The Drama Never Ends With My Family

Our pass through Phoenix brought some very mixed feelings. When we got into town, I called my daughter and said, “This is mom.” She replied, “I don’t have a (BLEEPING) mother” and hung up the phone. Then there was a letter in our mailbox from my sister who is once again trying to take us yet again to court and this time trying to take our home from us. They thrive on the chaos and drama and will do anything to keep it stirring up. As for me, I have learned to let go of the past and move upward and forward. The most important thing that I can now do is to just forgive them for they are so consumed in the anger and pain that they cannot possibly know what they are doing.

How can they continue to hold onto such anger? Why won’t they just let go of the past and move forward and learn to forgive? There is nothing in this world that is worth carrying on for all this time inundated with all this revenge eating away at their souls. It is a sad day when people are unable to let go of the hurtful words that were said so long ago and choose to instead hang on to the ugliness. Just a short time ago I was just like them, wanting, actually needing the chaos in my life but now I choose to let it all go, be happy, enjoy what time I have left in this lifetime, not drudge up the past and forgive everyone including myself.

Life is definitely too short to waste any more of my valuable time trying to figure out why they do the things they do. Even though it hurts that my sister still needs to find ways to try and make my life miserable, she will continue doing just that and I will no longer be a part of it. And, it hurts the most that one moment, one very bad moment in my life a year ago I said some pretty mean things to my daughter but instead of her forgiving and moving on she needs to hurt me as she has been by not allowing me to be a part of my grandson’s life. I was there from the day he was born and for her to take that all away because of some things I said and have tried to apologize for then this too is out of my hands. I cannot change them, all I can do is change the way I perceive what they do and as I said, I forgive them and of course pray that they will find some peace in their lives soon.

KOA
Fort Stockton, Texas
February 2007
8 Rating
Club Memberships - KOA, Good Sam
Price We Paid - $25
www.koa.com

It had been years since either of us had stayed at a KOA and we both assumed you had to be a member to even stay there. We were wrong, the only thing having a KOA card does is save you 10% just as the Good Sam Club card did.


This park was conveniently located right off of I-10 at Warnock Road with a restaurant attached, the meals were home cooked and very good. The shower area was unique, they were private with your own toilet, sink and shower, the only complaint is a very small shower stall, otherwise they were clean and very spacious. Great pull through sites with full hookups and a very friendly host.

We would definitely stay here again whenever in the area and will even look into other KOA parks to stay at in the future.

Fort Stockton, TX to Deming, NM

We have driven many of the different roads less traveled into Phoenix and each one had been too challenging so we opted to take the Interstate this time. We have also made a change in our plans once again. That is what is nice about this lifestyle, when things just are not working or the roads get bumpy, then change course. At this time we will not be going to the coast, instead we will stay a few extra days in Phoenix and get into Las Vegas earlier. Once we complete our work at the racetrack then we will head to California for our leisurely drive along the coast, from San Diego up to the Redwoods and then will probably head for Minnesota. We want to be able to take our time driving along the coast, stopping and doing plenty of sightseeing without being so crunched for time as we would prior to the race track.

I have been feeling very melancholy this morning and most of the drive, probably because we are heading into Phoenix and once again we will not be able to see our daughter and grandson. It saddens me and brings me into a place in my thoughts that I replay repeatedly looking for some sort of answers to why this continues to be a dilemma in our lives. I could not control the tears so I just let them flow and of course, I feel a bit better.

We stopped early enough in Deming, New Mexico so we could connect our dish and watch the NASCAR race from California, which we did. We stayed at an Escapee’s park, Dream Catcher. What a great park, clean and open and the showers were the best we have ever experienced.

Check out our reviews at http://www.zeesource.net/maps/map.do?group=29452

Johnson City, TX to Fort Stockton, TX

A bit of a windy night and we were rock and rolling a few times through the morning hours. We got an early start and headed to Fredericksburg, this is one of those quant western towns that make you feel all warm and cozy just driving through it. We picked up 87N towards Mason, another quant western small town. As we were arriving into the town, there were a few police cars with their lights flashing at the scene of a bull on the run, he was not very happy that these officers were detaining him. Luckily, we were able to get by the scene without any further incident occurring.

The skies were clear but the wind was picking up as we turned onto 190W in Menard and this road would have been the perfect drive if not for the treacherous wind knocking us around, Jerry had a firm grip on the steering wheel at all times. As we headed into El Dorado, we discussed our options to either stay on 190W, get to I-10 or possibly find a campground now and pull off. We opted to stay on 190W, stopped for gas in El Dorado, the wind was blowing so hard, and we could see dust storms all around us but we continued. Just as we were getting out of the city, we were hit by a dust storm like nothing I had never seen before. Jerry stayed calm and crept through it as I panicked and began to cry. Living in the Arizona desert for over 15 years but I had never experienced one while driving so it was a bit unnerving, especially in our home. What is it about Texas and its weather anyway? Every time we come through we deal with some sort of freak storm, this has to stop. Today I learned something new about my husband of over 10 years, he has driven in a few dust storms and even raced his motorcycle through many more while he was younger and during his racing days.

