#42 Alamo and more 12-2008

We had Thanksgiving Day dinner with the residents at the recreation center. There were 16 of us at our table. It was nice, but no leftovers--so I made a small turkey with dressing. Alice made sweet potatoes and pecan pie on Friday. So we had two Thanksgiving dinners.



We have jumped right in to all the activities in and around "the valley." All during the year I've been doing little craft projects. I've learned how to make jewelry and wanted to see if any of it would sell. So I put together a craft table and set up at the Craft show at our park on Dec. 10th. A couple of my pieces of jewelry sold, some badge lanyards sold, a couple of Frank's walkikng sticks sold, and lots of Dixie's home made "Almond Roca Candy." It was a fun show. We set up at 7:30. The show started at 8:30 and was over at noon! Don, Alice, Frank and I went to the local high school musical. Suessical the Musical. These kids are amazing. It was so entertaining. We went to the afternoon matinee. There were a lot of "Winter Texan's" there supporting these kids.

Our next outing was to Hildago for the "Festival of Lights." We were served dinner, and then rode a trolley all around the town to view the more than two million lights. There was a lady on the trolley that told us about the lights and the displays. The night was cool, but not cold.

The lighted dragon above is all made of medicine bottles tied together and then lighted from inside. These were donated to the town from China. It was beautiful.

These are four of the boys that entertained us after the trolley ride. They belong to an all boy performing group from Mexico. They have performed in Disneyland and many other places. We felt priviledged to be able to see them. Almost all the songs they do are in spanish, but they are all great performers. This entire evening cost us $8.00 each!! What a bargain.

Here is our house all decorated for Christmas. Right next door is Alice and Don's Holiday Rambler. We both live on Azusa street. Having them next door has been fun. They are as spontaneous as we are and always ready to go somewhere or do something. We have already had an "Azusa Street" luncheon with about 20 of our neighbors attending. Our next outing will be a "50--'60's dance here at the recreation center. I can't believe how much there is to do. We have to keep a calendar for all the events.

#41 Alamo, TX 11-22-2008

Here we are back again where we left in January of 2008. We were welcomed like old friends coming home. No wonder we like to be here. The palm trees at the gate welcome us, the sun is out, the weather is warm. We arrived on Saturday and by Monday morning Dixie was in the swimming pool.

Our friends Alice and Don were here waiting for us. We even got a space right next door to them. It is cocktail hour and we are all enjoying our drinks.It has been almost a year and a half that we have been traveling and living together in our motor home. And yes, we are still speaking to each other as pictured below.

I think we are starting a tradition. Our first meal in Alamo was at the local Mexican restaurant, just like last year. Then Monday we headed for Progresso, Mexico to have fried shrimp at the local hangout for Winter Texans. The waiter took our picture, and you can see we are living it up eating shrimp basket dinners.

The little boy below, was playing the drum while his dad played the guitar. Both were just walking down the street. But, he was so cute we had to take his picture.Frank, Don and I all got our shoes shined. Juan has been there a long time and has a good reputation. He did an excellent job of shining our shoes. He charges $2.00 and people wait in line.Frank also got a haircut while in Progresso. The barber did such a good job on Frank that I got my hair cut too. It was a really good day in Progresso. The weather was great and everyone there are always glad to take the "Winter Texan's" money.

#40 Oklahoma & Austin, Texas 11-16 thru 11-19 2008

We wanted to go to Oklahoma and see a little bit of that state, so we left Branson and went west to see what the state of Oklahoma looked like. The "corn wasn't as high as an elephants eye," because it had all been harvested in the summer! We were warned not to take Hwy 69 because it is really a rough road. We stopped at the tourist information center right on the border and asked if the road had been repaired. The lady behind the counter told us that this summer when they took their boat down to the lake to go fishing, the road was so rough it broke the bracket that holds the motor and they almost lost thier motor while driving. So we decided to take an alternate route. The Indian Nation Highway is a toll road and a little further west, but to save wear and tear on the motor home, we drove the extra few miles and paid the tolls. It was well worth it. The road was good and smooth. Just before we crossed over into Texas we stopped at a state park. Lake Hugo.
Because it is winter, and very close to Thanksgiving, we had the place to ourselves. We parked right on the edge of the lake. Looking out the window it seemed like we were on the lake instead of beside it. The day was cool, but not freezing. We really enjoyed our night there. Very peaceful and quiet. No trains!Our first stop in Texas was the capital of Austin. We stayed there three nights. We took a tour in a van. The lady driver took us out to the west side and we saw some of the mansions built by the corperate techs. Austin is home for the Dell computer. The tour was very interesting.
After the van tour we took the free tour of the capitol building. It is a beautiful building and has been restored to its original look. Because the government of Texas is bigger than it was when the original building was built, there had to be an addition. That addition is four stories--down! They built it below ground level so the asthetics or the original capitol would not be ruined. We are in the tunnel, which is covered with sky lights, looking out to the capitol building. Very unique. So where I am standing taking this picture, I'm underground.
Inside the main capitol building we were able to go up to the 4th level and look down and see the main floor below, and see the mosiacs on the floor. The state of Texas is very proud of their star. All the door knobs have the star right in molded in the brass.

