Texarkana, TX to Symphony's house

We got up earlier than usual this morning since we have almost 600 miles to drive today. We all are still tired from yesterday's long slooooow drive. We decided to have a quick breakfast at the La Quinta. We checked out of the motel at 7:30 - our room cost $48.73. We stopped at the Raceway near the motel and got gas ($2.139 a gallon) before getting on to I-30. 

We continued north on I-30 to Little Rock where we connected with I-40 East. The roads were clear (no snow) and traffic was moving along nicely - such a nice change from yesterday!

We stopped at a Flying J in West Memphis (which is in Arkansas) at 12:30 to get gas ($2.259 a gal) and decided to have lunch there. We fed Tinker his lunch and then went inside to have ours. Mike and I ordered the chicken tenders with fries. We were back on the road by 1:30. Shortly after leaving the Flying J, we got onto I-55 and crossed into Tennessee.



We took I-55 south of Memphis to I-240 and drove east to TN-385 south down to US-72. We crossed into Mississippi. We stopped in Burnsville, MS to buy gas ($2.179 a gal) before crossing into Alabama and on through Huntsville.



I took this photo of Mike smiling while he's driving - we're only about an hour away from

7 hours driving 100 miles leaving Dallas

When we got up this morning, we found out that it had snowed during the night and we had just a little snow on the ground.




After a quick breakfast and coffee, we packed up the car and said goodbye to Chris and Carole and left their house at 8 a.m. We wanted to get on the road and out of the Dallas area before the snow got any heavier and the roads became a problem. Mike took a photo of the outside temperature that was displayed on our rear view mirror - 22° brrrrr!



Well, our plans to beat the snow didn't work out as you can see by the photo above. We stopped to get gas in Granbury ($2.339 a gallon) before getting on Highway 377 which would take us up to I-20. 

Once we got on to I-20 south of Fort Worth our day got worse. More snow had fallen and traffic was going really slow. At first the traffic wasn't backed up too much, but the closer we got to the south side of Dallas it became bumper to bumper and moving at a crawl. 



Tinker says he's tired of all this stop and go driving, especially when we stop and he can't get out. Boring!!!!!




We stopped for lunch at a Wendy's at 2:00 at Exit 465 on I-20. We had driven 75 miles since

Our last day visiting with Chris & Carole

This morning Chris & Carole took us to the country club here at Pecan Plantation for breakfast. We've spent the rest of today relaxing and visiting and watching the snow flurries.





We've heard that the roads around Dallas and Fort Worth are now clear from the snow we had earlier this week.

I've waited until tonight before I wrote about the medical diagnosis Chris received last

Snow in the morning and lunch at Mi Familia

It was 33° and lightly snowing when I got up this morning. We had light snow off and on this morning. The sun came out about 10:00 and the ice and snow started to melt.

Mike and Chris installed the under-counter filters in Chris and Carole's kitchen this morning. They will use the filtered water for drinking and cooking instead of buying water in 5 gallon bottles which they have done since living here.

The streets are clear of ice and snow, so we decided to go out for lunch instead of dinner just in case the roads should ice again.

We all went to lunch at Mi Familia in Granbury. Chris ordered the Chili Relleno dinner, Carole ordered the Shiner Bock Brisket Street Tacos with rice and beans, Mike had the Beef Fajita Quesadilla and I had the Taco Beef Quesadilla. Everything was really good and the service was great.

On they way home from lunch, we stopped at a frame shop to pick up a photo that Chris and Carole had framed. When we got to their home,

More cold temperatures and ice still on the ground

It was 28° with a wind chill of   this morning when I got up. There was still ice on the ground and roads from yesterday.

Tinker had a good time running in the snow this afternoon and chasing a ball around the yard.

From February 2015

Chris had bought an under sink filter system for the kitchen and he and Mike

Cold with Sleet

It was 27° with a wind chill of 18° when we got up this morning and we had had sleet during the night and the ground was covered with it.

From February 2015

Tinker wasn't too sure about the sleet on the ground when I took him out this morning. But once he checked it out, he started running around the yard having a great time.

From February 2015

Carole fixed a sausage, egg and cheese casserole for breakfast with home fries and some oranges.

We've spent the day watching movies and the weather reports for the winter storm that was moving through the area. We're just glad that we

It rained all day while driving

We got to sleep in this morning because Tinker didn't know how light it was outside because of the room darkening curtains in our motel room. It was 41° with a wind chill of 36° this morning. We packed everything back in the car and drove over to Denny's for breakfast.

Denny's was packed! There were a few empty tables, so we didn't have to wait. I ordered the ham and cheese omelet and Mike got pancakes. By the time we finished breakfast, there was a long line of people waiting for tables - we definitely got there at the right time!

It was almost 10:30 by the time we left Denny's and we stopped at the

Driving to Bossier City, LA

We got up this morning at 7:00 and it was a little warmer than yesterday morning - 42° with a wind chill of 36°. By 8:00 we had loaded the car and said goodbye to Mike and Gayle. We're hoping they can come down to Sebastian later this year for a visit.

