It is September 26, and finally time to start heading south for the winter. It is always great to be in our home area to see our kids, siblings and friends but 5 months is longer than we have stayed anywhere and we were anxious to move on. There are other friends and relatives, more things to see.
Iowa
Of course it is Sunday, so we needed our weekly Bloody Mary. We stopped in the Diamond Jo’s parking lot, just over the Iowa border. It was pretty, next to a pond.
Our first stop was a Harvest Host winery, The Cellar at White Oak, in Cambridge, Iowa. A band was scheduled to start playing shortly after we arrived. We left the trailer parked at the edge of the parking lot and took chairs and dog to the back side of the site. The band, Burnin Sensations, was excellent, playing mostly 70’s songs. We shared a couple of bottles of wine and let many people pet and admire Boo. We shared a lamb gyro for supper from a food truck. When the band was done, everyone quickly left so we were able to move the trailer closer to the building and get set up for the night.
Lunch on day two was a picnic of cheese, sausage, crackers and apples in a small roadside park somewhere in Iowa. It was a nice little park and lunch was delicious.
Missouri
Tuesday the 28th, we reached our first destination in the Ozarks, Osage Beach RV Park. We will be here for a week so I could finally unpack and set up the trailer. I hadn’t had coffee in 2 days!
We’ve been to this area before so didn’t plan to do a lot of sight seeing but it was fun to visit a few local establishments. On Wednesday, we started at Harmy’s Cheese Store where I sampled “hooch” for the first time in my life. We did a little Christmas shopping and also “Dave and Jo” shopping.
Then we went to a distillery/brewery,the Ozark Brewery. We had several samples, mainly different moonshines but also a delicious Bloody Mary mix. We ended up buying some vanilla bean moonshine and some of the Bloody Mary mix. Then we sat on the patio for one of their brews.
Interesting…!
Dave wanted to check our the Horny Toad bar. This could have been a neat place but the service was awful and the prices were high so we settled for one beer and left.
We drove into town and stopped for a beer and a crab leg sushi role at Tuckers Shuckers where we sat on the patio. A woman came in with two Newfoundland dogs. They are huge and drooled a lot but were beautiful.
On Thursday, we went to the Shawnee Bluff Winery for a tasting. I thought one of the bartenders looks like my grandson’s girlfriend so took a picture of her but Kyle thinks I am crazy. It was all good but we decided we didn’t need to buy any wine. Then, back into town for a beer on the patio of Roxie’s. (We were sure they named it for our friend Roxi.). Boo enjoyed the attention she got from other patrons and we enjoyed conversation with a local couple. We ended our day at Backwater Jack’s. We were there 3 years ago and wanted one of their huge poppers again. They were still good, but shrunk by half!
Shawnee Bluff 
Brooke?? 
Saturday, October 2nd was a dreary rainy day. Mainly we stayed home but decided to check out another brewery in the afternoon. We headed to the Lake of the Ozarks Brewery. It was in a quaint old building. We each had a flight then chose one brew for a pint. I chose a pumpkin spice. That and all of the samples in the flights were delicious. We like breweries and this was one of the best.
On Sunday, we drove to the town of Versailles, Missouri, a half hour away, for their apple festival that had been recommended to us. We were told there were Amish and Mennonite booths. It was a cute little town with a lot of well preserved old buildings and there were two live bands playing. We didn’t see anything Amish or Mennonite and were somewhat disappointed in the festival but it made a nice afternoon.
We stopped at one more downtown bar, the Marty Byrde’s where we chatted with the bartender/owner.
Kansas
We stopped for one night in an Army Corps of Engineers park near Cherryvale, Kansas called Cherryvale Park. Like all Corps parks, the sites are huge. It was beautiful but this was the most un-level site we have ever had!
Oklahoma
We wanted to spend some time in Oklahoma since our previous two visits had been short. We headed to Skiatook and stayed 3 nights at Tall Chief Cove campground. This was another Army Corps of Engineers park and as usual, it was huge. We had not been able to book a lakeside site but were just across the road. I think the lakeside sites were too short anyway.
We mainly stayed in the park but spent day 2, October 7, in Tulsa which was about 15 miles away. Our trip was planned around Route 66. We stopped to see and take pictures of the Blue Whale, built in the 30’s to attract travelers. It was kind of hokey but fun. Then we continued on to Tally’s Cafe where we shared a chicken fried steak lunch. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was fantastic. Most of the rest of the afternoon involved other Route 66 sites. Some were open and some were not. One of those stops was the Mother Road Market, a huge indoor market place and food court. We had a beer at the WEL bar before moving on.
