Memory lane...

There are only about two people on the planet that care about what I saw yesterday so the rest of you can take a break. But if you insist.....

As a youngster, at the ripe age of 7, me and my family moved to Dallas. My Dad was sent here by his employer to supervise the installation of some bakery equipment. The assignment was for at least a year so all of us tagged along in the old car and settled on Hudson street.

With over 50 years of water passing under the bridge, I now had the chance to come back and see what had happened to the old place. Over the years I'd witnessed the growth of the Dallas-Ft Worth area through various media reports. I remember my folks hauling us out to Love Field for its grand opening. It seemed a ways out of town then but now it is virtually downtown as the town has grown around it. Anyway I plugged in the address in our GPS unit and headed towards town. The 35 mile trip was stressful as traffic was fast and plentiful but we managed to find the right exits and soon were heading toward the old neighborhood. I was sure the fifty years had taken its toll and, as most old neighborhoods go, had been leveled for a new parking lot or new condo. As we turned onto Hudson Street my speculation was coming true. Many houses were leveled and new houses were in construction. However we continued slowly down the street looking for the correct address when the old place came into view. A rush of memories came over me as I saw our house for the first time in 5 decades. Little had changed with the old place.

The big front porch was the best army fort I ever had. My best friend Bill Palamoutain, lived next door and we played with the normal inexhaustible energy of seven year boys throughout the year. It was there I learned of ant lions, Erector sets, our first TV (which we watched the first public showing of an atomic bomb explosion, scorpions, and the joys of eating watermelon in the summer. We visited the new 7-11 stores, experienced Dr. Pepper for the first time and tried that new snack Fritos.





Not all was good and innocent. I learned from the department store clerk that certain drinking fountains were for 'coloreds only' and the city bus driver made sure I knew I was not allowed to sit in the back of the bus. Thankfully my folks knew better, but that's the way it was in the south those days.




The gravel driveway is now paved and to date, the house has escaped the wrecking ball.









The Palamountain's house next door.



Like most kids, I suppose the houses looked bigger, the trees taller, and streets longer than they appear now... but all that didn't matter yesterday. I chose not to go to the door and see who lived there now but to leave those memories as memories....

My next challenge was to find the school I attended. With a little help of the GPS and a street map we located it not far away. Class was in session and it looked much the same as it did years ago. Some of the playground trees were gone...trees that I first learned where mistletoe grew, and a playground where we had danced around a May pole to celebrate Spring and a classroom where the teacher tried to teach us the Texas state dance... square dancing. A lot to grasp in second grade. None of it stuck as I have not square danced since.

Lipscomb Elementary School 2007

Days slipping by...

I'm learning the value of the new prescription pill boxes Sharon purchased for this trip. Luckily for me they are about the only way I know what day it is anymore. Seven little chambers, each labeled with the day of the week. As we get deeper into this retirement thing, it not the days that count, but what we learn and do in each of them that counts.


We enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday at Sharon's sister's house. The in-laws, who flew in for the week from Michigan were surprised to see us show up. My brother and sister in-law have an elegant home and they both made the holiday celebration very special for all of us. I had the opportunity to take a picture of us just prior to dinner. This is what we looked like before consuming 52.5 lbs of food.





My new muffler should be arriving soon from Oregon. I couldn't find one here so I had to order it direct from Monaco. I'm trying to locate somebody nearby who will install it so we'll be ready to head south in a few weeks. However no one seems interested here so when we get to San Marcos will check around again.

We all made the pilgrimage to the 'Lose Your Shirt' casino in Oklahoma, about 4o miles north of us, the Friday after Thanksgiving. Standing room only greeted us with a lot of folks apparently spending their Christmas club savings a little early.

'Lady Luck" had over-eaten too as she failed to join us on the grambling junket.

Thanksgiving greetings

Thanksgiving greetings everyone...

Sharon and I would like to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving. May your day be safe and surrounded with good people, good feelings, and good food. We all have a lot to be thankful for and we're especially pleased that you have have taken time to join us on our journey.

