Vicksburg, Mississippi Day 7 (GA458)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.

Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV Resort in Monroe, Washington. I’m scheduled to depart September 24th.

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

  In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted April 12, 2013…

Note: I’m now expecting to arrive in Memphis on April 14th….about 250 miles north of Vicksburg. Mary has made her flight reservations. She’ll meet me in Memphis on April 16th.

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The motorhome is parked at Moose Lodge #1581. I expect to depart here later this morning.

 

 

Vicksburg has a very interesting history which you can read about by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicksburg,_Mississippi

 

 

For my final blog entry I’m going to share with you a somewhat unusual business called the Tomato Place. Owner Luke was busy in the kitchen while his daughter Mallorie was busy behind the counter and both had little time to talk. I did find out this old funky roadside-type fruit stand has been there for 12 years. They make an assortment of breads, jellies, jams, pies, cookies, etc…that seems to be real popular with the local folks.

 

 

Here’s their website link…
http://www.thetomatoplace.com/info.html

 

 

The Vicksburg Visitors Center even features them in their booklet…
http://www.visitvicksburg.com/dine/details.aspx?id=1500

 

 

 

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For lunch, I had the best BLT sandwich of my life as well as a delicious peach smoothie…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are located just a couple of miles south of Vicksburg at 3229 Hwy 61. Stop in…you won’t be disappointed!

 

 

If you have never visited Vicksburg, I highly encouraged you to do so. It’s a place you will not soon forget.

 

 

Enjoying interesting places is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

 

 

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Mississippi. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

 

 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

 

 

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

 

 

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/did-you-know/

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

Forecast for today is rain showers and 63 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Washington. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

 

 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

 

 

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

 

 

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

 

 

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

 

 

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

 

 

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2018

CHRISTMAS FUN

Christmas every year looks almost the same at my house. Endless cards and games between gnoshing.  Theo, Cedric (hidden) Kristanne and Doug play 13, the national card game of Viet Nam while…

…while Mason and Virginia play cribbage at the other end of the table. People change places, step in and out of games and in general have a good time.

We chose a Mexican theme for this Christmas. Christmas Eve dinner was home-made chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice and pinto beans with a romaine salad. As the family members grow, it’s tough to fit everyone in with one picture.

After dinner we took a walk into the night to look back at the lights and found our selves in awe of the starry, starry night. Stars so close we could see the constellations and Milky Way as though touchable. Virginia started a carol and we stood in the street and sang and gave thanks that light pollution has not blocked ancestral skies on our tiny portion of the planet.

Grandson, Stewart, home from Japan for Christmas, brought this sample of Japanese foods. He taught us how easy Japanese is to learn because the characters are so consistent. If a character means house, or rock or walk, it will always mean that no matter how many characters in a sentence.  His brother, Mason, easily picked up some Japanese words. Leave it to the young.

Christmas day was more of the same. My brother, Bill, left, joined us for the afternoon. We are playing elevator with Stewart, Virginia, Mason, Owen, Ken and myself. At the opposite end of the table, Theo, Doug, Kristanne and Laurie play RummiKub.

We played around with hats and I thought of some artists paintings as I looked at what the camera did to Mason’s arm. One giant appendage and one shrunken.

I rarely wear this hat, but I love it.

It has seven watches glued on it, plus other fascinating pins, buttons, beads and junk.

I bought a Playboy jacket at a second hand store just for the buttons. (I’m a collector.)  We had great fun with it. I liked this picture of Owen, though a bit blurry and in a distracting background.

It’s tough to get Owen to stand still for a picture, but I love this smile.

And Dad, too. I liked this one though the light wasn’t quite right.

But he liked a different one. I think he was trying not to laugh.

Stewart said, no way. The hat was too small and he couldn’t get the jacket on his second arm.

None of these pictures are in the correct order. I didn’t remember to take a picture of our Christmas Day dinner, which was chili rellenos with an apple and cabbage pomegranate coleslaw, and home made-by Doug and Virginia- Chicken, Pork and chili cheese tamales. Goodt stuff.

Before we finished Christmas dinner, the desert table was almost bare.

We had our anonymous book trade, only three to open. And, all too soon, it was bedtime for me,  the picture taker. My ears picked up hushed conversation sliding under my bedroom door as I succumbed to sleep.

The next morning, everyone was up bright and early. Ken and Laurie’s family drove back to Reno in time to put Stewart, Mason and Kristanne on an Airplane for Las Vegas. Home for Mace and Stan; Stewart will reconnect with his girlfriend before returning to Japan.

My cup runneth over.

MURPHYS CHRISTMAS PARADE.

Jim left my place on Monday. The weather here has been pretty cold for a weather wimp.

He waved goodbye and struck out for southern climes.  He reached Palm Desert yesterday and they’ve had a cold spell with some gusty wind.  You just can’t predict the weather. I’m chuckling a bit at his expense.