Cosmic Atom 
A short distance away was the Blue Dome District. We walked around for several blocks but it was our hottest day here, over 90 degrees. Also, it was a homeless district and I was rather nervous about stepping around sleeping people. We cooled off over a beer at Red’s. Or, it would have been one beer but Dave knocked over his glass and spilled a little from his first beer so we had a second!
For our third and last night, we built a campfire. It was still in the 80’s at 9 PM.
Arkansas
October 9th and 10th were spent in Bella Vista, Arkansas where we stopped to visit friends from Minnesota. There was some confusion on where we would park but we found a spot at Blowing Springs RV Park. On our way to Bella Vista, we ate lunch in a park found on a church lot (weird). Blowing winds knocked down a dead branch that wacked me in the back of the head. It doesn’t look large but it hurt!
Later that day, Mark and Susan picked us up to go tour the Crystal Bridges Museum, with art dating back to the 1800’s. This is a free museum sponsored by some of the Walton family of WalMart. It was neat to see all of the valuable art. I even recognized some of the artist’s names, like George Catlin, Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollack. It’s hard to believe this is free! One of my favorite pieces was “We The People” made from colored strings.
Then we went out for a steak dinner at Does Eats. YUM!!!
Sunday found us hanging loose at the campground. We went on a walk on some of the many trails then ended our afternoon at a taproom, right in the park, called Gear Garden.
Air Stream Caravan 
Natural spring in the park
Monday morning, October 11 brought us to Eureka Springs. We stayed at Greentree Lodge RV Park for 5 nights. The temps have dropped 30 degrees. BRRRRR!!!!!
Our first day back in Eureka Springs, we visited Quigley’s Castle, built in 1943. The family had lived in a shack on the property but Mr’s Q wanted a house build from the family’s woods they lived in. So, while Mr. Q was at work one day, Mrs. Q and the children tore the shack down. Mr. Q had to move forward with the house!
The house was very unique with an inner wall and outer wall, on all sides. Between the two sets of walls, she planted a live garden which still lives today. According to her granddaughter, some of the plants are over 100 years old. The outer wall was covered in bricks made by Mrs. Q. They are small stones embedded into cement. She made hundreds of lawn ornaments and outdoor sitting areas in the same manner.
We continued the afternoon with a tasting a Keel’s Creek Winery and Eureka Springs Brewery.
Wednesday was a chilly, rainy day so we stayed home in the trailer until late afternoon. We had booked a train dining car experience. It was really fun, real white tablecloth service, ending with a “choo choo” baked Alaska.
Cocktail at The Cat House first 
October 15 was another icky day. We ventured out for a tasting at Railroad Crossing Winery and Gotahold Brewery.
My nephew followed us??
For our last day in Eureka Springs. we wanted to go to the War Eagle Mill for lunch. We remembered it well, especially the pecan cobbler and wanted more! However, the lines to get in were very long which surprised us. It turns out, there was an annual craft fair going. We did not want to fight the crowds or mud so returned to the Cat House for lunch.
Some where along the line in our previous wooded Corp of Engineers parks, we had picked up a traveler. After placing traps and knowing it sampled the peanut butter, it finally left us without getting trapped. I was very happy to have it gone but found evidence of it’s visit in many places throughout the trailer.
Arkansas
October 16 found us at the Willow Beach Park, another Army Corp park near Scott, Arkansas. It was a neat park on the Arkansas River. Dave kept trying to get a close look at some shy turtles. We were also intrigued with the sycamore and pecan trees. Dave had to sweep pecans from the roof before we could bring in the slides. We stayed here for three days, relaxing.
Mississippi
We returned to Mississippi for one night, to park in a free campground on the Natchez Trace Rocky Springs National Campground. I was hoping we would not pick up another traveler and we got lucky.
Cotton fields 
Louisiana
We wanted another Harvest Host experience and Dave had found Jon Schneider of Dukes of Hazzard fame with a farm in Louisiana so we booked a stay. Unfortunately, Hurricane Ida and reaped a lot of damage. Plus, the farm may have seen better days anyway. It was a large place and probably required a lot of money for normal upkeep.