The hinges on the doors were made special for the capitol. They are really pretty, so I had to take a picture.

#39 Branson, MO 11-5 thru 14-08

Another show we went to see was The Osmond's with a tribute to Broadway. We couldn't take pictures, but here is the playbill that was on the stage before the show.

Then the weather turned really, really cold. So we put on all our winter weather clothes and headed to Silver Dollar City to see the Christmas lights, and the shows. It was so cold we didn't walk around too much, but we did stay to see the lighting of the Christmas Tree. It is all digital lights and changes colors to music. All the trees and buildings in the park have lights on them. Over 6 million lights! They have a light parade twice a night, so we had to see that, too. Then we headed for the car and turned on the heat full blast! It got down in the 30's at night and one night we had to unhook our water hose so it wouldn't freeze, below 30 that night.

While we were at Silver Dollar City we saw the musical production of Dickens Christmas Carol. It was as good as plays on Broadway. We were very impressed.This year we made it to Dick Clark's 57 Theater. Before the show we went downstairs and went through the '57 museum of cars. It is spectacular. This is a 57 Dodge, Lancer. I remember this car from when I was in High School. Only the one I remember wasn't a convertible. Oh my, that really dates me!!

Paul Revere and the Raiders performed at the Dick Clark, Theater. What energy.

And we got to see Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers. He performed the old songs and then brought on his two children who are very talented. We both enjoyed the show.

I felt that I was blessed to get together with my high school friend, Judy. She drove over from Kansas and stayed in her daughter's condo. We got to spend one full day together and another part of a day. It was just like old times. She hasn't changed at all. Still sweet and fun.

#38 Branson, MO 10-29 thru 11-14-08

We arrived in Branson and met up with our friends, Don and Alice. We always have so much fun in Branson.
The weather was beautiful the first few days we were there. One of the first things we did was ride the Ducks. Below is Frank with his quacker, which we are told to blow when ever we see another Duck!The trees were beautiful. The leaves had started to turn colors and while riding the Ducks we drove through the woods and hills around Branson.We go from land to water in the Ducks. This picture was taken from one of the hill tops looking down on Table Rock Lake. This is the Lake we take our "boat" ride on.One of the first shows we saw this year was the Andy Williams Christmas Show. He will be taking a year off and promoting his new book next season, so we were anxious to see his show. He is amazing. He is over 80 years old and I don't think he was off the stage more than 10-15 minutes the entire show.

Veteran's Day is celebrated all week, the week of Nov. 11th. The first program was a double amputee parachuting down in front of "The Mansion" theatre where all the Vets and families are treated to a free show with many of the entertainers in Branson performing free for a few minutes. The Oak Ridge boys, Kim Barber, Bobby Vinton, Barbara Fairchild, Deana Martin and Yakov Smirnoff were just some of the performers. It was a wonderful show and very well done.


The parachute jumper gave a very nice patriotic talk, before the show. Then he flew off to jump again in Oregon the next day. Amazing story.

#37 Ash Grove & Langleys 10-26 thru 28 2008

From Union City we drove to Springfield, MO. We spent a couple of days in Springfield and drove to Ash Grove and visited with friends, Allan and Dee Sanders. We drove around their acreage and cut a lot of "walking stick" wood. Then for dinner we drove to Ozark and went to the famous Langley's, home of the "throwed" roll. We have been there once before with Allan and Dee last year. It is so good that we wanted to go back. This is one of the guys who throws the hot rolls. We also get as much fried okra, black eyed peas, macaroni and tomatoes, home fries with our main meal. It is a real experience to eat there.
After we left Springfield, we drove to Branson.

