That's A Wrap!

Well folks, our time in Texas is coming to an end.  That's right, today is our last day in the Lone Star State.  We have really enjoyed our stay here at Treetops RV Resort/Carefree.   The staff here is so nice as are the residents.  One of the workers drives a golf cart and he always gives us treats and loving.  You should see all the dogs line up to see him.  He is like the ice cream man for us.  BOL

We loved napping in the yard...

....and chasing squirrels.

Our weather has been nice except for the night that we had to evacuate due to a tornado threat.

The folks enjoyed touring Southfork Ranch, Sixth Floor Museum (JFK) and the George W. Bush Presidential Library.   Texas has great food and the folks enjoyed many restaurants.  They found that some of their favorite restaurants were less than five minutes away.

Mama was able to walk to stores while staying here.  She walked to the mall twice and Super Target was visited many times.  Raising Cane's became a lunch stop on her way home from the mall.

We liked it so much here that we have considered it for our winter destination.  However, they do get ice here, so that is a big drawback.  We will have to think about it some more.


So, where are we headed next?  Well, it will take us three, ten hour days of driving.  It takes longer to drive in a motor home than in a car. Our stops take a little longer and our top speed is 65 mph and that doesn't happen very often.  We thought it might be fun this time to let you guess where we are going by watching us on the map.  We will update it each night to show you where we are for the night.  Our travels will be marked with the green line, we think.  If it is not green, we will let you know.  We don't have control over the color.

Adiós for now.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Preparing To Leave Texas For The Third Time

Cedar Hill State Park

Sunday was family fun day as Mama calls it.  We all hopped in the Jeep and went exploring.  Our first stop was McDonalds.  We had a few fries and they were delicious.  Our next stop was Cedar Hill State Park.  The state parks here charge admission.  The fee is $7 a person, greyhounds are free.  Mama was complaining about the fee, but then she realized that Texans don't pay state taxes, so the parks have to be maintained with money from somewhere.  In Missouri, the parks are free, but residents pay state tax.  We are now Texans, so we don't pay a state tax, so yes, it makes sense that we have to pay to get in. Mama would rather pay as you go instead of being charged a state tax.

Dad wanted to see the campground in case we ever come back to this area.  It was quickly decided that we wouldn't want to camp there.  They only cut the grass that is right next to the driveway of the sites. The rest of the area is very overgrown.  Mama said "Can you imagine the bugs and snakes?"   It actually made a nice park look run down.  The park was full of campers.

We stopped at the Penn Farm Agricultural History Center which is located in the park.  There are reconstructed and historic buildings from the mid 1800's to the mid 1900's.  It was a very easy walk.  We met several families and they were very interested in us.  Mama showed them our tattoos which the kids thought were cool.  We were celebrities.

The yellow flowers in the back are on a cactus.  Mama refused to walk thru the flowers to get a close up photo.

A cool barn

"Let's go in!"

Mama said no to going in.  She said there might be snakes.  One of the people that lived there died of a rattlesnake bite and Mama kept reminding us of that.

Scout standing next to farming equipment.  Vanna White, she is not.  BOL

Kids were learning to whistle with a piece of grass and it drove me crazy.

Wild flowers

House built in 1880's.  Mama didn't think it looked that old, but it does need a new roof.

We enjoyed our family fun day.  We were so tired that per Mama's request, we didn't ask her to get out of bed until 6 a.m. on Monday.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves Family Fun Days

George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum

Mama was very excited when she learned the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum would be open in time for her to visit while in Dallas.  The folks have a goal to visit all the Presidential libraries and museums.  They have been to the Dwight D. Eisenhower library in  Abilene, KS and the George Bush library in College Station, TX.  George W. Bush's library opened on May 1st of this year.

Mama read that it was best if she bought the tickets ahead of time, so after a struggle to get those because many times were sold out already, she secured them for May 25th at noon.  The folks expected it to be crowded because they allow 350 people an hour inside.  Mama said it was packed!

They waited in line for 15 minutes to go through security and then a few minutes to get their "43" stickers to show they belonged in the museum. 

People leaving the library

It was so crowded that the folks were not able to really enjoy it.  They could not get close to many things to read them.  :-(

Quilt with front pages of newspapers showing headlines while we waited to find out if George W. Bush was the new President.

Florida Ballot - remember all the hanging chads?

President and Mrs. Bush

Baseball collection of the President

Dress Mrs. Bush wore at a State dinner just days before 9/11

 After seeing the display with Mrs. Bush's dress, you enter a room that is darkened and it is all about 9/11.

Beams from the twin towers.

This lady wouldn't move as she was playing with her phone, so after waiting several moments, Mama just took the picture and now she is part of our blog.  BOL!

These walls have the names of those killed on 9/11.

Screen showing different things that happened the week of 9/11.

Close up of some of the 9/11 victims.

Pens used by the President to sign documents.

Statues of Barney and Miss Beasley.  They were dogs owned by the Bush Family

Painting of Mrs. Bush and her pups

Statue of Spot - another dog of the Bush family

The folks stood line line for 45 minutes to tour the Oval Office. The Oval Office is supposed to be an exact replica of how it looked when President Bush was in office. They were able to see other things along the way, but it was still a long wait.

