The weather has been nice in North Texas and we are enjoying it.  We have been visiting with Robert and Lacey.  Lacey is working with Geico Insurance as a customer service rep, so we only get to see her on Sunday or Tuesday, her days off. 

            Dick has been checking back every few days with the office to see if we can move, so far nothing has opened up. 

            We have been taking care of everyday things.  The truck needed to be inspected, which we have done here every year.  We also spent quite a bit of time getting things back in order.  The techs at TS had removed everything from the closets in the bedroom and bathroom and from under the bed and of course, things were not put back as we had them.  This is also a good time to sort through things and do some getting rid of things we don’t use or need.

            One day we visited the newly opened Wal-Mart in Lewisville.  This is not like any Wal-Mart store we have ever seen!  It is one of their “green” stores, even designed to retain a huge pecan tree that is in front of the entrance.  The exterior design is modern and pleasing.  Inside the aisles and displays are much like a department store and the grocery section is really nice.  You can have a pizza made in a brick oven right on site.  Really nice.

            The Monday after race weekend, Dick went to the office to check on a site.  This man is going nuts without his internet!  He came back to the rig and said we were moving.  We got things packed up and moved to the front of the park.  Now we have the internet and he is happy.  The sites up front are smaller but we can deal with it.

            We went to North Park Mall in Dallas one day to see a special train display that had been set up.  The Trains at North Park is made up of part of the model train collection of Mr. and Mrs. Ban K. Bywaters.  This exhibit was spectacular.  As you wind your way through, various areas of the country are depicted. 

            Beginning with San Francisco, you then pass Mount Rushmore with its Presidents, the desert, the Dallas skyline with its distinctive buildings, cross the Mississippi River and finally Washington, DC and New York City in their holiday attire.  New York even has a subway.   We really enjoyed this wonderful display and the modest admission price goes to help the Ronald McDonald House. 

            For Thanksgiving, we joined Robert and Lacey at the Cracker Barrell for dinner as no one wanted to cook or have to clean up.  We had a good dinner for a modest price, however, they were already out of sweet potatoes and it was only 4:00!  Every time we have gone there for Thanksgiving, they have run out of something.  Looks like someone doesn’t plan for the number of diners they have. 

            Following dinner we drove to downtown Dallas.  After hearing lots of hype on the Neiman Marcus holiday windows, we figured this was a good time to go see them.  What a disappointment!  The only "holiday” window was a modernistic rendition of a tree being decorated by robots.  This did not say holiday to us.  We walked around the block looking at the other windows with some really far out clothing.  The four of us were disappointed in the trip.

            On the Sunday we packed up and headed south. We arrived at Rainbow’s End in Livingston, TX.  For those who don’t know, this the National Headquarters for the Escapees and location of our “official residence”.  We parked the rig and got set up.

The following morning we drove into Livingston for our yearly medical exams.   After our exams and blood work, we went down the street to have lunch at the Whistle Stop Café.  Then we went back to the rig for a while.  Dick had an appointment in the afternoon for a CT scan.  Following the scan, it was back to Rainbow’s End, with dinner and quiet evening watching TV.

On Wednesday Millie walked to the Club House for the Chat and Stitch session.  The ladies in the group were friendly and we had a good time stitching and chatting.  Millie was also happy to have a chance to meet Donna Huffer, leader of the Traveling Threads group, for which Millie does the quarterly newsletter.   They had only met via email and were happy to meet face to face.  Donna and her companion, Bob were at Rainbows End for a few days also.  

In the afternoon, Millie walked back down to the Club House with some books to donate to the park library.  She went by the mail window and picked up our mail and dropped by to see Donna for a short visit, only to find Donna gone.  The rest of the day was spent quietly, with Millie working on her stitching and following dinner we watched TV.

On Wednesday we went to our Dr.’s office to get the results of our blood work and Dick’s scan, then back to Rainbow’s End where we packed up and got underway to Richmond. 

We arrived at Riverbend RV Park.  As we were making the turn onto the road that leads to the park, our friends Jack and Ruth Diamond were in front of us.  They stopped and told us to follow them and they would direct us to the space they had saved for us next to them. 

We were amazed to see the number of rigs in this park.  We had come out here last year to see Jack and Ruth and there were only a few rigs out here but this year there were a lot.  The park has really nice large spaces and we don’t feel crowded at all.  The owners are working on putting in a kitchen and rec hall so when it is finished this will be a good rally park.  The rates are good and this will probably be our “home” when we are in this area from now on.  It is a little further out of town but quieter and we are enjoying having the space. 

See you next month.

(Lots of new photos in the gallery, take a look.  We couldn't link to all of them.)