Exploring textiles

I got dressed in my retirement clothes and planned for an intense day of exploration.

What keeps the fire ants out?

 



I begrudgingly followed the advice from almost every woman I know and didn't wear black socks with my newly purchased sandals. I went commando.

I thought and thought about where to go and what to see but came up empty. Then I remembered a place that I just knew I had to see. So I loaded up and headed there as quick as I could.

 

I was lucky in that no one else was there. I had the place all to myself.

 



 

The exploration lasted about an hour and a half. I left with clean clothes. The room was very clean and well maintained. Wash was 75 cents and dry was 75 cents. It gives an idea of the profit margin at the laundromats that I was using in Shreveport/Bossier when I was camped at the marina. Wash there was $2.75 and dry was at least $1.00.

 

I will be pulling out sometime tomorrow headed for Vicksburg, MS. The weather is questionable with the possibility of thunderstorms on and off all day. I'll try to fall in behind the storms after they pass through.

 

I plan to visit the Vicksburg Battle park and the re-claimed iron-clad ship that was recovered from the river. Both should be interesting. After I'm finished with Vicksburg I may head north to Missouri or Tennessee. I'll wait and make that decision later. If ya'll have any recommendations, add a comment.

 

Take care of each other. Cya.

 

 



Northeast Louisiana Exploration

I spent the first full day of retirement exploring the area of Northeast Louisiana. I had passed through this place once before, many years ago. I had forgotten how poor the people are in this area. It is a shame because they are sitting on some of the most fertile ground in the country. There are still people living in old sharecroppers houses with little kids running around in the yard. With no other houses for miles, these kids are isolated just as if they were on an island. Instead of water surrounding them it is just cultivated fields for as far as the eye can see. It was the same thing in the little towns, except instead of poor country people, it was poor city people. I'm sure it's been done, but it is hard to imagine the kind of determination it must take to break away from that cycle of poverty. 

A Tree Grows in the Country

 

I took the picture above because it reminded me of the book "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. It too represented hope for the future. I wonder if the planter of this tree thought of it as hope?

I drove through these area on my way to the Louisiana State Cotton Museum in Lake Providence, Louisiana.
 

Freedom at the Cotton Museum

 

 

The museum does a good job of showing the history of cotton production. The lady volunteer said cotton production has been declining every year for the past several years. One reason is because of cheap, imported cotton from China which has driven the price down and made it non-profitable for our farmers. The federal government is not doing it's job to protect the American producers from artificially priced, government subsidized low imports. If the imports represent a true cost and those other countries can produce it cheaper, then by all means it is "free enterprise". But when another country subsidizes their exports like China is doing with cotton just so as to run our farmers out of the business then that is when the federal government should step in to stop it. The other reason is that farmers have switched over to producing corn because the price of it is high due to Ethanol production. Kind of ironic that in that case, "our" government is artificially inflating the price of corn by subsidizing the Ethanol production. A good idea would be for both governments to get the heck out of the way.

Well. I didn't mean to write such a bummer of a post. Oh well, got to take the bad with the good. :)

I'll be leaving here Monday heading to Vicksburg, MS. Hopefully the predicted Sunday night rain will have passed through before I pull out.


Take care of each other. Cya.

Show and Tell

My life changed this morning. I changed from being responsible for 337 dedicated employees to just a free citizen in search of the many wondrous things that God has provided this great country of ours. I know it will take a while to adjust to this new lifestyle and I hope it is fun adjusting.

Freedom and Liberty 

"Show and Tell"

I brought the RV to work so people could see it and know it wasn't a figment of my imagination. I gave guided tours and most everyone approved of it. Looking at the picture above, I'm not sure why the two groups have separated into men and women (except Joe, lol).

Pat, my best friend and co-worker for many years, also retired today. Yeah, we planned it that way. :) We pulled out of the parking lot at the same time, she turned west and I turned east. We planned that too. "you got to have a plan". 

My newest temporary home is campsite #17 at Poverty Point State Park in Delhi, Louisiana. It seems to be a quiet place, so far. I'll start exploring the area tomorrow with the archaeological site top of the list. There isn't a lot to see around here but I also plan to just chill out and try to adjust to the change. For some strange reason, I still hear a Blackberry going off.

Poverty Point Campsite # 17

Take care of each other, Cya 



Leaving Tomorrow

Well,, the big day is almost here. I hit the road tomorrow around 10:00 am. I have decided to head east and follow the original plan of heading towards Savannah, GA with stops along the way, then head north toward Maine. Thank you to those who left comments about my choices to leave or go. 