Items from the Oval office

Rug in the Oval Office

The Oval Office

Ceiling in the Oval Office

Dog dish that was a gift to the Bush dogs.  Mama thought we would like to see it.

This museum does not show anything about President Bush's childhood which Mama found odd.  Maybe the President figured there was enough about his childhood in his Dad's museum.  BOL!


Mama saw a statue that she meant to take a photo of when she went outside, but she forgot and they didn't pass by it when leaving.  It was President Bush and his father, President Bush.  She is still upset that she missed that photo opportunity.

There were several short films to watch, but the lines were just too long.  The folks said they would like to go back in a few years when it is not so crowded.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Wonders Why Museums Don't Allow Dogs

The Purple Invasion Continues

Friday, was the folks wedding anniversary.  They have been married 27 years.  Mama said it makes her feel old.  BOL!

They didn't celebrate much because Dad doesn't get home until after 7 p.m.  They went grocery shopping and bought a cake.  Saturday, they went out to dinner and then they went shopping for their present.  What did they buy?  Well, it is purple.  Mama didn't think about it being purple until she got home and then she laughed.

Shark Navigator

Yep, it is a vacuum.  BOL!   Mama is happy about it even though women are not supposed to be given these things as gifts.  Our old vacuum was a broom stick type and Mama had to empty it 3-4 times every time she cleaned.  She complained every time she used it and even though she emptied it that much, it still didn't do a good job.  She loves this one, so far.  It has attachments and a cord that is long enough to cover the whole place.  It also is very easy to change it from carpet to hardwood cleaning. She just pushes a button on the handle. She really likes that feature.  She has emptied it twice, but it wasn't even half full each time.  She just emptied it for the fun of it.

Scout and I do not like it.  Scout almost when through the roof when Mama turned it on the first time.

We hope all our American friends had a nice three day weekend.  We enjoyed spending time with the folks.  We will write more about that later in the week. 

We are sad to read that things are rough right now at Genji's Corner.  Our thoughts are with them.

Mama is also very sad to hear that a childhood friend's husband died suddenly this morning. Mama will not be able to go home for the funeral, but she is sending many prayers and thoughts for the family.

Joey,
The Greyhound Whose House Continues To Be Invaded With Purple Things

Memorial Day 2013

We are spending a relaxing day with our folks.  We will update you on our weekend activities on Tuesday.

Joey and Scout
The Greyhounds Who Are Celebrating Memorial Day In The Lone Star State For The Second Year In A Row

Squirrels Are Nuts Here!

I have decided that squirrels are more fun to watch than bunnies.  Do bunnies climb trees and fly from branch to branch?  Nope, but squirrels do.  The other day, I was just laying in "my" yard and two squirrels almost ran over me.  Mama said they have a death wish.  I chased one up a tree and it started yelling at me. They are nuts, I say.

Here is one of those nutty creatures.

The campground keeps getting prettier and prettier.  These people love their flowers.

Mama loves this rock garden. The lady spent all afternoon working on it.

 

The pansies won't make it long in the Texas heat, but they are pretty right now.

Scout says this is great picture of her, but I stuck my nose in it and ruined it.

 We really like this park. The employees are very nice.  They do something here that we have not experienced at other parks.  If the electric goes out, they call to let you know.  Okay, so you don't need to be called if you are at home, but if the folks are out sightseeing they will get a call and know that we are at home without air conditioning and they can rush home.  We think it is a nice service.

I love my life!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves His Life On The Road

Almost Wordless Wednesday - 5/22/2013

"You can't hide from me, Mr. Squirrel!"

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Almost Got Run Over By Two Squirrels While Taking A Siesta

Goodwill Shopping

When we were in Denver, Mama dropped a lid to a cooking pot that she has.  The handle on the lid broke.  Mama has been using it, but it is difficult to remove the lid from the pot when it is hot.  Mama even burned her arm doing so. We were going to show you a photo of her arm, but decided that was not in good taste.  She started out looking for a new lid, but no luck.  She then decided to replace the pot and the lid.  She really didn't want to spend $15, which is the price of a cheaper pot.  Yes, Mama can be frugal.  She asked Dad if a furniture knob would work.  He said it probably would.  Saturday night, they went to Goodwill and Mama found a lid.  She knew the lid was going to be too small, but the handle would probably work. 

Here is our old lid with a new handle.

 How much did the new handle cost?  $.50.  Yep, just $.50.  Mama is pretty proud of herself for holding out and saving money on the lid.

The folks also found a few other "treasures".  Dad found the RV movie.  He had mentioned that he would like to watch it again after visiting the RV museum in Amarillo.   Mama found a brand new fanny pack.  She has been wanting something to carry our things when we go hiking and this seems to be a good option right now.  Yes, it is purple.  We think Mama is developing a purple problem.  We have a purple toaster, a purple cutting board and now a purple fanny pack.  She also has two purple shirts. 

All items were bought for $7.

Mama likes shopping at Goodwill because you never know what you will find.  The one here is nice and the prices are good.  The ones she found in Houston were really nice, but the prices are quite a bit more than at home.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Benefits From Mama Being Frugal On HER Things