctuary from their enemies. Missions flourished between 1747 and 1775, despite periodic incursions by Apache & Comanche Indians. The Spanish trained the Christianized mission Indians to defend their communities. After 70 years, the need for the missions diminished do to the effects of European diseases, acculturation & intermarriage. By 1824 the San Antonio missions were secularized & the land & churches transferred to the secular clergy.

Inside the visitor's center I found these beautiful cut tissue paper decorations hanging. All of the colors here represent the colors of Spring. Many throughout the market places in town are made of plastic, but these were tissue paper. It reminded me of Mr. Lee & his artwork from China. I thought you might be interested in seeing that someone, somewhere, does make them. The ranger at the visitor's center showed me a book that had instructions. It looked somewhat like what you do, only yours look much more intricate & artfully done.

This was inside one of the small rooms around the exterior of the mission walls.

This is the Grist Mill wheel which was built when inhabitants began to eat more wheat than corn. Operational 1794 & 1809. Reopened 2001.

The Rose Window is known as the premier example of Spanish Colonial ornamentation in the US. Several buildings, besides the mission, support this type of window. Its sculptor & significance continue to be a mystery. There are a couple of stories in circulation regarding either Rosa, a sweetheart lost at sea on the way from Spain, or Saint Rose of Lima, the first saint of the New World.

A great example of Spanish Colonial Architecture. Beautiful work by Mission Indians under the direction of skilled craftsmen recruited from New Spain (Mexico today). The 2 pictures are an extention of each other.

Inside the mission church

These were ovens used for baking & cooking

This is Mission Concepcion. It was transferred from East Texas in 1731. Colorful geometric designs that once covered its surface have long since faded. Our tour guide, Leory, was raised at this mission as an orphan.

This is our tour guide, Leroy. A very friendly, humorous fellow. He spent 31 years in the Army as drum major to the US Army Band. He retired in 1988. He has since worked for 21 years for Gray Line Bus Lines & now is working for San Antonio City Tours part time. He sounds like he likes to be a little bit free to play golf on the side! He ended up marrying the preacher's daughter & he said sometimes he thinks he married her sisters too!

That ended our day in and around San Antonio. I was a bit tired when we got back to the trailer. I went to bed fairly early too.

Today, Bill & I went back to walk around. Found that it was more fun yesterday. It was quite hot & humid today & going up & down a lot of stairs was bothering Bill's breathing. As we were coming back up the last set of stairs, we saw an airman in uniform. Our tour guide had told us yesterday that today was graduation day for new recruits. I said to the young man, "Was this your day?" and he said "yes". I shook his hand & said "congratulations & thank you". I think he was overwhelmed. I hope I made his day! Lackland AFB is right on our route to/from the RV park. I thought of my great nephew Danny whom was there for his training, my brother, Herb, who took his basic training there & no one to see him graduate in those days, and my son, Mark, who took his security training there for the Navy before going to Whidby Island, Washington. You might say I felt a "connection".

We had taken a picnic lunch with us so we ate that on the Alamo Plaza & then came back to the trailer. He read the paper & I went swimming, read & took a nap, read & got wet again. It felt good! I think we needed some "apart" time!

Before I end this, I want to bring you all up to date on a few prayer concerns.

First, my niece's husband, Larry, who has Lukemia, has been having a rough time since last Sunday. He spiked a fever on Sunday & had a dr. appt. in Pittsburgh on Mon. He has ended up in ICU & on oxygen. He seemed to be doing a little better, but is still not feeling his best. Fever (an infection some place, they don't know where) is still present. Please keep him in your prayers!

Next, our friend, Tom, from Iowa, started having some chest pain on Sunday & didn't tell anyone until Mon. night. He ended up having an artery blocked 80% (one that was part of a triple by-pass a few years ago). Today they did the angiogram & placed a stent in. They were worried about kidney damage & the dr. said they would work as fast as possible & if they couldn't get it done in a reasonable time they would quit while they were ahead. It seems God was on his side & everything went well. He is still in ICU & being watched for any problems with his kidneys but so far so good. Phyllis called tonight to report & said he ate a good supper, but he has to remain flat on his back for the next 8 hrs. (which is killing him!) Please, keep him in your prayers too! He is determined to come back to Arizona in the Fall/Winter.

Tomorrow we will be traveling toward Dallas. I have the route picked out, just so we can find what we are looking for when we get there. We are looking forward to visiting with Jerry & Judy, friends we met a couple years ago while camping in Tennessee.

Well, I guess that catches me up again. So until next time.............The Traveling Cardinal's