Do the hustle

We spent less time in Mississippi and Louisiana than we usually spend in a state because we have a little one with a birthday. I told Rick Faith could have her birthday in MS or AL, but wouldn’t it be fun to be at Disney World? It’s kind of not fair because we were at Camping World for Jacob’s birthday getting the RV serviced. We were at Sam's Club parking lot for Becca’s birthday because I changed our plans at the last minute (I wanted to watch the sunrise at the lighthouse in Portland, Maine, but it was overcast so I didn't get the shot). But we reasoned that all the kids would benefit from Faith’s celebration so it would be ok and it was. She had a “cast member” sing Happy Birthday backwards to her and another gave her a birthday wish and sprinkled some pixie dust on her.

Also going into this decision was whether to do Disney World before or after my half marathon. Walking around Disney all day is exhausting so I didn’t really want to do it before, but I wasn’t sure if I’d want to do it afterward either. We decided to go to Disney during Faith’s birthday week take the following week off to do school work and relax which will be great so I can be hydrated and rested for my race.

Running in Tennessee in December. I've run in rain and snow, but not much heat. I hope it will be cool the morning of the run.


I’ve run in twenty states since I started running in August. We’ve changed our schedule several times based on my training runs and last Friday we changed it again. I like to run on a track because it seems easier on my body than the road and I don’t like to run in freezing temperatures. The gulf area had a cold front come in so I picked the warmest area with a track and we ended up staying in Gulfport, MS. I had planned on running 13 miles but I was extremely bored after 8 miles and found it hard to keep going. I ended up running out of time since we had to leave the RV park at noon so I ran 12.1, leaving that last mile for my Disney race. I’m confident I’ll be able to finish in the time allotted and not be bored with the bands, fans and characters along the way.

A Taste of Louisiana

When you think of Louisiana you think of New Orleans and that’s the first place we headed. In the French Quarter we saw the building where the Louisiana Purchase was signed, listened to a band playing, strolled along the Mississippi and thoroughly enjoyed beignets.

Faith earned a Jr Ranger badge learning about jazz, the cuisine and culture. It was an enjoyable afternoon.

Morgan Freeman and Woody Harrelson were filming a movie in New Orleans


The next day we drove to the center of the state to see Avery Island where they bottle Tabasco sauce.

We watched a video about how they pick the perfect pepper using “le petite baton rouge” the little red stick to match the color. Rick loves hot and spicy things, but even the tender palettes of the family tried and enjoyed the chili samples. We also tried sweet and spicy ice cream, sausage, red beans and rice, crawfish corn maque choux and found something each one of us liked.

Rayne, La was on our list to visit because it’s the frog capital of the world. I thought of the cute little frogs, but looking into it the nickname came from exporting frog legs years ago. There was a candy store in town with the biggest gummy bear in the world so I thought it would be fun to go there. We didn’t see it when we walked in so we asked where it was- it had been sold three days before to be used as grooms cake in a wedding! The kids were happy to be in a candy shop though and picked up some treats. I took the kids over to a giant frog statue, but they wouldn’t settle down for a shot because Rayne may also be the mosquito capital of the world!

One Mississippi

First stop in Mississippi was exit 1 for Vicksburg. We added more Civil War history to our knowledge at the Vicksburg Military park. Once again the national park had a great video to explain the conflict. It was moving, educational and well done. We drove the 16 mile battlefield road. This area of Mississippi is full of rolling hills which made it easy for the Confederates to defend as the Union tried to come up the hill or down the Mississippi river.

They are clearing the land so that it will look like it did back then. The house on the right is the Shirley house- the only original building still standing from the war.

The USS Cairo was sunk during the battle. It went down in 12 minutes and no one on board died.

President Lincoln called Vicksburg “key” and Confederate President Davis called it "the nail head that holds the South's two halves together." Gen. Grant came up with a risky, daring, last stitch effort plan to take over the city. The siege lasted 47 days and involved the union troops digging trenches to protect themselves during battle. Civilians took refuge in caves. Grant’s plan paid off and the confederates surrendered on July 4, 1863.

Troops from the north had to overtake this hill during the battle.