#36 Union City TN, week of 9-29 thru 10-8-2008

While we were in TN, we stayed at AAA RV Park in Union City. There weren't any parks closer to Martin. Boy, did we luck out! The owner of the park is Bill Autry (he says he's cousin to Gene Autry, and he is sticking to that story!), and his wife Shirley. Together with their daughter Beth and son Billy, they run the park and have a dirt business. I think he just likes to play with his track hoe and tractor and dump truck! The second night we were there we were invited to a old fashioned bar-b-que, along with the rest of the park residents. There are only 21 spaces in the park and lots of the spaces are people who stay for weeks at a time before moving on to another job. Bill really took us under his wing and showed us the sights of Union City. He grew up in Union City and has so many stories to tell about the people and their successes. The morning after the Bar-B-Que (which was cooked by a competition bar-b-que cook), Bill stopped by the RV and took us out to breakfast. We were regaled by stories about the folks who frequent the cafe, and then Bill drove us around the area and gave us a history lesson on different businesses that have been started and became successful right there in Union City. We found out about the man who invented the "stone washed" process for jeans. He holds the patent on the process and any of the major blue jean manufactures that want to use that process have to send their jeans to Union City. This man started out as a linen supplier for uniforms. He is now a multimillionaire.
Then on another day we took Bill to the "Snappy Tomato" pizza place for lunch. He had told us about this place that makes unusual pizza. And boy are they unusual. Ever heard of a cheese burger pizza?, how about a hot wing pizza, and to top it off he makes a killer chocolate pizza with Bavarian cream filling and chocolate chips, as well as a apple cream pizza and a cherry cream pizza. And boy are they good! We met the owner/operator and he is just a country boy, and any friend of Bill's is a friend of his.

Above is a picture of part of the collection of autos-mostly Fords, that the owner of the Dixie Gun Works has in his museum. For a nominal charge of $2.00 each we could spend as much time as we wanted looking at his collection. Not only were there cars, but there was a carnival popcorn wagon that was powered by a steam engine, an old Whippet car, which is the forerunner of the Jeep, canoes, and the old time bicycles with the big front wheels.

The picture above is a replica of an old gun shop. All the tools and grinders and old barrels are in there. A person who knew what he was doing could walk right in and start repairing old guns and even manufacturing some. It was really cool, with labels on the equipment so you could see what they were used for.

I was fascinated by this mail delivery truck. For traveling in the hilly country when there was snow on the road, the truck had tracks onthe rear tires. Looks to me like it would be mighty cold work!

Ahh, I remember the Edsel. This car was supposed to really boost the sales at Ford. I remember when it first came out. It was really cool looking.

If you look on the walls above the Edsel you will see all kinds of parts hanging, both from the ceiling and from the walls. The entire room is just covered with all kinds of parts. Wheels, hub caps, fenders in their original boxes and all kinds of hood ornaments. The owners of the Dixie Gun Works put up discriptions of the cars, where they acquired, how much the paid for them and when they were aquired. This was all very interesting.

Out in the main store is where the guns and accessories are sold. Most of their business is mail order and they have a huge catalogue and are known world wide. If you would like to by a suit of armor, they have a couple for sale. There are some cannons, and lots of Civil War replicas. This was another Union City business I'd never heard of.

We were both unaware that Goodyear tires are made in Union City. The plant here employes almost 3,000 people. It is a hugh operation.

Another business in this area is "Kirklands," which is a big import business in home decorations. It was started by a couple of brothers that grew up in Union City. All their imports are personally selected by one of the brothers, who goes to China and other foreign countries to pick out their products. Bill Autry hung out with their younger brother when he was in grade school.

Who would have thought that the little town of Union City could hide such stories?

We were ready to hit the road after all our visiting, but sad to say good by.

Next stop-Branson, MO.

#35 Martin Relatives 10-24 thru 10-26-2008

On Friday, Oct. 24 we went for dinner (lunch) to Reelfoot Lake. This is just one of the Catfish restaurants near the lake. It just happened to be my first cousin Wayne's birthday. He and wife Charlene drove from Cleveland, TN (which is in the south east corner of TN) to spend the weekend with us. We felt so fortunate to be able to spend his birthday with him and with so many of our relatives. Frank had never seen Cyprus Knees growing out of the water, so we took a walk down to the lake and took some pictures. I remember the first time I saw them, I was awe struck, because I'd never seen any thing like this. These knees are on the bank of the lake,but there are some that grow right in the water, where it isn't very deep.

Above, some of the Cyprus Knees growing right out of the water. Some of the trees in the background are putting on their fall colors. It was a beautiful day.
We all stopped at the RV, so our friends and relatives could see how we live. There were 12 of us in the RV. It was a lot of fun to have everyone here.

On Saturday night, Hollis's sister Jean and husband Billy invited us and 8 others for dinner. She is a great cook. We got there early and they drove us around Martin, and even drove us by the place I was born. It is now a children's day care. The building was torn down and the new building put up. I'm amazed at how many relatives I have in Martin. I didn't know there were so many cousins, and cousins children and their children. We didn't get to meet all of them! Guess we will have to come back again.

Over the weekend we managed to go to a movie. "Fireproof" was the name. It is a movie that was produced by a church in Albany, Georgia. It was a very good Christian movie, with a great message about marriage and relationships.

