Extended Stay in Brandon Mississippi

Monday November 2- Its moving day.....Heading to Brandon Mississippi. We called Timberlake campground to make sure they had spots available. I have to say this is the friendliest place. The weather was cloudy but it never did rain. We traveled on I-55, which is a real good road to take. Its not real busy and doesn't really go through too many big cities. We arrived at the park and got mixed up finding our spot. We took the scenic route, our site had 50 amp service, sewer, and water hook up. They have internet but its super slow. The campground is good sized with full time residents, monthly guests and those that are just passing through. The have laundry, tennis courts, swimming pool, and a boat ramp. It right on the Barnett Reservoir. Directly outside the park is a real nice paved bike path. If you need groceries you can walk across the street to a real nice Kroger. We had a few issues getting into our site. The good news is the pads are concrete. The bad news is they have had a lot of rain around here. The ground is really saturated. After we got set up Jeff tried  his new satellite dish. After calling to activate it and downloading it was up and running. Its been a long day.


Tuesday November 3- Happy Birthday Jeff, well it wasn't all that happy. Jeff brought in the satellite and so when he put it out it wasn't working so he had to mess with that. Then our air conditioner in the bedroom quit again. Its very aggravating we have had it worked on a couple times. We haven't even used it all that much. Its our second air conditioner. It always seems to break as we are heading south. That's why we haven't used it that much. Its a gray day with the threat of rain.



Wednesday November 4- Another gray day. Jeff  called Fort Pickens near Pensacola, and its a good thing the road is closed to get to the park. We will be staying an extra day here. I'm glad he checked that would have been a big problem to arrive and have no place to go. We both walked around the campground, its pretty big so if you weave through all the roads you can get a pretty good walk in. We walked over to the grocery store and finally good news...I found my crème brulee mix I can't ever find it so I was really happy. Since it was gray out I talked Jeff into taking me to Hobby Lobby, I needed to get fabric to bind the quilt I finished. We also stopped at a sport store called Academy. We both really liked this place Jeff found some bargains and so did I.

Thursday November 5- Finally saw some sunshine today but it didn't last very long.  I took advantage of the laundry facilities. Then we decided to go out for lunch. Jeff had talked to a neighbor and he said if you like catfish you should go eat at Cock Of The Walk. So we did. It was fairly easy to pick what you wanted to eat they had fish or chicken. You also get frys, hush puppies, corn bread, green beans, and cole slaw. I really liked the fish, the rest was ok. I thought the dishes they used was cool.

Friday November 6- Oh boy what a day. We got up early to take off. They were calling for rain in the afternoon and we wanted to miss that. Well guess what the weatherman was wrong again. It rained early morning and just wouldn't stop. We had a fairly long trip and wanted to start early so we went ahead and packed up during the rain. That always makes everyone really happy. We finally got all packed up and stuff put away. Jeff did the pull test and then we got in and was all ready to head to Fort Pickens. Jeff went to take off and the truck wouldn't go. We both looked at each other and the truck and rig was rolling back. I went back and put the chalks back down. Jeff turned the truck off and tried starting it again. This time it went forward but we both knew something was really wrong. So we set back up and went in to look for a Chevy Dealership. We found one that was only 12 miles away and they told us we could come on over but we would have to be worked in. Well we set everything back up, went up and paid for another night and headed over to the dealership. It was only 12 miles but it seemed a lot longer. The truck was only running in one gear which was 3rd or 4th gear. We drove about 40 mph all the way. On our drive over the lights on the dash went crazy. We didn't have any indicator lights and some came on that shouldn't have been on, like brake lights. We parked the truck and went in to find who we needed to talk to. After Jeff parked he saw it was really crooked so he tried to move it but the truck wouldn't go into reverse. The good news is they gave us a car to drive at no cost while they had ours. Both of us were surprised by that. They called later to say the problem was the transmission control module and the repair would be around $1400.00. The truck is 5 years old and is not covered under the bumper to bumper, but in the warranty book there is a section with parts covered beyond the 5 yr /50000 miles. TCM is listed as one of those items. It says 7yrs/ 70000 miles. Jeff called the GM company to double check, he wanted to get it straight from them. Well the first person he talked to didn't know anything. She referred him to another and she told us yes it would be covered. Well to say we were happy is an understatement. We went to bed feeling a lot better about the break down. On a happier note Ashton played his first game in his first tournament and they one 7-0...yeah!!

