Our First Weeks of Full Time RVing

Our adventure began when we sold our home in Springdale, Arkansas in May, 2103.  With the wonderful help of many friends and family, we personally moved our household belongings into a one bedroom plus garage apartment in the Memphis, Tennessee area.  WHAT A JOB!  I keep telling everyone that we will not do that again!

 Our “Maiden Voyage” has been challenging.  We closed on the sale of our house at 5:00 PM yesterday, May 20^th.  We rushed to my office to turn in the file on the sale and then parked our Enclave in a friend’s garage because storms were predicted.  Around 6:00 we got to the RV campground and set the Fifth Wheel up for the night.  I began supper and then the weather news said the storm was imminent.  So I turned off the stove and we took shelter in the bath house along with several other campers.  The wind blew like crazy, rain pelted down and lightning & thunder was abundant. It rained most of the night, but no more storms.  Thankfully, there was no damage near us, but our hearts ache for those in Moore, OK.  With God’s help and grace, we’ll be able to meet almost any challenge during the next year as we tour the USA. Here is our new home!  Spacious and very comfortable!

So far, we've really enjoyed our new place. It has a lot more storage than you would think, so we brought a lot of extras.  After all, we are going to call it home for a year or so.

Today, Danny got the fifth wheel ready to roll in the rain, and we headed to Branson for a few days.  It is chilly and damp, so we have used our fireplace to knock the chill out of the air.  It was a lazy day and Danny even got in a much needed nice long nap.  Tomorrow is suppose to be sunny, so we’ll take in some of the sights of Branson and might take in Silver Dollar City, too.  Our good friends, Les and Carolyn, are coming to Branson tomorrow, so we’ll have fun doing things together.

On May 24th we returned to Springdale to leave our fifth wheel at Pilgrim's Rest Campground so we could travel to Jason and Karla's in Abilene.  They've agreed to care for and use our SUV while we are on the road.  How wonderful to spend some quality time with them in their home and also at the Ft. Worth Zoo. AND how honored we were to attend the Citizenship Oath Ceremony in Irving, Texas and see Karla become a citizen of the United States of America!!    SHE'S A KEEPER!

                                                           Back Yard Fun in the Pool

Paint Time With the Girls

Panda Express for Lunch

                                              What an Impressive Zoo!  We Really Had Fun!

                                                   Jason, Karla and Two of Our GRANDS!

                                     Karla and Jason in front of US Citizenship and Immigration
                                                   Services Building in Irving, Texas

                                                      Karla Craddock, New Citizen!!

The Happy Family!!  

Danny and I returned to Springdale to pick up our Fifth Wheel and headed out for El Reno, Oklahoma on June 3rd. By mid-afternoon we met our good friends and traveling buddies, Mike and Linda at the El Reno South KOA  and enjoyed dinner at the Cherokee Trading Post Restaurant.  There was a Trail of Tears Mural painted on a building - see background- and a painted buffalo.Perfect photo op!

After enduring a fourth night of severe storms - but thankfully no tornadoes - we awoke to clearing skies and headed to Tuttle, OK for a tour of the Braum's Ice Cream and Bakery Facility!  Their facility and farm are amazing and no wonder their milk and ice cream is so delicious!  Followiing the tour, we enjoyed an ice cream treat and drove to OKC to do a little shopping at the Outlet Shoppes!  Got to pair of shoes, now I have to find a place for them in our packed RV!!

This ends our first couple of weeks as homeless folks!  Not a bad way to live except for the insecure feeling of being in a fifth wheel during storms...... NOT FUN!  
Until later.... M