Back Home in San Antonio

We are back home! And, what a trip we have had! Now, we must unload the RV and put everything away......What a job!

David and Elizabeth in Dallas

We left Tim and Emily's and drove about a half hour to a Walmart where we waited for our friends David and Elizabeth to arrive in Dallas. They were in the process of moving from San Antonio to Dallas, and this was their first night to permanently be in Dallas. Although they would have no furniture until the next day, we had a wonderful evening at their fabulous new house enjoying wine and a take-out dinner.

We returned to our RV about 1:30 a.m., at which point I went to bed and Roger started driving. (He drank a lot of water instead of so much wine!) Roger's plan was to get just south of Dallas and stay in a rest stop so we would not have to deal with Dallas traffic when we woke up. But, as luck would have it, the rest stop was too full and we could not stop. So, he drove until 4:00 a.m. and parked in a Walmart in Waco, TX.

Again, we forgot to take our camera--so we have no photos. 

Tim and Emily in Fairview, TX

We left Osage Beach and drove to a rest stop just past Springfield, MO where we spent the night. We got up on Wednesday morning and drove to Fairview, TX to visit Tim and Emily Bailey--friends from San Antonio who moved a couple of years ago. We parked our RV in a Walmart near their house and they picked us up. We spent the night with them in their gorgeous new home--it was the first night we have not slept in the RV since July 28th!

We left our camera in the RV, so we have no photos.

Mike and Judy at Osage Beach

We left Ft. Madison, IA shortly after noon on Tuesday and drove to Osage Beach, MO, to Mike and Judy Pickford's house. (Mike and Roger wrestled together in high school.) Mike and Judy are retired teachers who relocated from Pekin, IL, to the Ozarks. They have a huge house with a huge deck right on a huge lake. The whole set-up is vacation-perfect. I guess they are on permanent vacation! They made a delicious lasagna dinner and we spend a warm, relaxed evening.

Bonar Campground and Lake Wilderness

After we left Iowa City, we drove a little over an hour to the Ft. Madison area where Roger grew up.  We parked our RV at a farm owned by Roger's friend Johnny Bonar. At the Bonar Campground, John and DeAnne Bonar treated us to free camping, free rental car, free breakfast, free dinner, a complimentary tour of beautiful Lake Wilderness, and a fruit basket upon departure. The Bonar Campground wins our blue ribbon award for the best campground on our whole trip! We really appreciated their hospitality!

The picture with the golf cart and the one with the building outlined in lights are both at Lake Wilderness where John and DeAnne have bought a wonderful camper/cabin combination on the lake. The last picture shows Roger and the bean field beside our camper.

Kathrine Visits the RV

On Monday, we picked Roger's mother Kathrine up at the assisted living facility, got some food at a deli, and had lunch in our RV. Kathrine has always enjoyed camping, so the RV was fun for her.

Loading some family heirlooms into the RV

On our way to our campground in the Ft. Madison, IA area, we stopped to load some family heirlooms into our RV. Since Roger's mother recently moved from her senior apartment into an assisted-living facility, Roger's sisters had cleaned out her apartment and divided things up amongst the siblings. Roger's things were put into storage waiting for us to arrive with the RV. His sister Juanita and her husband Andy helped us load.