Saturday November 7- Jeff got up early, he couldn't sleep. Now he feels like he's getting a cold. It rained all night long on and off. We left early to get over to the dealership and give them the news on the warranty. We told him that the people from GM will be calling to confirm. He still doesn't see it on the computer so he is questioning it. We told him it has to be fixed regardless of who pays. We left there and went to The Waffle House and had a super delicious breakfast. We got home and decided to cancel the rest of our Fort Pickins reservations. We wouldn't be able to leave until Tuesday at the earliest. The good news is they gave us all of our money back. We weren't sure how much they would keep but to our surprise they gave it all back. We paid for more nights here. Oh did I tell you we have had ants that have found there way in to our home. Its not fit outside with all the rain even the ants are running for cover. Ashton called and they got beat in there 2nd game, he was really upset.  They have 2 more games tomorrow.


Sunday November 8- We had planned to go do some sight seeing today but Jeff doesn't feel very good. Its rainy again today anyway. I've been working on my Christmas ornaments so at least I have something to keep me busy. I also made some homemade noodles. Its cooled off and Jeff said that sounded good. Ashton had 2 games today one was a tie and the other they got beat. I'm still super proud of him.


Monday November 9-Oh boy what a day. We went over to see if the truck was ready. They still haven't heard from GM. Jeff went and got the warranty book and showed them where it showed it was covered. but said they have to go by what it says on the computer. They was going to keep trying to get a hold of GM. We left and did some errands because they still needed to test drive the truck before giving it back to us. We went and got lunch. Went to the pizza hut, they have a lunch buffet so we get that. It was horrible..... everything was cold and gross. We made one more stop at Walmart before heading back to get the truck. While in there GM calls me. She proceeds to tell Jeff that she's really sorry but its not covered after all. We couldn't figure out how they could put a book in your vehicle that says something's covered but then not pay for the repair. We went and paid for the repair and picked up the truck. They will be hearing from us. We are going to try and get reimbursed for the repair. Came home and had a really nice supper that made up for that horrible lunch. I also finished up my Christmas ornaments. Tomorrow we hope we will be in Florida.

Going to Graceland Graceland.......

 

Thursday October 29- We got up early to hit the road to Mississippi. We were on the road before 9 a.m. It was going to be a long day for us. We had around 240 miles to go with a lot of that on 2 lane, hilly roads. We are going to Hernando Point Campground. We have been here before about 10 years ago. We had a different camper then. We actually stayed in the same site #50. Jeff planned a few stops on our way. When we stopped Jeff noticed something weird under the compartment where the battery is. Something is leaking, and whatever it is took the paint right off the rig. So we took some time to clean that up and try to stop the leaking. Something we will have to take care off for sure. When we pulled into the campground we had to be careful, it seemed like the roads were missing. There are lots of trees that have lost there leaves on the roads. Some of the branches were a bit low too. After backing into our site, which is right on the water and very private we had something to eat.

 

 

 

 

 



Our site had a water hook up, and 50 amp service. We walked around the park to get our legs stretched out. Jeff then got on the computer to do some research on the surrounding area. Tomorrow we are going to do the tourist thing. We are going to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee.

 

 

 

Friday October 30- Busy, busy, day planned for us so we got a early start. First we needed to get fuel. Then we headed to Graceland by way of Krispy Kreme Doughnut Factory...those are for me of course. We got a good parking spot at Graceland that cost $10.00 and headed in. Jeff went to purchase the tickets.....ouch. They really are over charging for this, it cost us $40.00 each to see Graceland, the grounds and a museum with his cars. You get in a van to go across the street. They give everyone an I-pad and headphones. Mine had a short in one side. It was about what we expected it to be. The home was smaller than I thought. You didn't get to go upstairs. We looked through the home, the grounds, and the grave site before heading back across the street. Then we went in and checked out his vehicles they had on display.

 

 

 

It was neat to see but its definitely over priced. We did learn that Elvis was a very giving guy. They showed some of the charity's he worked with. We left the truck there in the parking lot and took a free bus to Sun Records. It was a neat old buildings but instead of going in for another tour we took some pictures and walked down to Beale Street. It was a beautiful day to be outside.






















Before leaving the area Jeff wanted to go look at the Gibson Guitar Factory. We didn't have time to plan a tour which we hear is free. We looked in the window and saw a little bit of how they put them together. We also walked in the shop there that had some guitars you could try. Jeff found one that costs about $6000 dollars and gave it a try, boy he said it even made him sound good.

 

 

 

Our next adventure required a bit of walking. We headed toward the river where Bass Pro has purchased the Pyramid. It is huge with the usual stuff but bigger. They also have a lodge, bowling alley, lots of restaurants etc. The walk was about a couple miles. It was fairly easy to get there too. We ended up getting lunch there in The Uncle Buck Restaurant and it was good. We looked around a little and headed out. We walked down by the river before heading back to Sun Records to catch the bus.