Phil & Sharon

Sorry to keep you waiting on the big diamond hunt so I'd better finish. Sharon came over and said she'd found something interesting that I needed to look at. Down deep in her rumpled WalMart plastic bag was with prettiest piece of sharply faceted, near perfect specimen of ...broken glass. Our collective spirits sank and our plans of a world tour dashed. Oh well...on to Texas.

On to Texas almost..getting through Arkansas proved a little costly. We stopped to top off the fuel tank and the driveway had ruts the size most swimming pools would envy. I took it real slow but just as I was about to pull onto the highway there was a frantic man waving in my rear view mirror. He looked kinda big and kinda mean with dirt and grease from head to toe. Sharon thought I had forgot to pay and he was after me. I said no and quickly stopped as he had caught up with us bit then and began to open our door. This Shrek like greasy guy actually turned out to save me a bunch of money. One of the ruts caught my main muffler and tore off the tailpipe extension and my tow car's left front tire was resting upon it. Another few inches and the 24 inch long piece of 5 inch stainless steel could have caused a great deal ugliness under the Trailblazer. Any way, the jolly green greasy giant was very gracious and more than helpful. We got things put away and moved on to Texas hoping to find a repair place somewhere along the way.

We finally arrived at our campsite near Denton. Not a bad place but we've been to better. Noise level is a little high but the location is great...right down the street from an RV repair facility.

We finally had the chance to visit Sharon's sister and brother-in-law. A long overdue get-together that allowed us to see their beautiful home and enjoy getting caught up on all things important. They are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for their kids and she and Sharon's parents who are flying in for the occasion. We're sort of the surprise quests as the parents do not know we're attending; thinking we're still in Hot Springs. Anyway Sharon and I are both looking forward to the gathering; loving family, great surroundings, and food fit for kings and queens.

We took a short trip yesterday. Out in the country a bit, with large parcels of cattle and horse inhabited pastures surrounded by pristine fences and the obligatory 20 room mansion atop the hill. Drive another 1/4 mile and you have a miracle mile of shops and malls. The Dallas metroplex is expanding so rapidly that the cows can't hardly get of of the way. We went into the Grapevine Mills mall for a hour or so today. Hardly room to stand. Thought is was Christmas eve. Not used to that around our home town. Generally several vacant stores and and shoppers with vacant looks wandering around. What we need is a good dose of Texas prosperity to turn things around, I'm afraid.

(click to enlarge for better view
Sharon can make friends with anyone.

Beautiful Grapevine Lake is within 10 minutes of the mall.

Today was laundry day and washing the coach. Both chores overdo.

No luck in finding a muffler for the coach today either. Almost rude response from the local Monaco dealer, not interested in even referring to someother place. Will write a letter to somebody complaining about this before the week is out. Later had a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Host was British, cook was Mexican, food was good with all the fortune cookies you wanted.

Apparently problems at the Dallas airport today. Something to do with their communications equipment. Probably will delay in-laws arrival. Weather will be taking on a Michigan like flavor as the week progresses. By the weekend be should have highs in the 40's. Ugh! Maybe should head south sooner?

We'll be kicking back for a few days. Sightseeing, visiting, enjoying the holidays and doing little of nothing. Stay tuned...happy holidays.

Overcast and a little cooler but this was the day. The day to prove our worth as diamond diggers. Though an old hand at it,(previous trip to the mine in 1952) I did practice a bit out in the gravel driveway near our campsite. Carefully turning over each rock and sifting through the ruble. Knowing that such training is so valuable, it quickly proved its value as I quickly uncovered two cigaratte butts and a beer can tab. Now that my skills were honed to a razors edge, we headed for the mine about an hour south of our camp.

As usual, the road was winding with ups and downs about every 100 feet. We've also made a discovery...driving the speed limit, especially now that it was raining, just doesn't get it. It seems just about every 70's vintage rusty Ford pickup found my rearbumper coaxing me to push the limits of my driving talent. I pulled over to let them pass so many times they probably thought I was delivering the mail.