Down time- kinda

We returned to Texas for Christmas and family get togethers. It was nice to be there. We went to the dentist, changed the oil in the car and RV, tinkered, figured out a place for all the Christmas presents to go, etc.

Christmas morning excitement

In January we headed west in our van leaving the RV in TX for three weeks. Our first stop was in Arizona to hike with RV friends from Texas and have lunch with my cousin. We drove to California to celebrate Grampa’s 90th birthday and spend time with my grandparents. (Rick turned a year older there as well.) We also enjoyed visiting with my aunt from Chicago, my cousin from Denver and my dad flew down from Seattle. I also saw a Soroptimist friend that was in the area.

Some of our best friends from Hawaii relocated to California. We had a great time staying with them for a week. Since we’re on the road so much we don’t get the daily time with friends and family so it’s always a nice bonus to be together.

On our way back we stopped at White Sands, NM to slide down the hills. It was fun- and a workout walking back up the hill!

It’s bittersweet to leave family and friends, but we have to go so we can come back! Our trip thus far has been great and we have more good stuff planned! We’re back on the road now heading east through the gulf coast states. Stay tuned…

Oklahoma City

Our first stop in Oklahoma was the national memorial in Oklahoma City for the bombing of the federal building. You walk through huge walls which are the gates of time that represent the time of innocence before the bombing, 9:01am, and 9:03, a time of hope and rebuilding. The bombing killed 168 people, including 19 children, and chairs represent the lives lost. The chairs reflect in the pool as do the gates of time and the only tree that survived the attack.

We found it interesting that one tree survived here as well as at the 9/11 site in New York. We returned to the park in the evening to see the chairs lit.

Oklahoma city is home to the only osteology museum in the country. As we walked into the skeleton museum we were greeted by beetles cleaning a skull. When animals arrive here the meat is cleaned off as much as possible and then they turn to the beetles to finish the job- quite interesting. This place has been featured on Dirtiest Jobs in America. The founder of the company started collecting skulls as a young boy. His wife encouraged him in his hobby and now they have a booming business. After cleaning the skeletons they are sold to museums, etc. We had an enjoyable afternoon seeing hundreds of skeletons.

The Trail of Tears is the trail the Cherokees took as they were forced to relocate west. Many suffered from disease and starvation as they moved into new areas. I love this sculpture depicting this sad event at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage museum.

We’ve never seen this crossing sign before- have you?

Adventures in Arkansas

“Central High was a good experience. I feel so bad for those 9 kids that had to go through all of those things just to school. I would just have given up on the first day. Those nine kids had to go through bullying, hate notes, hate calls, haters, and much worse. The first day military were told by the governor to keep those kids out of the school. The next day the president said they have to protect the children from the people. So the kids went through a lot of things! I am happy we have a better country now. “ Our daughter Becca's recap of our visit to Central High

We went to Central High School national historic site to learn about the country’s first integrated high school. I wasn’t sure if it would be too much for the kids to understand or if it would upset them, but once again the national parks did a great job portraying the event. It was educational and moving. The Little Rock Nine, a group of nine black students, were set to go to school on the first day of class, but the governor of Arkansas knew his constituents didn’t want their schools integrated so he brought out the national guard to keep the kids out of school. It is really amazing with the mobs of people and the anger in the crowd that no one was hurt. The following day President Eisenhower called in the 101st Airborne to enforce the rights of the Little Rock Nine. Each student was assigned a military escort that remained with them during the school day for the rest of the school year. That made their lives easier, but not conflict free. School wasn’t easy for the kids or their families due to threats and violence. The school closed the next year and the kids drove to Hot Springs an hour away to attend school. The school reopened the following year and still operates today.

Another really interesting place we toured was Heifer International. The idea of the company started when a man that was a missionary in another country would hand out powdered milk. He saw the same people daily and thought ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if they had their own source of milk?’ so he set about to make that happen. Heifer Int. provides animals to people in other countries. The animals provide food and an income source. It was an eye opener for the kids to see how kids in other countries live in their video- a girl that had only one dress and the back was cut open to allow for her growth; a boy whose job it was to pick up dung daily and he did it by hand, etc. When a family receives an animal- a chicken, water buffalo, heifer, etc- they promise to give offspring to another family to bless them. Byproducts of the animals can be sold- milk, manure, eggs, etc. It’s just amazing when you think that we could end both hunger and poverty. We bought some fun things in the gift shop- I bought a shirt that says “Who’s your llama?” They have an animal farm within an hour’s drive, but we skipped that and headed to Hot Springs.

