Day 12 - Tuesday, December 10 - Heading South, Finally

 We left Lakeshore at 9:30 this morning. We drove 296 miles to the Civic Center RV Park in Brookhaven, MS. I had looked at the routes suggested by my Garmin RV GPS & by Google Maps, I didn't like either of them so I did the routing.. 

Parked in Brookhaven.

We drove south down through the edge of Iuka and got on the Natchez Trace Parkway about mile marker 302 and took it all the way to Jackson, MS, about mile marker 102. It is a beautiful drive. The Trace is two 11' lanes, one each way, with minimal shoulders most of the way. The speed limit is 50 mph. There are a lot of curves but none require dropping your speed below 50 mph. The pavement is mostly in good to excellent condition. 

Traffic is almost non-existent.  Only two cars passed us. The only thing we passed was two people on bikes, with lots of luggage. There wasn't one stop sign or stop light the entire 200 miles. There are lots of places to pull off for scenic views or historical points of interest. We were more interested in making miles today, plus the parkway didn't really have 40' motorhomes towing vehicles in mind when it designed it scenic parking areas. We pulled off at one roadside parking area and ate lunch in the coach. At another of these little turn outs someone was laying on the asphalt, not 20' off the edge of the roadway, fully covered by a blanket. A big pack was next to the person. We did pass a guy with a big pack walking northbound.

We both are sure we have driven some of the Trace before but we can't remember when. I remember doing some research on it back then. It is an interesting piece of our history. Read about the "Kaintucks" at 

https://www.nps.gov/natr/learn/historyculture/index.htm#:~:text=The%20Old%20Natchez%20Trace%20is,%2C%20Chickasaw%2C%20and%20Choctaw%20nations.

When Kathy got up this morning she started having leg cramp problems. Pickle juice and a muscle relaxer seemed to help. She drove the first 40 miles and then I took over. I drove until we were 18 miles from the campground, so that I could do any necessary  navigating.

We have stayed here before. It is quite a complex with everything from a variety of different sports fields to an arena for animal shows. There are full hookup RV sites around the perimeter of a big parking lot. In the future I doubt that we would stay here again. All the spaces are back ins so we had to unhook the car. Also, the place is 5 miles off the highway. It is relatively cheap, $30 I think. Kathy called and made a reservation when we were an hour out. She was given the site number and we didn't even have to bother with check in. We found the site, parked and hooked up.

We were at an I55 rest area when we did the driver switch. The rest area had a dump station for RV's. I wonder it that is a Mississippi rest area thing or this was just an isolated case. There were "No Overnight Stays" signs posted in the rest area so pulling in, dumping your tanks and then spending the night is apparently unacceptable.

I did text Chris today, the Pastor of the Cowboy Church we attend, to tell him we were arriving early next week. I asked him to think about what I could  help with while in Texas. He told me to catch him after church and we would discuss options.

Enough typing for tonight. I think a beer before bed is in order, I'm not even going to proof read this, hopefully those who read it will forgive my laziness.

Today's high was mid/high 60's. Tonight's low is forecast to be 39. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He had blessed me.

Day 11 - Monday, December 9 - Visited Corinth Again

 Bryan came over and got the coach about 7:30 this morning. Soon after that we headed for Corinth. It was really early when we arrived so we killed some time at a McDonalds, making use of their free WiFi. Then we shopped some. Kathy went to several stores while I spent some time wandering around Harbor Freight. Kathy stocked up on groceries at the Aldi's in Corinth.

It was time for lunch and we headed for The Pit Stop. We ate there once last year and thought the food was good. It is one busy place. Kathy had a tenderloin covered with white gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, slaw and a roll. I had a rib eye sandwich and onion rings. Her meal was good, mine was AWESOME! The gray car is in the Drive Thru lane. We we walked in and then out after eating there were 2-3 cars lined up  waiting. I think it is more of a pickup lane for orders that have been called in. Inside they have several signs that say they make french fries, onion rings, etc as they  are ordered, they don't cook them ahead. The only disappointment was that I wasn't hungry enough to order a 2nd sandwich.

We drove "cross county" going to Corinth and did the same, via a different route, on the way back. On the way back we went up into Tennessee so that I could show Kathy the Pickwick Dam area, and campground. It rained last night but today was beautiful, didn't even need a jacket.

More on Pickwick Dam at https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/  the big tree stump has been removed and the hole filled in.

We got back to Lakeshore around 3:30 and I went over to see how the guys were doing. They had replaced the levelling jack and the central vacuum and were working on the HVAC thermostat. We had talked about Bryan mailing me the thermostat, and me installing it, if it didn't arrive early enough for them to get it installed. After seeing what was involved I sure was glad they were doing it. They had all the shelves out of one of the cabinets, the doors off the cabinet and had removed one of the side walls of the built in cabinet. All that to get to the wires on the back of the thermostat.