As we pulled into the Crater of Diamonds State Park I expected a flood of memories to overcome me to but I guess 50+ years dulls things a little. The dirt looked the same anyway. After coughing up a few bucks for admission, we moved to the next stop to rent/buy the proper mining equipment. Though I wanted a Bobcat they said the shiny new garden shovel would be more appropriate for my age group. So after I purchased the $4.00 green shovel, a matching minature rake and a rented $15 dollar sifting box, the intrepid fortune hunters, along with high hopes, ventured out on the field of dreams.

To describe this 30+ acre treasure trove is easy. It's sort of like the WWI 'no mans land', with trenches, craters, and no living vegatation. The only thing missing was the clouds of mustard gas. Which, now that I think of it, may have been a blessing.

Whatever glorious ideas Sharon may have had about what it takes to hit paydirt vanished after the first shovel full. This is hard, back-breaking work. Rocky, heavy soil that, even after it been re-plowed about a month ago, was hard and crusty from throngs of wana-a-be diamond finders. Walk carefully or you'll be in a plaster cast with one appendage or another twisted apart. Mini craters pockmark almost every foot of the grounds. After careful inspections we also noticed just the tops of some diggers heads. They must figure the deeper the better. There was also a contingent of locals who have elaborate equipment set up to sift out the gems. What they do is dirty and tough work. I was told that several do this for a living. Apprently this is not unique as one digger, years ago, was at the mine almost dailey for 32 years.

Anyway....with our pot o' gold only one little shovelfull away, we pressed on for hours.
Sharon wandered off on her own...up by a lone tree stranded in this field of dirt. She had a hunch, womens intuition, call it what you want, that the next Hope diamond was buried there. I continued on working the heavy soil only to find a remnant of a plastic bottle and twp pieces of jasper. A colorful, smooth surface rock of little value but all mine. As I began to gingerly get up from my dig site, Sharon came walking up with a little smile on her face.



It's getting late so I'll finsh this later.

Here are some of the great folks we met while in Hot Springs


Hot Springs Music Festival Executive Director

Laura S. Rosenberg

Check out their website: http://www.hotmusic.org/

Max & Betty

Helpful shoppers at Weldon's Meat Market

They were right-on with their recommendations

Around Hot Springs

Looked around but he must have left.






He lived here once but whoever does now, has plenty of signs up noting there are no tours.

Brass plaque says something about his boyhood home. Didn't get out of the car as traffic was too much







One of the old mineral bath houses along 'bath house row'







Arlington Hotel....former hangout of FDR and Al Capone

We have just finished a fantastic steak dinner and I decided to sit outside for a while enjoying the unusually warm evening. Our site is quite dark and the stars are bright in the sky with an occasional bat darting in and out of the old maples. Sharon joined me and we watched several planes pass overhead and even a satellite come into view. Reflecting on our activities of the day we both again agreed that this trip is really special. Maybe it's the freedom we both have to enjoy what's around us more. Whatever it is...it agrees with us.

We met some interesting and kind people today. People who came into our lives with no other reason than to be helpful. A lady in line at the post office stepped forward to offer her office's fax machine when we thought we needed one to solve a problem we were having with our mail. We met her again in the parking lot and discovered she and her husband were deeply involved
in the local music festivals, friends of jazzman Dave Bruebeck and a truly engaged supporter of the Hot Springs community. Refreshing to see such honest enthusiasm. We felt so comfortable with her we later called her for a recommendation for a good meat market (remember that great steak dinner above?). She graciously said since she was a vegetarian it wasn't her forte but asked around the office for us and came up with suggestion.