In Hot Springs the national parks have taken over an old bathhouse as a historic site. It was interesting to step back into time to see the grandeur. People would visit the bath houses for relaxation or healing from diseases with the radioactive water found in the hot springs. The building had guest rooms, a gymnasium, parlor and more to entertain the guests. We’d hoped to visit a gangster museum in Hot Springs, but the time didn’t work out for us. That seemed like it would’ve been interesting.

Driving down the road Rick noticed a sign with Popeye on it- Alma, Spinach capital of the world- so we had to stop and have our picture taken with the Popeye statue downtown.

Ft Smith was a busy place in the old days situated in the Wild West. We saw the jail where hundreds were kept and the gallows where some lost their lives. We also learned about Belle Starr, an outlaw convicted only of stealing a horse, but her reputation preceded her. Rick said “I think I’m related to her.” What?! Yes, I checked with his parents and he’s related to her AND to Bonnie from Bonnie and Clyde fame. Wow- you learn something new everyday!

Good times in Tennessee

When my husband was in the Navy we looked at the possibility of being stationed in Tennessee. It seemed like a nice place to live so I was happy to visit the state in person. There are some great places there. It lived up to my expectations.

Our first stop in Tennessee was the birthplace of Davy Crockett. It was a nice little house on the shores of a river. I imagine it was a good place to go exploring as an adventurous boy. We learned that one winter Davy killed 105 bear! Crockett’s wife died right after giving birth to their third child. He remarried a lady with two children and they had another five children. When Crockett went in to politics he decided that when we was campaigning it was good to leave the people better than he found them. He’d offer them a drink so they’d take out their chaw and have a drink. When he left he gave them some new chaw- isn’t that nice? Another funny story we learned was when he was at a bar and didn’t have money for the tab he snuck out, found, killed and skinned a raccoon and presented that for his bill. The bartender accepted it and tossed the skin to the side. Crockett was able to retrieve the skin and buy rounds paying with the same skin multiple times.

Just down the road we stopped in the hometown of Andrew Johnson, our 17th president. Not many people are familiar with the man that came after Lincoln was assassinated. I learned about him in Jacob’s history this year, but we learned even more in Greeneville. Johnson started as a tailor. He was challenged with the post civil war recovery of the country. Congress didn’t like his personality and after many conflicts they brought him up for impeachment. This really tested our system of checks and balances. Johnson hadn’t done anything wrong and upheld the constitution and that was proven by one vote. At the national historic site you can watch a video to learn about the subject and then vote yourself. He has only been found guilty one year since they started the voting. His home was used during the Civil War by both sides since it was centrally located. The walls were covered in graffiti. They left a small square uncovered for visitors to see. Johnson’s tailor shop is now located inside the building.

We stopped in the center of the state to visit Nashville. The Opryland Hotel was decorated beautifully for Christmas. Mom and I went to the Country Music hall of fame. It was an enjoyable afternoon to see the progression of hillbilly, rock a bily, yodeling, etc transform into country. We saw Minnie Pearl’s dress and hat, attire from the cast of Hee Haw, Web Pierce’s silver dollar convertible decorated in horses, guns and silver dollars.

We also toured Studio B where Elvis and many others have and still record to this day. We saw where Dolly Parton ran into the outside wall when she was running late, had a new car and was new to driving.

A highlight for me was Graceland. I love Elvis and just listening to him sing all day would be a treat in itself, but to get to see his home, cars, planes, clothes, etc was a real treat. We had audio sets that guided and informed us through the tour of his mansion, rooms filled with awards and outfits and to the area where he’s laid to rest. For lunch Mom and I split one of Elvis’ favorite sandwiches- peanut butter and banana. I loved the garbage cans.

Our final stop in Tennessee was the Lorraine Motel in Memphis where MLK Jr was shot. The motel is now part of a museum. It was wonderful to be able to step back in time for a moment and view it as it was.