Even though we left the dust storm behind we continued to deal with the very strong winds all the way into Fort Stockton where we pulled into the first campground, which was a KOA. It has been years since we both had stayed in one and we are very impressed and will probably stay at many more now. For some reason we both thought you had to be a member to stay in one and we found out that if you are a member you receive a 10% discount, which we did anyway, using our Good Sam Club card.

Do not forget to see our reviews at http://www.zeesource.net/maps/map.do?group=29452

Sulphur, LA to Johnson City, TX

Every time we get on Interstate 10 it is rough and bumpy so at this time we are assuming it is this way all over but most of the other roads less traveled on that we took today were not as rough as yesterday.

Last year when we stayed in Beaumont, Texas to help the Alred’s we never made it to the downtown district but this time we made a wrong turn and went on 90W Business through Beaumont, we were quite impressed. The buildings were old but all looked refurbished and just a nice looking quant town.

We tried to avoid more traffic in the Houston area so we took the outer northern route 1960, which was unbelievably congested. The radio said that it was worse on the Interstate but how is that possible when it took us well over an hour to go about 40 miles.

Made it to Johnson City, Texas, the town of Lyndon B. Johnson, “The Hub of the Hill Country” and we stayed at Roadrunner RV Park.

Do not forget to see our reviews at http://www.zeesource.net/maps/map.do?group=29452

Bay St Louis, LA to Sulphur, LA

This day was filled with detours and rerouting due to construction, traffic and houses on roads.

Apparently in Louisiana they move houses on Thursdays in the middle of the day instead of at night as most other States do. We came in contact with two houses that were being transported along the highways, the first had us crawling for over an hour behind it before we finally found a spot to turn off and connect with the Interstate. The second one was actually traveling on the eastbound side of the road but they shut the westbound side for about 15 minutes while it straddled both sides.

We also went through an area that was still totally devastated from Katrina. There was plenty of rebuilding and every home in the area had a trailer parked next to it. There were some areas that the sewer stench was so bad I am not sure how people live there. There were still trees lodged into homes, still so much debris everywhere and there were plenty that were for sale. If it were I, I would not want to go back there again.

I have been wonderings today, why do I feel I have the right to feel sorry for myself because I do not live the “Rich” life when there are people, many people who have nothing at all. I wish I could get to that place in my life where I am totally grateful for what I have instead of looking and wanting more.

Had a problem finding a decent RV Park that was a Happy Camper but finally found a nice RV Park in Sulphur, Louisiana that was a Good Sam Club member so we knew it would be a suitable place to stay.

Happy Birthday to my baby brother who passed away in the prime of his life and was one of the reasons we got out here living our dream life. I love and really miss you!

Do not forget to see our reviews at http://www.zeesource.net/maps/map.do?group=29452

Marianna, FL to Bay St Louis, MS

The roads less traveled today were nice and smooth ones, every 20 miles or so we went through a small town. Country music playing on the radio, very light traffic, passing through these magical towns, roads lined with trees on one side and the locomotive train on the other. The man I love in the driver’s seat, life does not get any better than this. Life is Grand!

We made a Wal-Mart stop in Pace then continued our drive. The roads became a bit rougher near the Florida/Alabama border but were still scenic. We decided to call the Hollywood Casino RV Park to get the exact directions and they advised us at that time that we would need to get up to the Interstate since the bridge at Bay St Louis was still out due to Katrina. We arrived there and checked in and had dinner at the Buffet, it was good but nothing spectacular. There were full hook up sites in the RV Park that were reasonably priced and you could use your card points towards your rate. We noticed the area was flooded in many places so we asked the shuttle driver if it had rained and she laughed and explained that it never dries up anymore in that area.

Do not forget to see our reviews at http://www.zeesource.net/maps/map.do?group=29452

Hollywood Casino RV Park
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
February 2007
6 Rating
Club Memberships - Good Sam Park
Price We Paid - $15
www.hollywoodcasinobsl.com

Nice set up with full hookups, reasonably priced and you are able to use your casino points towards your site. The area still has more renovations from Katrina and the park and parking lot has a lot of standing water, according to a local it always has some standing water around.

The people were very pleasant and went out of their way to make your stay a nice one. The shower area was very clean but also had a water problem, leaking in a few different places. As for the water, there was an odor coming from it but we also notice that at many of the different parks we stay at and that is why we bought a charcoal filter attachment for our hose.

Even though it was just a short walk across the parking lot to the Casino, they had shuttle service to and from the RV Park anytime of the day or night. We would return if we are ever in the area and would recommend it for a place to stay a night or two, since they do have a maximum stay of one week.

Scottsmoor, FL to Marianna, FL

We missed our first turnoff but only went a few miles out of our way before getting back on track. 42W was a small country road and not really bumpy but 27N was a great road. We pegged a few birds and seen a few deer on the side of the road that ran in the opposite direction of us, thank goodness we switched our alligator whistles back to the deer whistles or we might not have been so lucky.

Going through Tallahassee, Florida on 27N was a bit unnerving since it was very hilly and most of the traffic signals were on an incline or decline so the brakes were being overworked which always scares me but at least we were able to add our Capital sticker to our map.