With the thought of a steak on the grill this evening we headed out to find this market. We located the place and I was soon ogling the selection of steaks behind the glass display case.
After quizzing the meat cutter I settled on a couple of porterhouses. At $9.75/pound not a bad deal I thought. As I stand there watching the meat being cut, a gentlemen comes up and strikes up a conversation with the meat man and soon the three of us are engaged in meat talk. Sort of a man thing I suppose. Something primal for sure. Anyway the more the guy talked of how good the meat was, the more I bought. Before long I had an armload and noticed Sharon, out of the corner of my eye, talking to a women in the back of the store. I wandered over to show off my purchases but they were engaged in the finer points of the homemade macaroni and cheese offered in the display case. Soon, her husband joined us and he, as it turned out, was the same guy at the meat counter. We soon were exchanging backgrounds and travel stories. We parted company after swapping email addresses and headed for our respective homes and I again realized how many gracious and interesting people that have come into our lives. It was another good day.

Hot Springs Arkansas

Whew... what a ride south from Branson. I now know of a new place to hold the next grand prix race. Up, down and around hills and hairpin turns in a 65ft, 19 ton ,ten wheel, two vehicle package that has it's own toilet. The view from the drivers seat is sort of like tunnel vision. There is no room to allow the eyes to wander about enjoying the spectacular scenery. I think something more like a mule might be more fitting the next time I go this way.

Shortly before prying my whitened knuckles off the steering wheel after the 5+ hour ordeal, someone was standing near the entrance to our KOA stop frantically waving me to stop. I brought the behemoth to a halt and the guy said 'you're dragging something under your rig'. I asked if it was still alive and he said it was some sort of pipe. Relieved that I had not drug some oldster who had wandered into my path while in Branson, I discovered that the exhaust pipe on the diesel furnace has broken loose. Luckily there was a mobile repair service already working on a rig at the park and he agreed to look at it. It appears to be a minor fix however having said that, most of the time any repair people touch the rig it's ten times more than I estimate. Wanderlust has a price. I called Monaco for assistance and they're working on a solution with AquaHot, the company who manufactures the furnace. Should know more tomorrow. Unfortunately our plans to go diamond hunting may be delayed a day.

The park is nicely laid out. Rolling hills with lots of trees decked out in autumn colors. The neighbors appear to be a mixed lot. Single women in a Class C on one side spending a lot of time using her laptop and about 5 units on the right side filled with good ole boy stock car racing fans. Since they're close to my age, they've slowed downed to a couple of beers and a brat then a slug of Metamucil then off to bed. Apparently there is a race track nearby and they are getting ready for next weekends festivities.

Depending on the repairman and the weather, we may end up touring Hot Springs and maybe getting Sharon into one of the mineral springs to help with her sore back. She also wants to go to the Billy Clinton library for some unknown reason. All I interested in is seeing the famous blue dress. Suppose I'll be disappointed?

As these days go by and we continue to see what a privilege it is to taking a trip like this, we still think of our friends and family back home and hope that through this blog, all of you can share in our experiences.

If you're a first time Phil & Sharon BLOG reader

Just in case you're new to blogs, the column to the right of the photos and commentary (where this is located) is the running stories we have written as this trip progresses. If you want to read the first entry you will need to start at the bottom of the list and work up if you need (want) to catch up. That means the latest comments/photos are always on the top of the column. Or just arrow down in the column to the end (could be several pages) to the first entry.

Also don't forget...you can double click on any photo for an enlarged view. But beware...the extra detail might not be good for either your eyes or young impressionable children.

The blog also has the ability for our readers to comment on what they have read. As a matter-of-fact the whole world can see these words and photos and some will probably either not like them or take exception in some way. We'll apologize in advance to any that are offended.

Since this is also our first blog, we are learning as well and will surely misspell, mis-punctuate, and just plain miss the boat on how we've told the story. Not to worry as we'll probably tell the story a different the next time we see you anyway. We'll also try to keep things in some sort of order but since we occasional want to share with you something that earlier slipped our mine, we just throw it in whenever we need to.