 I left work at 11:00 this morning so I could prepare the RV for traveling. After sitting for a couple of months it looked more like a house (messy) than an RV with wheels that can turn at any time. Hopefully I'll be able to keep most of the stuff stowed away although I am still not satisfied where everything is located.

RV connected to sewer, water and power

 

I emptied the black and grey tanks and took on about 2/3 of a tank of fresh water. I disconnected everything except the power cable which will be one of the last things to do before pulling out. I plan to hitch up around daylight and head to the office to say final goodbyes before heading east.

It's happy and sad all rolled up into one big ball, but overall it was a good day.

I'm ready to start my new life but still want to keep in touch with everyone.

Take care of each other, Cya.

Knuckle Injury. Trip Delay?

A silly thing happened the other day. I was demonstrating how someone said they hurt their knuckle by flicking someone's ear. I just flicked my finger in the air and caused the same damage to my knuckle. After it happened, I could see the tendon move from the top of my knuckle to the side when I made a fist. When I straightened out my finger, the tendon moved back over the top and the pain went away. It didn't take me long to realize I didn't need to clinch my fist again so I taped it to another finger to help keep it straight. After consulting with my primary doctor, Dr. Internet, I self-diagnosed myself as having a problem with the tendon sheath on one of the bands on the side of the knuckle. Treatment ranged from surgery (no, I won't do that myself) with physical therapy afterwards or splinting for 4 to 6 weeks until it heals itself and then physical therapy afterwards. After thinking it over for a few seconds I chose the splinting option. So off I went in search of a finger split to keep it straight. Easy uh? Nope. I went to Drug Emporium, Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS and Walmart Pharmacy. None of those places had one. Lucky for me Walmart was the last place I went, so I wandered over to the arts and craft section and picked up some popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners. With some Velcro strips and that fancy self sticking bandage tape, I fixed my own splint.

Arts and Craft Splint (patent pending?)

(popsicle sticks underneath)

There is no pain with the injury and most of the swelling went down in a couple of day without icing it. I exercised it this morning by bending the joints as much as I felt comfortable without risk of re-injury.

Except for having to do some things with the wrong-hand, some people call it left-handed, it isn't too much of a problem. But I now have a decision to make about hitting the road Friday.

The choices are:

1) Go on with the plan and hit the road Friday heading East. If my knuckle doesn't heal itself then I seek out a real doctor wherever I happen to be staying.

2) Stay around the area for a couple weeks to see how the hand is doing. If it becomes a problem, then go to my real doctor instead of Dr. Internet. If it heals, then hit the road.

3) Still leave on Friday but change direction. Head into Texas and explore it for a month or two using the Texas State Parks Pass while my finger heals. If the finger becomes a problem, I would be within a day or two of being able to visit my real doctor.

I'll make my decision before Friday. If you want to help me decide or want to offer medical advice, then use the comment section to leave a message. If it's not full of cuss words, I'll post it. Uhmmm, is dumbass a cuss word???

Nine Days to Go

April 11th is coming fast. That will be my last work day after 31+ years with the highway department. At about 10 o'clock on that Friday, the RV will be heading east. That day will be happy and sad all in one. I have worked with lots of great people and I still love my job after all these years. But, it's time to do something else for a while, so that begins next Friday.

I've made reservations for the first stop at Poverty Point Reservoir Campground at Delhi, Louisiana. I'll stay there for a few days before heading to Vicksburg. I figure it will take about 3 to 4 days to explore those areas. I'll post pictures and comments after looking around a while.

The long range travel plans are to head to Savannah, Georgia, then up the coast to Maine. Stops will be made about every 200 miles to explore. I figure at least a couple weeks will be needed to see everything Washington DC has to offer as well as Philadelphia, Boston and maybe even New York City. After exploring Maine, I'll decide where to go next. Ultimately, I'll be back home for Thanksgiving to see the kids, grand babies and doctors before heading on a Western tour until the next Thanksgiving.

Take care of each other. Cya

Birth of Olivia Grace

Olivia Grace arrived on March 10, 2014 weighing 7 1/2 pounds and wide-eyed with wonder. You could just about see her brain absorbing everything around her. She is grandchild #2, joining Tucker Wayne who joined us on April 19, 2010.

 

Olivia Grace saying "hello world"