They brought the coach back to us around 4:00. I will go over in the morning and pay for the work and we will then head south. Lord willing we will spend tomorrow night at the Lincoln Civic Center RV Park in Brookhaven, MS, about 350 miles from here. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He sure has blessed me.

Days 9 & 10 - Saturday and Sunday - December 7 & 8 - Nothing Exciting

 Saturday we didn't leave Lakeshore, we just stayed here, couch potatoes.

Sunday - We drove into Iuka to go to church. There is a huge Baptist Church complex in downtown Iuka, and 50 other smaller Baptist churches (maybe a slight exaggeration). Kathy was hoping to hear a real church choir. Boy was she surprised when the Pastor, after a short prayer, turned the entire service over to a gospel quartet. It definitely wasn't the music she was hoping to hear 😀. The quartet was just okay. After listening to 3 songs, one of which was a secular Christmas carol, we decided that we didn't come to church on Sunday morning to hear a gospel quartet sing.

The Baptist service started at 10:30. As we were walking to our car we saw a Methodist Church across the corner, its service started at 11:00. We had plenty of time to walk over for the service there. I haven't been in a service in a long time where the Pastor preached in a robe and wore a stole. The did have a choir. The people were friendly. The Pastor was a story teller. He did an okay job but not like listening to Josh. After 10 minutes I was looking at my watch. Josh can keep me interested for over 30 minutes. The choir was OK. They sang high church stuff, BORING; no Power in the Blood, Or I'll Fly Away, Are You Washed in the Blood, etc. The Pastor mentioned that 11 months ago most of the young people left. I'm guessing that was over the Methodist LGB**** split. 

We had a good lunch at the Mexican restaurant we ate at last week. After that we went to the park and filled water jugs again. I can't tell any significant difference but Kathy says her tea tastes better when made with the spring water.

When we got home we drove the coach across the intersection, over to the little campground and dumped our gray water tank. 

The overnight low was 39 and today's high was in the mid 50's. This afternoon it misted rain on and off. Its raining as I write this, but not hard. It currently 50 degrees and the temperature is on the way up. Tomorrow's high is supposed to be a cloudy 63.

One more week... We are scheduled to check in at Lakewood Resort in Harlingen, TX next Sunday. It's about 1,050 miles from here. I sure hope we get left Tuesday morning.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 8 - Friday, December 6 - Parts Didn't Arrive

 All the parts have not arrived. The current plan is to finish the items on our coach on Monday. We will head south Tuesday AM.

Still parked at Lakeshore.

Some of the other coaches awaiting repairs. There are several more behind these. Only 4 guys work here.

We went into Iuka and had lunch at Donna's. My Italian beef sandwich was very good. Kathy said her Gyro was also very good. It isn't fancy but it was clean and the food was good, and inexpensive. Our bill was $16.

I took this photo over my shoulder using the selfie lens.

I just started an email battle with the folks from whom we bought a Service Contract. The Service Contract clearly states that everything is covered except for things noted in the Exclusions section. Our coach came with a king size Sleep Number bed. The control for Kathy's side of the bed started getting finicky months ago. A few weeks ago my side developed a slow air leak.  Last week I emailed the Service Contract people and asked for confirmation the the bed is a covered item. I was told that as long as the Sleep Number bed was part of the original equipment it was covered. Yesterday, after the guys confirmed the problems Bryan called the Service Contract person and the guy he talked to said it wasn't covered. We live in a world full of shysters. I emailed them a response today, I want all contact with them to be in writing, and I will see what they say. It's now to late to fix the problem here. We will have to wait and deal with it in Texas.

Last nights low was 18 degrees. Today's high was 39, at least it was sunny. Tonight's low is forecast to be 25.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 7 - Thursday, December 5 - Still at Lakeshore in Iuka

 The parts we need didn't come in today so we will be here until at least Saturday AM. If they don't come in tomorrow we may be here until Tuesday AM.

I'm so not used to cold weather. I like cool, but not this cool, I'm such a wuss. Today's high was 46, at midnight last night. At 5 PM its 36 on its way down to an overnight low of 18, Tomorrow the high is forecast to be 39 with a the low forecast to be 24 Friday night/Saturday morning. Then it warms back up to more normal temperatures here. Saturday & Sunday a high of 50 and Monday a high of 66.

We sat around the coach most of the morning, just did some reading. We did move the coach down the street to a campground so that we could dump our waste tanks. The places where we park at Lakeshore RV only have water and electric connections. I think Bryan, the guy who owns Lakeshore RV, also owns the little campground down the road. When I was here for a week last spring I stayed at the campground. He only charged me $20/night. I think there are 7 sites. The only empty one is sloped enough that it would require some levelling blocks to get set up. It's fine for just backing in, connecting to the sewer tap and dumping.

We went into Iuka for the lunch buffet at the Farmhouse Restaurant, $9.95 including a drink. Menu was a basic salad bar, pulled pork, a rice dish, mashed potatoes, baked beans, deep fried squash slices (they were good) a roll, corn bread and apple cobbler for desert. Neither of us got the baked beans but everything else was good. 