We're headed off to Hot Springs Arkansas in the morning (Monday 12th). We'll use that KOA as our base camp for our great diamond hunting adventure at the Crater of Diamonds National Park. Recent multi-carat stones have been recently found so our enthusiasm is high in spite of the 0% chance of repeating others good fortune. Hope springs eternal...

Titanic

TITANIC

I was just a little skeptical about going to this 'show', but as it turned out it, was one the highlights of our stop here in Branson. Not a typical stage production but a collection of Titanic memorabilia and historical documents that focused on the crew and passengers and the time line from the laying of the keel to the first images of ship at the bottom of the Atlantic.
The staff we so knowledgeable about every aspect of the ship and the souls on board. They were dressed in uniforms of the ships staff and available for questions any time. We took about 2 hours to walk through the exhibit but could have easily spent more time there. If there was a down side it was they did not allow photos to be taken.

Branson's American Bandstand

Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater. Glitzy place with a great collection of 1957 vintage cars, old rock and roll headliners and a resturant that serves very marginal food.

Branson November 11th

Official sample taster.
One of many craft and specialty shops around Branson. Sharon and I managed to try a little of everything in this shop. Cheese spreads, dips, coffees, spiced drinks and other good stuff. This dealer was next to a shop that made dulcimers and guitars. Unfortunately the workers had already gone home but left much of their finished and almost finished work to look over. Lots of quilts and blown glass were in adjacent shops but far too much to see.
Tom and Hilda Wood of Baton Rouge. Celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary in Branson. He recited a poem to us he wrote for his bride and gave us a card with the Rules for a Happy Marriage" . Among them was....
"Make time to have fun together
You are never too old to play
Remember to say "I love you"
At least once or twice a day"
Tom was a Korean War Navy Vet who was a radioman on a landing craft in the first wave of the invasion of Enchon . Filled with many stories but his most favorite was any that included his wife whom was still very much in love with. Quite a couple we were lucky to have met.

This is the real Branson....Miles of neon and flashing lights, signs that rival Las Vegas but with some of the most courteous people we've met so far on our trip. Three days here and did not see a single police officer on the street. Finally saw one this evening in a squad car. Driving in the city requires lots of patience and quick reaction times and good brakes.We enjoyed a nice dinner at Landy's Seafood Restaurant. Waitress was pleasant but was from a town named Blue Eye. When asked how the town got its name she replied that the mailman apparently had blue eyes. Go figure.

Springfield Illinois state capitol building.
Beautiful monument where Lincoln is buried.
Original train station in the town of my fathers birthplace and where my grandparents Anton and Elizabeth Madarasz (even though on the wedding license it's spelled 'Lizzie') were married. Both grandparents probably arrived (separately) here at the turn of the last century where Anton later worked for the Madison coal company and then the Illinois Central Railroad.

Little remains of the mine as is it now closed, and the town has shrunk from its peak in the late twenties of around 3500 souls to its present day 1000. Talked with several older town folks who filled in some detail about the town had not known.

For those you you who served in the military these should look familar. I took these at Ft Leonardwood Missouri. I was stationed here in 1966. The place had change so much I hardly recognized it. These buildings were just like the ones I stayed in while at Ft. Knox in 1965 are are some of the last examples left at the post.
Typical sleeping arrangements. Not exactly a Serta Sleeper for sure.
If modesty was an issue then you had better had left for Canada before the draft. This was multi-tasking at its earliest. To the left, not in the photo were the sinks for shaving and the open showers.
I spent a bit of my early boot camp days learning the finer points of using one of these. Never did get it quite right.

All alone in Lebanon MO

Top Gun ?

Sharon trying out an F4 Phantom fighter at Grissom Air Museum somewhere north of Indianapolis. She says ... "it gets to the mall in a hurry... but tough to park".

On the backroads

Stumbled across this little air museum on a secondary road heaing south to Indianapolis. Not as spectacular as the Dayton museum but interesting.

In the beginning...

