Our Next Trip--September,2014

 I couldn't believe it! Sydney was going to be one year old! That called for a trip to Disney World!

In honor of the special occasion, Aunt Audrey came to visit from Ohio. Our first park was Epcot. Sydney and I both got birthday buttons!

Pluto was the first of many characters that Sydney met at Disney.

In the Canada exhibit, we caught these characters in their totems.

While the big kids were riding a ride at Animal Kingdom, Sydney and I found some dinosaurs.

 

Then it was time for Magic Kingdom!

Of course, during any family trip there has to be a group photo.

Sydney's favorite character, of course, was Mickey Mouse!

Our trip to Disney was awesome, but alas, we had to return home to get ready for the big birthday party!

Time to Catch Up! Summer 2014

It seems I got too busy to update the blog while the grandkids were with us, so I will try to do it now.  From Patrick we traveled to John Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo.

We stayed there for one week. Chris and DeAnna practiced their snorkeling skills at Cannon Beach before we took them out to the Grecian Rocks on the snorkeling boat.

  We were all ready for a rest on the way back to shore.

 Another of our day trips was to the bird sanctuary. Christopher loves pelicans and he was able to get pretty close to this one.

Another day we took the glass bottom boat to see the reef. It was a beautiful day and all had a great time.

Around our campsite we were amazed to see iguanas of all sizes.

From John Pennekamp, we went back to Patrick for the Fourth of July. One day, we walked out on Cocoa Beach Pier to watch the surfers and fishermen.

Jennifer, Andy, and Sydney joined us for the long weekend. Sydney enjoyed splashing in her pool.

We were able to have a day at the beach before the rains arrived.

From Patrick, it was back to our house to get ready for the car trip to return Chris and DeAnna to their grandparents' house in Oklahoma.

Once they were delivered safe and sound, it was back to Arkansas to visit with Bob's parents for a few days.

When we left Arkansas we decided to stop in Natchez, MS, to break up our trip home.

Did I mention that we don't like traveling without the RV? Well, we don't.

In Natchez, stayed in a bed and breakfast that was centrally located so we could walk and see the town. This was the rear entrance to 1888 Wensel House, our home base for several days.

We also toured several old homes. Longwood looked great on the outside, but on the inside, only the first floor was completed!

Once home, we needed to get ready for our next trip in the RV...........

Camping on the Banana River

Once we left home, our first destination was Patrick AFB in Satellite Beach, FL. It has always been on of our favorite spots for a quick getaway. We were fortunate enough to get the last waterfront site on the Banana River. Chris and DeAnna had a great time exploring the riverfront.

There were horseshoe crabs everywhere they looked!

Then it was time to look for crabs under the rocks along the shore.

Not far from our campsite was the playground. A few years ago a climbing wall was was installed. Chris made it to the top with no help! DeAnna finally found a side with hand holds she could reach.

After relaxing for a few days and stocking our pantry, it was time to head south to John Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo.

Siloam Springs and Home

Well, the weather followed us to Siloam Springs. It was rainy just about every day we were there. Bob and I did get in a few walks from Bob and Dot's house to John Brown University. Of course, the casino called to us and we were able to walk the quarter mile without getting wet going or coming.

On our anniversary, DeAnna and Chris arrived. It had been a year since we last saw them and they sure had grown! The first thing they wanted to do was check out their new sleeping bags in the RV.

 We stayed at Bob and Dot's until the 11th, then we headed home.

We were in a rush since we had reservations at John Pennekamp State Park for June 23. We wanted to let them swim in our pool before we took them on a great adventure.

Our first stop was at Pendleton Bend COE Park in southeast Arkansas. We had a great site on the water.

 It was also the kids first experience with mayflies. The mayflies swarmed the car, the RV, and us as soon as we parked.

 We were able to see several barges travel up and down the waterway.

 Bob and I also viewed Wilbur D. Mills Dam from the opposite side of the river.

