Let’s Get This Summer Started!

It’s amazing that it’s been a week and a half already since we left home in the RV. Time flies when you’re having fun, that’s for sure.

We went as far as Bonifay, FL, (in the panhandle) on that first day. The campground where we stayed had recently opened a small restaurant. We had planned to eat in, but the prices couldn’t be beaten, so we enjoyed New Orleans fare, right there in small-town Florida.

The next morning we pulled up stakes and went on to Pass Christian, MS. As we were laying out the boards that always go under our jacks, I realized that one of the jacks was missing it’s “foot”. (We have no idea when or  how this happened.) When Julian heard my “oh, no!” he came quickly. We decided that it wasn’t smart to put down any of the jacks in case we had trouble getting them to come back up. Fortunately, our site was pretty level, so it wasn’t a major problem.

Here’s a photo of the footless jack. Looks kinda naked, doesn’t it!

Here’s what a healthy jack should look like.

We called around and talked to a very nice fella who would have come to the campsite to install the parts. However, no one had the foot and spring we needed. So we called ahead to where we planned to be in Missouri and had them order the parts. Then we went about our business and enjoyed a few days in south Mississippi.

You all know we enjoy gambling, so it won’t be a surprise to you that we spent some time at a casino in Gulfport, just up the road. We did pretty well the first day, leaving only $10 behind. Things didn’t go quite as well after that. But we really had fun.

We also found some great restaurants. It’s one of our favorite pastimes. Julian was able to have a full pound of crawfish while I enjoyed a shrimp poboy at one of our lunches. We also had our favorite Garlic Parmesan boneless wings at Hooters.

On Monday, June 4, we pulled up stakes again and headed north. We spent that night in Lake Village, AR, at a nice little park we’d stayed at once before.

We had planned to take two more days to get to Lake of the Ozarks, MO. But once we got rolling, we decided to just keep moving. It was well over 400 miles, which is a long day for us, but we arrived at Riverview RV Park in Lake Ozark, MO, at a little after 5pm on Tuesday. Home sweet home for the next couple of months.

As we were driving the last hundred miles or so, we got a call from the RV shop that they had located the parts and they could be here by Friday. So when we got to our campsite, we did only a partial set-up. When ya gotta pull it all up to go in for service, there’s no point in doing it all up front.

We had everything in order by lunchtime on Wednesday, so decided to go find the local Wal-Mart and take care of the very long grocery list. It was good to get out and see the area a little bit, too. We had stayed in this area several years ago. Now there’s a new highway running through town and nothing looks the same. Progress!

We spent Thursday driving around the area. We wanted to check out the state park and some other areas. Once we got off the major highway, things were a little more as we had remembered. The towns have grown, though, and that not all bad.

Friday we went to Bagnell Dam, which is what created the Lake of the Ozarks in the first place. Actually, it’s only a couple miles from where we are staying. We are looking for places to fish. With all this water, one wouldn’t think it would be so hard. Not having a boat definitely complicates matters. But after asking several people, we found a boat ramp with a possible area close by. We also found our way into another campground and talked to the lady there. They allow anyone to come in to fish their riverbanks for $2 a day. Not bad, really.

We stopped at a “Scenic Overlook” of the Bagnell Dam. It was not what we had expected. It looked almost straight down on the road atop the dam. You couldn’t see either side of the dam. I was hoping to see the spillway on the river side, but it was not to be. We took the camera, but it wasn’t really worth taking a photo of. Maybe when we find a fishing spot on the river, we’ll also get a better view of the dam. Maybe.

The fishing we’d hoped for right here at our campground isn’t going to be as easy as planned. The river seems to be very low and it’s hard to get too – very rocky through here. There is a dock and that may be one venue we’ll use. It’s very steep getting down to it and there’s NO shade to be found. We’ll try it, though. Julian tried the fishing pond right behind out site. He said all he got were bites that took his bait. He figures they were all pretty little fish anyway.

The park is really nice. We have a very wide site and can park the car next to the coach, rather than in front of it. We get wonderful shade in the mid to late afternoons. It’s wonderful to sit out there overlooking the fishing pond. Here’s a couple shots of our view of the pond.

The photos were taken from our chairs in the shade. Not too shabby, huh?

So this morning (Saturday) we pulled up and drove the 15 miles down to the RV center where they put the new foot and spring onto that jack. Then it was back home to set up once again. It’s nice to have the coach level and not rocking anymore. Julian has unpacked all that was transported in the back of the car. So now we’re all settled in and ready for whatever comes next. (I even did the laundry this afternoon.)

Tomorrow, we’re hoping to do more fishing reconnaissance and have a nice lunch out. There are a couple shops we want to visit too, so we’ll have a busy day.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy trails!