We stopped at Hardee's in Ozark for breakfast and then headed north on US-231 to Montgomery to take US-80 west to get on I-20 at the Alabama and Mississippi state lines. Just east of Selma we saw hundreds of

Visiting with friends in Dothan

It was 25° with a wind chill of 18° this morning when we got up. Gayle fixed oatmeal for breakfast and cut up some oranges to go with it. We spent the morning relaxing and visiting before Mike and I (and Tinker) left to drive down to Dothan.

We had planned on eating a light lunch at Ms. Boomer's in downtown Dothan, but it had closed back in November. I had worked at the original Mrs. Boomer's for 7 years as the day manager. The restaurant had moved back to its original location a couple of years ago and it would have been fun to see it again. Oh well! We decided to go to Bojangles for lunch and had some chicken tenders with fries for lunch.

After lunch we drove by our old house in Dothan and it had been painted white (it had been a light beige or eggshell color).

From February 2015

We drove over to WalMart Supercenter on US-231 north and got gas ($1.999 a gal) and to do some shopping. We found a soft plush throw for Tinker and he could hardly wait for me to unwrap it when we got back to the car.

We still had some time before we were to see our friends W.T. and Glenda, so we stopped at Dakota Coffee and got a couple cups of coffee. Then we

Traveling to Ozark, Alabama

We got up at 7:00 this morning. It was 42° then with a wind chill of 35°. We drank some coffee, packed our suitcases and stuff in the car and cargo box and left the house a little before 9:00.

We drove west on CR-512 to I-95 north and then got on US-192 at West Melbourne. This morning we saw several groups of wild turkeys (the most we've ever seen on US-192) and I managed to get a photo of a few turkeys.

From February 2015

We got onto the Florida Turnpike ($4.50 toll) at St. Cloud and drove north to Lake City. We stopped at a Marathon station at 1:00 and got gas ($2.359 a gal.) before getting onto I-10 west. We saw this warning sign at one of the rest areas we stopped at on I-10.

From February 2015

We exited I-10 at exit 130 and drove north on US-231 to Dothan and around the Circle to US-231 North to Ozark. We arrived at our friends' house at 5:00 after driving 470 miles today. The temp was 37° with a wind chill

Last minute errands & packing for our trip

We've been busy the last few days getting things together for our trip to Alabama and Texas to visit with family and friends.

We've been watching the weather forecasts for the places we'll be staying at on our trip and it is going to be COLD! I went through our closets and got out our cold weather clothes so we could pick out the things we would need for our trip.

We took Tinker in this morning to the groomer's to get a bath and give him a little trim. We didn't want them to give him his usual short cut since it's going to be in the 20's and 30's for low temps where we're headed.

I had a dental appointment this afternoon and had Mike drop me off at the dentist's so he could pick Tinker up when he was finished at the groomer's. After Mike picked Tinker up, he just came on to the dentist's to wait for me and then we did a little last minute shopping and then stopped at the

Valentine's Day

This morning Mike and I drove down to Hale Groves to check out their retail store. We have driven past there many times and have never stopped in. They had a lot more than just citrus fruit. They had vegetables of all kinds, shelves and shelves of products made from citrus - jams, jellies, marmalades, salad dressings, barbecue sauces, hot sauces and the list could go on. We tasted some of the samples they had out for temple oranges, honeybells, red and white grapefruit to name a few. We will definitely come back after our trip and do some shopping.

We stopped at Sebastian's Roadside restaurant for lunch and actually had breakfast. One of their specials was a Cheesesteak Omelet with peppers and mushrooms and it was REALLY good. Mike ordered hash browns and a biscuit and I ordered grits and a biscuit to go with the omelets.

Today is Valentine's Day and we decided to just eat dinner

Visiting with Family & House Painting

We made a trip over to Kissimmee on the 1st to see my cousin Frances and her husband Jack at their time share and have lunch there. Frances had invited my brother and sister-in-law, but Cyril didn't feel like going out.

Frances fixed a meat loaf, roasted potatoes, corn and green beans and then a yellow cake with chocolate frosting for dessert - everything was delicious. Everything is furnished at the time share, Frances and Jack just have to bring their clothes and food.

From Visiting with Friends & Family

After lunch we all drove over to Cyril and Elaine's to visit with them - at least today we did take pictures. We have been known to bring our camera and then forget to take photos.

From Visiting with Friends & Family

Mike and I left about 3:00 to head back home. We did stop at Tractor Supply in St. Cloud to buy a couple of bags of corn to feed the squirrels in our yard.

Mike finished painting the walls on the house on the 4th.

From House Painting

I finished painting the white quoins (masonry blocks) on the front corners of the house and had started painting the window trim. The north and south walls of our house have a high peak and Mike measured the wall and it is