After lunch we went to the Post Office, so that Kathy could mail an oversize envelope, and then on to the big park. There is a spring at the park where people get water. Kathy filled up a couple of bottles the other day and liked making tea with it. Today she filled up a gallon jug and a couple of bottles.

After the water stop we headed to Walmart and bought me a new electric blanket. The controllers on my old one burned out last week. I will be using the new one tonight. Kathy will probably be sleeping on top of the covers.

We killed some more time with a stop at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store to get a gallon of milk and some chips and dip. The chips and dip are just to help relieve the boredom ☺.

Even if the parts came in we knew the coach would not be ready for us to get back in until around 4:30 so we parked downtown and people watched, sitting in the car in the sun. Actually Kathy surfed the Net on her phone and I took a nap.

We arrived back at Lakeshore RV a little after 4 PM and learned that the parts had not arrived. Fortunately our reservation in Texas doesn't start until December 15. It's free to stay here and time isn't a problem, but we have been here enough that it is getting boring.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me. I need to be on the lookout for what He may have in store for us during our extended stay here.

Days 5 & 6 - Tuesday & Wednesday, December 3 & 4 - Visiting Tom & Mary Lou

 Tuesday we drove over to the Crossville, TN area to visit Kathy's brother and his family. The TN place we used to own was abutted theirs. Wednesday we returned to Iuka. It about a 250 mile, 5 hour drive. We drove the Flex and left the coach with the guys at Lakeshore so they could continue working on a few items.

About 20 miles of the drive in in Mississippi and then across the top of Alabama before turning north up into Tennessee, near Chatanooga.

Lots of dollars of cotton along the way. Each bale is worth around $400.

Crossing the Tennessee River near Decatur, AL.

Below is a Google shot of the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center. It would be an interesting place to visit again. We were there with our boys around 47 years ago.

About 50 miles of the Tennessee portion of the drive is up a valley, ridge on both  sides that sticks up about a 1,000' above the valley floor.

The white buildings along the ridge are luxury vacation homes. They rent for $750+ per night. You can read about them at boltfarmtreehouse.com

There was some snow at Tom & Mary Lou's. The past few days have been exceptionally cold. Average temps this time of year are 50/34. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 31 and the low 16.

I took this photo out their living room window. They have 160 acres. The lake is about 6 acres and 35' deep.

Kathy, her nephew Dean, her brother Tom and sister-in-law Mary Lou.

One of Tom and Mary Lou's grandsons, Joe. He lives in Atlanta. He came up Tuesday  night, went out hunting this morning, shot a deer and was back in time for breakfast.

A goodbye photo.

On the way home we had a great lunch at a Western Sizzler in Jasper, TN.

You get to see interesting things while driving.

We arrived back at Lakeshore at 4 PM, I wanted to talk to the guys to get an update on their progress working on the coach. They had to order a couple of more parts. Those parts are supposed to be here tomorrow. Right now it looks like we will be heading south from here Friday AM.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 4 - Monday, December 2 - Spent the Day in Iuka

Overnight low last night was 25, today's high was a sunny 49.

We were next door in the Lakeshore parking lot at 7 AM, waiting for them to open the doors. I showed Bryan my list of things I  wanted fixed and we headed for Iuka, about 10 miles from here. It was frosty overnight. The road was clear but the grass on the sides of the road were certainly frosty.

We stopped at McDonald's where I had breakfast and Kathy had a Coke, she is not a breakfast eater. We caught up with news and email using the free WiFi. While Kathy finished up online I went next door to the gas station and filled up. When I got back into the car to move back to McDonald's I noticed the low tire warning light. Conveniently there was an air pump at the station so added air to the tire that was obviously low. After picking Kathy up I headed to a local tire shop. After a lot of looking they young man at the tire shop found the pinhole leak. Even with 60 psi in the tire it barely made bubbles when the hole was covered in soap solution. He broke the tire down patched it from the inside and put it back on the car. He charged $20 which I thought was reasonably considering how long it took to find the leak. I got a big smile from him when I gave him a $5 tip.

Kathy and I occasionally talk about how blessed we have been during our travels. We have had issues but we have never been stranded. Needing to have a tire fixed while in a town with tire repair shops is nothing. If that tire had went flat while we were pulling it behind the RV I hate to think what might have happened before it was bad enough that we noticed that something was wrong.

After the tire repair we parked in downtown Iuka where Kathy visited a couple of stores. We then sat in the car at the at the little downtown park and relaxed enjoying the sunny day.

We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. The food was good. After that we went to the larger downtown park and sat parked in the sun.

There are lots of Christmas lights around the park. I bet it is pretty at night.

The log cabin just right of center in the photo below is the same one on the left side of the last photo.

When we got back to Lakeshore the guys had already moved the coach back onto the parking pad for us and had the heat running full blast. They finished most of the items but were waiting on parts for a couple of items. The parts are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.