The riverfront is really kept up nice. The have an amphitheater across the river and a tram that runs under the bridge to the island and back.

We made our way back to the truck and then back to the campground. It was a long day but we had fun looking at all the sites. Maybe if we come back we will do the Sun Record tour and the Gibson Guitar Factory tour. We now have a good idea of places we could park and walk. Bye, bye, Memphis until next time.


Saturday October 31- Rain, rain, rain, that's what you expect on Halloween. Jeff decided between last night and this morning he wanted to purchase a dish tailgate. We had planned to go to Camping World to get a couple things anyway. So off we went to shop. While we were in Camping World the sky's opened up and the rain just poured. Jeff found everything he needed and more. We headed back toward the campground. We stopped at the store and Jeff topped off the truck with fuel. He got diesel for $1.97 at the Kroger gas station. He couldn't believe it. The biggest news today was about our grandson, Ashton. He had his first hockey games today. We didn't get to see him but our kids keep us up on all that goes on. Ashton scored the very first goal in the first game. They had a second game too and he scored the very last goal in that one. They won both games and I'm sure he was excited about the results. Seth even facetimed me so we could see some of the game.























He was a bit nervous I'm sure the first picture was before the first game. The second picture was before the second game. Way to go Jr. Roughriders!!!! Way to go #7......


Sunday November 1- Well we fell back last night so that means the whole day will be a bit mixed up. We worked on getting the dish receiver set up so we can activate it at our next stop. We also called the next campground to make sure they have spots available. We don't have reservations there. We also called Fort Pickens. We have reservations there on November 4th, but because of all the rain the road to the park is closed. We hope it will be open before we are to arrive. Tomorrow we move again to Brandon Mississippi, real close to Jackson.

Bull Shoals White River State Park

Sunday October 25- Both Jeff and I woke up early this morning. We are ready to move on to our next spot. After the sun came up we got busy hooking up and packing up. We were concerned about getting out of this spot but it wasn't a problem at all. We hit the road around 8:45. We decided to take a way that was a bit longer. We hoped it would be easier driving with less hills and turns. We had about 216 miles to our next destination. We have visited this park before about 10 years ago but never stayed here. We arrived with no problems and found our way to our site #27. We are in the first loop but not on the water. We have a full hook up with 50 amp service. A shower house was located right behind us and they really take good care of them. They are spotless. After lunch we walked around the campgrounds and checked out all they have to offer. The first thing I noticed right away was all the Carriage 5th Wheels. I have never seen that many at a campground. I think there was 7. We also stopped in the bait store and got information about getting our fishing licenses and bait. Just walking around I'm loving this place already.

Monday October 26- We got up early got on our bikes and went to the bait shop to purchase our 3 day fishing license and trout stamps. The guy in there was very helpful, giving us pointers and tricks on what to do and not to do. We did some fishing by Big Spring first. The river was really running so Jeff had to rig the poles for that. Didn't do too good here so we moved up by the bait shop.

Jeff caught a couple up there...me not so much. We stayed until the rain moved in and then we went back to the rig.

Tuesday October 27-It rained all night and hasn't stopped yet. We decided to go take a look at the dam and the visitors center. Last time we were here they were building it. The visitor center overlooked the dam. Wish it was better weather out there for viewing but still pretty amazing.

Went in to Mountain Home and got fuel. Then on our way back we stopped at Gaston's which is a trout fishing resort. We went in the restaurant looking to get a late breakfast but breakfast was over. So we got coffee and blackberry cobbler with ice cream which was so good. The restaurant had a view of the river and the décor was very unique. They had old bicycles and scooters hanging from the ceiling, lots of cool stuff on the walls too.

After getting back and when the rain stopped we headed back to the river. Jeff caught 3 more, me.....nothing. This is beginning to annoy me. It's me, I'm not a very good fisher woman.  We had the trout Jeff caught yesterday for supper. It was really good. I have one more day to get me a fish.


Wednesday October 28- It rained again last night but just cloudy this morning. We headed to our spot to throw in our lines. I didn't have any luck this morning. We went back for lunch and I believe I see some blue sky's. We went back down to give it one more try.

I did it!!!! I finally caught a trout. It's the smallest trout I've ever seen but a trout non the less. Jeff caught a few more. We came back and had supper. Jeff cleaned the fish and we started loading up our stuff. We are leaving tomorrow. We both really like this park. The facilities are very well taken care of. The river is so pretty, and there is a lot of wildlife too. I've never seen so many squirrels in one place. One evening when we were walking we counted 9 deer in the clearing across the road from us. The roads to get here are a bit hilly and curvy but definitely doable. We will come back here for sure but next time maybe stay a little longer. We found our favorite sites so maybe next time we can get one of those. They say this park is one of the most popular in Arkansas. We see why. Good bye for now Bull Shoals White River....see ya next time.