After one night at Pendleton, we headed for Service COE Campground near Coffeeville, Alabama. It was another long day of driving and we were glad to get set up and spend a few nights.

We had a waterfront site and it was an excellent campground for the kids to practice riding their bicycles.

From Service, we headed to Chattahoochee, Florida to a COE campground that was actually in Georgia--Eastbank COE Park. From the hill above our campsite, we got a view of the sunset.

Of course, the mayflies were present at Eastbank, too. The kids shook the tree by the water and the mayflies took flight!

 We stayed at Eastbank for two nights before our final drive home.

 We took the kids on a tour of the dam and we checked out the fish at the base of the dam.

DeAnna checked the life preserver to make sure it would fit if she needed to use it.

 Then it was time to head home so they could meet their only first cousin, Sydney, and practice swimming in the pool with their snorkel gear.

 We had a great time at home, but it was soon time to get on the road again.

Next stop, Patrick AFB, Florida.

Old Post COE Park, Russellville, Arkansas

When we left Merrisach Lake, we didn't travel too far. Our next stop was Old Post COE on the Arkansas River in Russellville, Arkansas. One of the sights we saw as we drove was this crop duster. We noticed several as we drove, but this is the only one that crossed in front of the RV.

 Our site at Old Post was right next to the river.

 The tugs pushing barges traveled close to our shore to access the lock just up the river.

 Just outside Old Post Park was a city soccer park. There was a paved walking/biking trail around the perimeter. We were able to get our walks in most days on this path. The reason I said most days is because the weather did not cooperate with us! It rained every day while we were at Old Post!

 We had great plans for the area, but were not able to follow through on any of them because of the rain. Mt. Nebo State Park is just a short drive from Old Post. We wanted to hike several of the trails. All we were able to do was pick up a few geocaches between rain showers.

 The park was built by the CCC in the 1930s. Evidence of their work is found throughout the park. This is one of the cabins you can rent. It has a great view of the river valley on a clear day.

 One of the short walks we were able to take was to a waterfall.

 The clouds cleared a bit for us to get a partial view from the Bench Road Trail Overlook.

 As Bob was logging our geocaches, we got a message from one of the cachers who had put out one of our finds. There was a geocaching event to be held that evening in a pavilion at Old Post Park and we were invited. As it turns out, the pavilion was only about 100 yards from our campsite. We decided to attend and had a great time meeting other cachers. Our total caches seemed small compared to some of these cachers--several over 10,000 and one with over 20,000

The next day we were off to geocache again, but once again, the weather did not cooperate. We drove to Lake Dardanelle State Park and found the Arkansas Cache hidden near the Visitor's Center. We picked up a few more caches, but the rain prevailed and we returned to the RV.

 Our last full day in Russellville, we tried to return to Mt. Nebo before the rain started, but once again, it was not to be. We did stop at one of the trail crossings to get a geocache about 120 feet down the trail.

Since Mt. Nebo was a no-go, we decided to drive to Mt. Magazine about 50 miles west. The radar made it look like there would be fairer weather there for most of the afternoon. On our way we drove through Subiaco, home of a Benedictine Abbey and Academy.

 We stopped at an overlook in Ozark National Forest. I believe the clouds are following us.

 We could only imagine what the view would be on a clear day!

 Once we arrived at Mt. Magazine, we headed for the trail to the highest point in Arkansas.

 We made it, both to the top and before the rains caught us!

 We couldn't resist getting a picture on the trail.

 As you can see, the trail was steep in some places.

 After a good hike, we went to the lodge for lunch. We got to the lodge just as the rain started. The clouds obscured the view from the porch of the lodge. From pictures in the lodge we know that this is a fantastic view on a clear day!

Since we didn't get to hike the trails at Mt. Nebo, and only hiked one at Mt. Magazine, we know we want to visit this area again.

After spending five rainy days in Russellville, it was time to head to Siloam Springs to visit Bob's parents. We hoped for better weather, but had the feeling the rain was going to follow us.