Don't let anyone fool you...retirement is all it's cracked up to be. At least that what we think so far. With great going-away parties from our children and our extended families from our home town and my college days, we're off on a six month journey that should take us through some fifteen states. Our trusty (we hope) motor home is ready for the road and should keep us safe.
Sharon and I will share the duties of writing and photographing for this blog and hope you enjoy our efforts. I also have to admit that I stole the title of this blog from a former co-worker (who probably got it from somewhere else) but it fits and I'm grateful...thanks Tim.

We began our trip with a stop in Holland for some minor service on the coaches heating system. With just a step or two ahead of possible snow flurries and much colder weather, we decided to make sure we had enough heat on board in case the weather turned sour faster than we could drive south. We scheduled our first stop on the south side of Indianapolis. Why there? Well I really don't know other than it's a neat city and it's about 250 miles from my last stop. Being that we're in no hurry, our plan is to start each day around 9am and finish around 3pm so that should give us enough time to travel the allotted distance.

Our slow pace did allow us to stop at the Grissom Air Museum somewhere north of Indianapolis.
Certainly not the caliber of the Dayton Air Museum but interesting anyway. I even got Sharon into the drivers seat of a F4 Phantom. They had a B-17, B-58, C-47, F-14 and several others piston engine craft.

After finding our camp in Indianapolis and setting up, we enjoyed a very nice Italian dinner at a little family owned restaurant south of town celebrating my 62nd birthday. The next morning we unhooked the tow car and headed to the city only to run into bumper-to-bumper traffic. It seems that the Colts were playing a big home game (they lost) and tied up most of the downtown area. As we tend to roam around with no particular destination, I soon recognized familiar territory not long after heading west from the city. The Indianapolis Speedway sign appeared and I decided to show Sharon the track. We found our way inside the track at the museum and booked a ride around the track on a short bus. Not exactly the racing steed I'd like but the only thing they'll let you out there in. Though we were rolling along at a brisk 15 mph pace our pulses quickened as we picked up a 30 mph tail wind coming out of turn 4. A thrill to be there anyway. The thought of doing 230+ on the straights and going into the turns at nearly 200 seems impossible.

Our next stop was Springfield Illinois. We booked a couple of nights at Mr. Lincoln's RV park located near the downtown area. I wanted to visit the Springfield area to do some research on my father's family. His folks were married and he was born in a small town (Divernon) just south of Springfield. Little information was available but the trip to Divernon and spending time with some of the town's older citizens was interesting and entertaining. While in Springfield we also finally figured out who was buried in Lincoln's tomb.

While driving through the countryside of both central Indiana and southern Illinois it struck me as to the vast amount of farm land in use. Mile after mile of neatly tilled soil waiting for winter snows. Some might say boring but to me but it imparts a sense of security and tradition. I do however miss the Burma Shave signs.

As we struggled through the hideous traffic in East St. Louis we manged to lose one the new hubcaps while crossing the Mississippi river. Roads as bad as in Michigan.

We arrived at our KOA camp in Lebanon Missouri. Like the last stop, the camp was quite empty with only 3 others staying. The camp was right next to I44 so it will be easy to get going Friday morning for the Branson. Today was another nostalgia trip for me as we spent a couple hours at my old Army base Ft. Leonardwood (see photos on a later entry). Went to the museum and toured some of the old barracks that were preserved. I even took a ride to the camp golf course to see if that wicked 600 yard par 5 was still in place. It was and looked just as intimidating. 41 years had not changed much other than the trees had grown, almost every building on post had been torn down and the place looked like a small modern city.
From there we headed for another old haunt, Lake of the Ozarks. About a hour north of the Fort it was a remote, sparsely populated tourist town with about 20 stores and bars. The big attraction for us Army guys was the three decker boats that went out on the lake on the weekends complete with live bands and lots of beer and girls. The boat were still there, and maybe even the girls... but they place had grown to a scale like Traverse City only larger. If I had only the mind to buy land there 41 years ago.

We only have a short 2 hour drive to Branson Friday so we should have a restful, lay-back sorta of day.