We picked up 90W and it was getting late and we did not want to drive for another hour and possibly find out the next campground was a dump so when we seen the Arrowhead campground in Marianna, Florida we chose to stop and spend the night. As we walked around the park we went dreaming into the RV sales area. We looked into one of them that our entire rig would have fit inside of it. There was so much room and with comfy furniture, including a King Size bed. The salesperson joked with us a bit later when he seen us walking to the showers with our bags and said, “Got your bags ready to move into your new rig?” Of course it sure would be nice but for now we will enjoy what we have.

Do not forget to see our reviews at http://www.zeesource.net/maps/map.do?group=29452

Daytona International Speedway (DIS)
Our Experience Working in Guest Services

This has been a wonderful experience and we will take away many great times that we shared during this adventure. Since it was our first year we did not get the best gates to work but we were informed that this will improve once they get the information about what type of a workers we are. We had raving reviews because we were on time, not only for the beginning of our shifts but when returning from breaks and we did our job well.

We worked directly for DIS in the Guest Services department and were paid hourly, our pay was Florida’s minimum wage which is $6.67 per hour. We worked a total of 10 days and anywhere from 7 to 12 hours per day. During our work day we usually worked ½ hour on and then ½ hour off so we had some time to see parts of all the races. The work was never really hard, checking and stubbing tickets or credentials or checking bags and advising fans what could or could not be brought into the race track. All of the supervisors we worked with were very nice and wanted to make sure that we were having a good time and all of our co-workers were friendly. There was a wide range of ages for the workers but for the most part they were older and many were retired. Things were a bit unorganized to my way of employment and the supervisors could have been informed better about pertinent information, i.e. types of tickets and items not allowed. Things had a tendency to change depending on the supervisor that was in charge.

This is not a place to make any money so be prepared to be here just to have some fun and enjoy the few perks you may get if you are fortunate enough to be working at a gate where there are personalities, you are allowed to ask for autographs, hats, etc. and even take photos. One of the best perks is free admission, no seats but you are more then welcomed to enjoy the races when you are not at your scheduled gate, even on your off days.

Camping was not included and camping within 30 to 50 miles from the race track more than tripled per night once race weeks began. We were informed that this only happens for the Daytona 500 and not for the Pepsi 400 in July. We camped about 30 miles away, about 30 minutes or so to drive one way which we would not recommend. Even though the money we saved more than made up for the gas we used, it was hard to enjoy the races knowing we would be in the heavy traffic trying to get out in addition to the already long drive if we hung around to the end. Also, we love being around the race fans and would prefer in the future to stay near the race track so we can enjoy the entire lifestyle.

There are many different avenues to find work at the tracks and this is just one of them. As we continue and learn more we will be experiencing some of the better perks we have been hearing about from other veteran workers. They are really tight lipped about sharing the information but we will continue to find out more as we proceed in this adventure of ours and until then we are having a blast!

If you want contact information, please send us an email and we will share all we have.

View all of our Photos at http://hittheroadjack.shutterfly.com/action/

I Love The Water!

Such a Peaceful Setting!

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge/Canaveral National Seashore
Titusville, Florida
321-861-0667
Merrittisland@fws.gov
www.fws.gov/merrittisland
February 2007

What a fun place and so much to do. You can drive through the areas where you are sure to see some sort of wildlife, either birds, ducks, and even an alligator every now and again. They have a very informative Visitor Center that is highly recommended for the first-time visitors. They have plenty of wildlife observation and photography areas, a Wildlife Drive, foot and hiking trails, Manatee Observation Deck, boat launches and beach access.

Once you reach the Canaveral National Seashore you will have to pay $3 per person to drive into the area. They have 13 parking areas where you can walk over the dunes and hang out on the beach. There were signs every so often asking for “NO NUDITY” and we found this quite peculiar as we continued to joke with one another about it. Once we got to the very last parking area 13 we walked over the dunes and lo and behold there were plenty of naked bodies to see, all bent over and in their glory. We took some photos but were a bit uncomfortable as many people began to join in on the nudity so we drove back down to a few of the other areas that did not have any nudity and enjoyed walking along the beach looking for seashells. Jerry found this absolutely perfect conch shell, it is a bit on the larger size when we were actually looking for something to use as a magnet on our refrigerator but we can put this to some kind of use, maybe a pencil holder or something along those lines.


If you are in the area we would highly recommend you take a leisurely drive and check out all that this area has to offer.


For more photos and stories, please visit our website.

We just want to be able to do it all! To be gypsies and wander around our great United States of America and dabble and share with all the fun times.

We have been receiving many options in the past few days for work, better known to us as Workamping. To work at several campgrounds doing a variety of different positions in a variety of places, such as Louisianna, Minnesota, Maine, Tennessee, North Carolina, California, Michigan, and the Keys just to name a few. To work at an amusement park, adventure park and many different other types of parks.

They all sound so exciting and we want to be able to do them all including our original plan at many of the tracks on the NASCAR circuit. Why couldn't we be able to work a few weeks at each of these places, hang out with fun people, make some good cash, learn so much, write our stories, take our photographs and of course have the time of our lives.

Maybe there is a way...