Lake Of The Ozarks State Park

Monday October 19- It was a beauty of a day to travel in. We were on the road about 9 a.m. The drive was fairly easy, the only thing was we have never been to this park so we had to watch close. We arrived and pulled over to fill up with water. Jeff got on his bike to take a look around. Its an older park and unless you are familiar with it, its kind of hard to figure out. There are no full hook ups. They have sites with 30 and50 amp and no electric at all. There are no water hook ups on site either. They  have reservable  and walk in.  On every site that wasn't occupied there was a sign on it that said available for 2 days. We didn't want one of those because we didn't want to have to move. We ended up taking one close to the check in area. They had water sites but again a lot of them had no electricity. We wanted to set up. Well we had picked site #3 but that wasn't to be. It had a really tight turn and with all the trees and posts it wasn't going to happen. Our neighbor came out to help us out. Jeff had to back up but then we were scraping the bottom. We took the site right next to it #4. Well it was on a pretty good curve but we got in. The problem was going to be getting out. We made sure we had an out. Just didn't use the road, we would make our way through the grass. We had 30 amp service and was close enough to the dump station that we could walk over with our portable waste tank. The laundry facilities was close too. The park is really big with over 180 sites. After setting up we walked around the loop to get a better look. The more we walked the more we understood the lay out. We went in to town for dinner. Went to Outback and got a steak, it was really good. Finished that meal with a yummy dessert. It was in the 70's today with lots of sunshine.























Tuesday October 20- I started the day out with the laundry facilities. Our phones aren't working very well at all. Our television isn't working very well either. We do have a few channels, but don't have any network channels. On a positive note our internet card works so I did get to catch up on the blog. In the afternoon I took a walk around the campground, its a big park with lots of hills. What has us puzzled is all the buildings are really nice but aren't being maintained all that well. The cobwebs are thick every where. The rest of the day we just hung around and did some cooking. Made some apple crisp and baked spaghetti for supper. Again today its really warm 10-15 degrees above normal.


Wednesday October 21- Another warm day, its been kind of windy so we didn't get the boats out. I took a short walk this morning. On my way back I heard noises coming out of the dumpster. I went back and got Jeff to help rescue whatever was in there. I grabbed a broom to open the lid. Well Jeff did that and the raccoon still couldn't get out. I spotted a big piece of wood that Jeff put in there so he could get out.                                                                                                                                   

After he got out he just scurried off, no thank you for us. For our reward we decided to go into town to the outlet mall. It's not as good as I remember which is good, nothing to buy.
Went to the grocery store and Jeff found his chips, the are cooked in avocado oil and the only stuff in them are potatoes and sea salt. That made him happy. We went for lunch at Bandana's, we love there turkey sandwiches and again they were really good. We got back and took the dogs for a walk and Belle had blood in her urine. We had this problem last winter in Florida and we used the special food to dissolve the bladder stones and continued with a urinary food. We went to get x-rays when we were in Iowa and he said she's having no problems...the stones are gone. So as soon as we get out of the state this..... We will watch her very close. Hoping for the best.


Thursday October 22- Another really nice day. We decided to take on off the hiking trails. We took the Lake view trail. It was only about 1 1/2 miles. It was around the lake and it was really rustic. We didn't want to take a very long one because we want to watch Belle. Its really warm today, we sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine.

 

Friday October 23- We got some rain last night but it stopped this morning. It was still a cloudy, gloomy day. Went for a short walk and so did Jeff, he got a little wet because it started sprinkling. We knew it was suppose to rain so we planned to go to a show today. First we went to Bob Evans for brunch. We had some time to kill before the show so we looked at a couple stores. The movie was The Bridge of Spies. It has Tom Hanks in it. It was pretty good but seemed a little long. We didn't stay away too long, still watching Belle. She seems better. We watched some TV and hung around home.


Saturday October 24- It was our last day here. It was really warm last night. It seems to be cooling off some today. Since we are leaving tomorrow we went in to fill up the truck and anything else we needed. The campground had lots more campers this weekend but mostly down by the water. We walked around the loop and marked sites that would work for us. We also loaded up everything we could. We want to get out of here before everyone else does. We would probably use this campground again but this isn't our favorite area. There are sites for big rigs but its a bit confusing your first time in. Tomorrow heading to Arkansas, Bull Shoals White River State Park.