Cleaning up from Ida 
Our next stop was a three night stay in New Orleans at Three Oaks and A Pine RV Park. After getting set up the first day, we headed into the French Quarter. We wanted to go to Patrick O’Brian’s for a Hurricane. This is where Dave spent an hour 3 1/2 years ago, explaining why he would never get married again. He proposed later that evening1
Hurricanes 
Rainstorm
We took in a Swamp tour on October 21. It was actually a Bayou Tour, meaning “slow moving water”. Our guide grew up in the swamps so was a wealth of knowledge. For example, alligators need to be able to completely submerge to cool off so you will never find large alligators in shallow water. Swamp raccoons come out in the daytime instead of at night like other raccoon, so they can be on the lookout for alligator. We saw both of these creatures plus a wild hog who grew up being fed by the tour guides so she is relatively (not really) tame. Her name is Kevin Bacon! The guide also took us to a swamp village, only accessible by boat.
The next morning we took in a cemetery tour that toured three cemeteries. One of the most interesting things to me was that a body is entombed for a year and a day. Then, crews come in and shovel the remains, basically cremated in the super hot tombs, to the hole beside the shelf. Now the shelf is ready for a new body. Most tombs can hold up to 6 bodies at a time and some have a history of up to 84. All of the remains intermingle after being shoveled off.
It was a hot day so we stopped for a beer and light lunch after the tour before returning to the trailer.
We changed into clothes that were a bit more formal, than got into the truck and returned to the French Quarter. We wandered around Jackson Square. While there, we saw three different wedding parties. It was fun to see the artists on the square again. We also saw a wedding march, waving white hankies to ward off evil spirits.
Dave wanted to take me to Tujague’s for supper. This is a high end restaurant he had visited while in NOLA on spring break while in college. It did not disappoint and I had had two white linen dinners in about a week! I am a lucky lady.
We ended up listening to some jazz in Fritzel’s European Jazz Club, the same place we went after getting engaged. I had a blast, dancing in my booth. Of course, we also had to go back to where Bourbon Street meets up with St. Peter Street.
Mississippi
We returned to Mississippi on October 23 for a 2 night stay in Biloxi at Majestic Oaks RV Park. Again, we are parked by nutty trees and Dave will have to sweep the roof before we bring in slides to move.
For our first afternoon, we took a walk on the beach with Boo. She did NOT like that. Even the sound of the waves scared her but she allowed Dave to pull her along as long as she didn’t get wet. We followed that by going to a beach bar to enjoy the scenery.
Lucy’s Beach Bar 
The next day, we went to dinner in Bay Saint Louis, at Trapani’s, as recommended by our friend Joel. There were all kinds of people on the streets in costume but it seemed most of them were witches. We asked our server and she said it was the Witch’s Walk which had happened earlier in the afternoon. Once it became dark, there would be a parade of golf carts etc, decorated for Halloween. After eating, we decided not to wait for the parade. Little did we know, we parked in the middle of the parade route and there was absolutely no way to get out of town. We had the truck parked in the middle of a street behind a barricade and watched the parade but were one of the first to be able to leave once the parade ended.
Trapani’s 
A Biloxi casino
More Majestic Oaks pictures 
Alabama
We went to Alabama on the 25th to stay 2 nights on Dauphin Island at the Dauphin Island Campground. We were able to walk to the beach so went there the first afternoon.
lift bridge 
We wanted to go to a local bar but most of them were closed permanently and some on the day of the week were there. We finally found one and had one exotic beachy drink Pirate’s Bar and Grill.
The next morning we walked three blocks with Boo to Fort Gaines. This is one of the forts built to protect Mobile Bay during the Civil War. (The other was Fort Morgan.) This is where Admiral Farragut shouted the famous order ” Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” This is one of the best preserved forts we have seen.
Two interesting features were the “disappearing cannons” which were lowered beneath the walls for loading, then raised again for firing. The other was the 10-seat latrine, flushed twice a day by the tide!
We packed a picnic lunch of Subway sandwich and one of our Sweet Honeymoon wines for an afternoon at the beach, our last Gulf of Mexico for a long time. We stayed 3 hours and developed a little sunburn but it was beautiful.
Dave found a small crab 
jelly fish 
sunset over the gulf 
Mississippi
Back to Mississippi on the 27th to another Harvest Host stay at Fort Bayou Brewing Company in Ocean Springs. As usual, it was a free stay so we went to the bar for an afternoon beverage and appetizers. I had my first taste of Yuengling Hershey’s brew. Yummy!!!
Now, on to Jane’s house!