We also went to church with Wayne, Charlene, Marshall and wife Sarah. Marshall and Wayne went to school together and have remained friends all these years.

#34 Martin Relatives 10-20 thru 10-29-08

When we arrived in Union City, we called Hollis Littrell who is my Fathers cousin on his mother side. He invited us to a "singing" at the Senior Center. There are 10 to 20 people who get together for an hour and just sing hymns. Many of the women play the piano and the others take turns leading and picking the hymns. We joined in for the hour and really had a nice time. They all made us feel like family. On Wednesday, after a Tuesday of solid rain, Hollis took us out in the country and we visited Cane Creek Cemetery where my Grandfather and Grandmother Cape are buried. As you can see the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. My Grandmother's name was Lessie Vincent Cape and my Grandfather's name was Jefferson Davis Cape.

Hollis showed us the graves of Lessie sister, Wessie and husband Alfred Littrell which is his parents. Lessie and Wessie are sisters. There parents were the Olive's, who are also buried in this same cemetery. This is the church building at Cane Creek Cemetery. Hollis told us it is used only once a year. It was refurbished in 1998. (Needs painting again!) He said there aren't too many people that help take care of the cemetery and church now.

All during my life my Dad talked about Mt. Pelia. This is where he grew up and where he and my Mother lived the first two years of their marriage. The sign points the way to the Mt. Pelia Baptist Church where Hollis has attended all his life.

We had a great day with Hollis and really enjoyed seeing all the places where the old homes used to be. Most are gone, either by fire or were torn down.

We even went by the site of the old school house. It was torn down just a few years ago and now it's an empty lot. Hollis told us it was only used for grades 1-8. After that you had to go into Martin for high school.

#33 Jackson, TN 10-17-2008

While we were in Jackson, TN we visited the original home of Casey Jones. They are just getting started on a million dollar improvement to build a museum and restore the home. This is the story of Casey Jones.

We couldn't believe the caboose mounted on top of the poles directing people into the Casey Jones Village. It was a big old general store, some other little stores and his home place as well as an engine and some rail cars.

Below is a picture of the children's room with their toys. It was done very nicely, with articles from the newspaper about Casey Jones, and original bedspreads on the beds.

One of the many artifacts that were showcased in part of the home. These will be moved to the museum to make way for the furniture and home accessories that are in storage.

While we were in Jackson, we found out that the Good Sam Club was hosting a Samborie at the fairgrounds. So we went and checked it out. We went late Saturday afternoon, did a little shopping at the vendors, had catered dinner and then stayed for the entertainment. While we were there we were introduced to the "Big Cyprus Chapter" of the Good Sam's. That is the chapter near my birth place of Martin, TN. In fact there were two people from Martin that knew my Dad's cousin, Hollis Littrell. This chapter made us feel so welcome. We ate dinner with them and sat with them during the entertainment. What a great bunch of people.

These entertainers were so much fun. I think they had as much with us as we did listening to them. They also entertain on a river boat. Good ole boys!

We stayed two days in Jackson, TN and then headed to Union City which is the closest to Martin we could find to park our Motor Home.

#32 Sun Studios an Memphis kings 10-16-08

We toured the Sun Studio where Elvis, Johnny, Jerry Lee and many other got their start in Memphis. The guitar on the outside of the building was built by Gibson Guitars. That is the same company that made Elvis's guitar. This is the original building and has now been classed as a historic monument. It went through many changes, it was used as a scuba shop at one time--I don't know where they did scuba, the Mississippi is too muddy to do any diving in! Guess what Frank found outside the Sun Studio? A little red Thunderbird!
I found an old jukebox that reminded me of the ones we used to play when I was a kid.
The picture below is called the Million Dollar Quartet. Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. This was a totally impromptu session, but went down in history at Sun Studios.
Frank, singing in the same microphone that Elvis used! How great is that?
I'm amazed to find a mosaic egg in front of the visitor center. I loved it. I could do that!

Did you know that Memphis is famous for three Kings? Martin Luther King was shot in the motel below. The Loraine Motel.

B B King was a famous blues singer who made Beale Street and many other places in Memphis famous. And of course, the King of rock and roll. Elvis Presley. So now you know that Memphis is the home of Kings!
Memphis has also produced one of our great novelist. This is a plaque commemorating John Grisham.
We really did enjoy our time in Memphis. It rained a couple of times while we were there. During our visit to Graceland it "misted" most of the day. We just got out our umbrellas and did our tour of Graceland anyway. On Wednesday night it started raining and rained all morning Thursday, so we did laundry! The afternoon was nice, so we did our running around in the afternoon and then had a terrific Bar B Que dinner, Tennessee style.

The next day we left and drove a whopping 70 miles to Jackson, TN.