9/21/2010 Time to Move On…

Our time in Stanton, Missouri has come to an end as we have to get on with our trek westward.

It was so good to see Dan and Barb again and we appreciate all they did for us this past 3 days. Hopefully, we’ll seem them in two years again,,,or maybe before, one just never knows. Thanks friends!

We were on the road by nine this morning and had problems right away. We lost our electrical connection and had no brake lights or turn signals. Thankfully, we were given a warning bell in the cab of the truck and were alerted to the problem as it happened. Luckily, we were close to an exit off of I-44 and Bob was able to fix the problem after a little detective work.

Our destination today is Neosho, Missouri, western Missouri that is.

As we drove down the Interstate we saw several bill boards and homemade signs that the local townspeople put up. This part of the country evidently is not very happy with the present administration. I wish I had taken pictures of all them to show you what I mean but I just didn’t think to pick up the camera after we had seen several of them and then of course when I do pick up the camera its the last one we see. Figures, doesn’t it?

We stopped at a rest stop that had a restaurant so that we could meet up with some friends for lunch.

Here they come now.

Look at that! $2.77 for diesel!

Getting closer!

Gosh I can’t wait to see them!

Parking the truck…..

Finally! Together again!

Hmmmm….she’s taking a picture of me taking a picture of her! Now WHO would do that????? Only one person I can think of!

LaVon! We’re seeing Don and LaVon! :: doing the happy dance ::

Oh. how I love this woman! She just makes my heart smile!

I had called LaVon while we were on the road. I was pretty sure they were still in Branson and when I told her we were rolling down I-44 just east of Springfield she said, “Let’s meet for lunch!” It was a plan that worked for us!

Well, after further talking it was decided that they were ready to get out of Branson as hitch itch was settling in for them. We told them that we found a Passport America campground that would only cost us $10.00 a night in Neosho. That location would work for them since they are on the way to Oklahoma. It was agreed that we would continue on and call them as soon as we arrived to let them know if it was worth stopping for. If it was a dump we wouldn’t stay and would keep going to find something else.

As it turns out, this little campground, it only has sixteen sites, is a a hidden little gem out here in western Missouri. Usual price is $20.00 a night but because they accept Passport America it is only $10.00 a night. We can stay as long as we want for this price too and of course if we stay a week its only $60.00. Not bad, not bad at all!

Now Doris, our GPS got us there without a hitch BUT she told us it was located on the left side of the road when in fact it is on the right hand side. Since Doris so seldom steers us wrong we drove right past it even though it was in plain sight. We realized our mistake right away and Bob had to back us up about the length of a city block with a ditch on MY side of the road. We got backed up without mishap and when we were met in the campground by the camp host he assured us that this happens all the time, that no matter what brand GPS you have you are told its on the wrong side of the road.

We took a back in site as we are going to be here for several nights and they like to keep the pull thru’s open for the overnighters. The sites are positioned so that backing in is easy so it was no problem to take one of those in consideration to those stopping only for a night.

I called LaVon and Don right away and told them it was all good, to get the lawn chairs stowed and beat feet to Neosho. I was told they were already put away and they had one stop make in the morning and they would be on their way.

I can’t believe we are getting to spend some with these special friends of our.

After getting set up the camp hosts came by and asked if we wanted to go get pizza with them. How nice! Unfortunately, we had pizza last night and weren’t in the mood for it again so soon.

We are lovin’ our new TV in the new rig. Since it has the doohickey needed to pick up TV channels by antenna we haven’t had to bother with setting up the satellite dish. One less thing to do! We may not have 150 channels to choose from but that’s ok, the 20 or so we do get is quite enough.

What a day its been in the life of these fulltimers. It’s true that friends are always just around the corner.