Stormy Weather

Today is storm day. Literally. We decided to visit Cracker Barrel for a casual breakfast and plan our day. Just as we finished breakfast, Carol heard a loud thunder-clap. Here is what my weather app reported. We will be staying put for about 30 minutes. More on our stay in Vicksburg at the end of this post.

So far our trip has been good. We left Ledbetter Monday morning around 9ish, stopped at Whataburger in Giddings for breakfast, then headed to Temple. We met up with Carol’s Aunt/Uncle, Glenda and Ron, for lunch at the Cotton Patch. From Temple, we headed Northeast for Kilgore. I made a directional mistake in Palestine which put us on a path for Tyler. By the time I figured that out, it was too late to backtrack. The only reason we wanted to stop in Kilgore instead of Tyler is because we stopped in Tyler back in September when we came back to Texas.

In Tyler, we pulled into a parking lot so I could look for a WalMart on the map for an overnight stop. Someone from the business came rushing out to let Carol know I could not park our motor home in their parking lot. He just would not listen to Carol as she explained we were only stopping for a few minutes to get oriented to our destination. Sheesh – some people. We found our WalMart but then could not figure where to park. I pulled up behind a couple of big trucks only to realize they were in a fire lane. When I called the store, the person I spoke to said we could not park in any WalMart period. OK, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

Next we headed to #1 RV Park on the other side of town. At least we will not be hassled by anyone there. After driving 300 miles, we were hungry and tired. Dinner at Sweet Sue’s was so-so. At least a warm shower felt good and we enjoyed a good night of sleep.

Tuesday AM, we drove to The Diner for breakfast. We stopped at this place last time we had breakfast in Tyler. This is still a great place to eat.

Yep, you are looking at Cajun style fish and shrimp on top of my eggs. WOW, The Diner really knows how to do breakfast. I highly recommend making a trip to this place if you are anywhere close.

Since we had a long driving day on Monday, we decided to split the trip to Vicksburg, MS. Other than a rough 20 miles stretch through Shreveport, LA, I-20 was a great ride. Next time, I will take the loop around Shreveport. We stopped at Caney Lakes Recreation Complex in Kisatchie National Forrest just North of Minden, LA. We drove past some large, beautiful home just on the edge of Minden and wondered where these folks worked. Our campsite was very spacious. I am standing on the rock area of the site. The fire ring is to my right. Notice the driveway is very long.

Wednesday AM we made the short 150 mile trip to Ameristar RV Park across the street from the Ameristar Vicksburg Casino in Vicksburg, MS. Thursday weather kept us indoors most of the day. We did venture out to drive through the historic area a Vicksburg. It is strange that mixed in with the old antebellum style homes there are several run down shacks so typical of houses in poverty-stricken areas.

The last time we stopped there, we earned enough to pay for our trip from Blue Ridge to Texas. This time we made a deposit for our next trip.

Tomorrow we should land somewhere in Alabama and Saturday we should be at Clear Creek Recreation Area in Bankhead National Forrest.  The storm system has moved away from us so we should have a quiet evening and clear driving Friday.

Once again, thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now.