Every year I head downtown Murphys for their open house held the first Friday in December.  This year I went early because the Mountain Melody was putting on a concert at 4:00. TILT. I had the wrong date, the Black Bart Players Theatre was locked with a sign: Concert 4:00 Saturday. I’ll be attending a memorial service and won’t make it. With time on my hands, I took some pictures. Somehow,  an outdoor decorated tree doesn’t look right during the daytime. Now, with a little snow… My mid-west roots are showing. I miss a white Christmas.

I poked around some of the stores, admiring the tree trimmings for sale. I used to make a point of buying one new ornament each year. I have over 2000 ornaments, so I’ve quit that. A ridiculous problem for rat packers. Guilty.

I ran into some friends, but did I take a picture of Lynette, Ginger and Roger, Suki, Eleanor, Richard or the Gilmores?  No, I was too busy yaking. But I did take a picture of this cute baby with her daddy bursting with pride. He was just glowing.

I thought I’d have dinner as the restaurants were opening up. They were overwhelmed with long lines or reservations to get anything to eat. Finally, it got dark enough for the Christmas Parade. But, the streets were mobbed, everything is surreal from the camera lens.

Everything goes by in a blur. But, I had to include this picture because my kids attended Bret Harte High. This pick-up load of football players was rocking the truck back and forth so forcefully with their weight, it tested the shocks on the truck. I had never seen anything like it. Such fun. Both my sons played football for Bret Harte.

The lighted floats and entries were really nice. Even with a clear shot through the crowd, by the time your flash can focus, you still get a blur.

The young kids were enjoying the parade and that is what parades are all about. Enjoyment, not photography. It was cold. I left early. And on the way to the parking lot I  got a decent shot of these draft horses.

And this parade entrant getting its fancy gear removed. Aha! Now I know how to photograph a parade. At the beginning, before they get moving. Or, at the end. I returned home and ate cookies and ice cream for dinner.

GREEK CHRISTMAS WAS POPULAR.

The first thing to great me at my daughter-in-law’s house, was the table full of sweets and a savory cheese cake. It seemed full until others arrived and added even more good things to the table. Laurie collects elephants- you may have noticed her elephant table cloth.

I once did an inventory of her elephant collection and I counted about 700 elephant items, from ashtrays, jewelry to swizzle sticks.  Collecting is fun and appealing and I zeroed in on elephant ornaments that never made it into her inventory.

The elephant is barely visible in this photo,but no matter, I was having fun.

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I would have given this elephant a bigger eye.

Laurie is the youngest of two sisters. Michele on the right with her daugher-in-law is her middle sister. Her oldest sister lives in North CarolinaLaurie’s brother, Mike and sister-in-law Ramona. At the last minute, we decided to have a wine exchange. Ramona kept everyone in stitches as she examined each person’s choice with two pairs of glasses and a magnifying glass, before she decided which bottle to steal.

My oldest and youngest brothers, Bill at 78 and Clark at 60. Michele in the background with her husband Wayne who smoked the lamb roast. Clark was the other clown of the wine exchange, threatening to open and try them out. He got stolen from four times. I guess the threat worked.

A good game of liar’s dice was entertaining most of the “kids” the youngest two age 13.

My oldest, Ken and youngest Virginia.  I guess men like to grow beards when they have vacation. They vacation from shaving.

But the Greek feast was on. Roast lamb, tzatziki, a famous Greek yoghurt dip, with condiments. Greek meatballs with rice, feta and mint, with zucchini feta pancakes and lemon sauce.

Roasted potatoes with a Greek dressing…a spicy lasagna with special cheeses…seasoned chicken kababs. Spinach filled spanakopitas, a Greek fruit salad and a Greek rice salad. The food, with a bunch of good cooks in the house?  Stellar. Everyone agreed that enough turkey and ham at Thanksgiving should be bypassed for ethnic foods at Christmas. The only thing missing was the famous Greek circle dance and music.

We decided on Mexican food next year, because Virginia just learned how to make home-made tamales, heavy on the filling and light on the masa. Cha, cha, cha.

 

 

 

 

FRIENDS AND COOKIES.

After a late evening Doctor’s appointment, I returned to Murphys in time for Christmas Open House held every year on Main St.  Fire buckets up and down the street give light and warmth as folks make their way from shop to shop. Or for a bag pipe player to practice his craft for anyone who will listen.

The Murphys Hotel, festooned on three sides, looked like the Fourth of July. A fellow was juggling and spinning lighted batons to entertain the crowds, but my picture was one big blur.

Everyone is welcome to do their own thing. This fairy tale princess rode around town on a bicycle dressed just like her. She stopped for a cigarette.

From the East end of town, I looked into a gallery and ran into Marlene Bradford, a friend and neighbor who tried to teach me to be a sculptor. I watched her make this fish so I took her picture with it. Then  five old friends I hadn’t seen in six months showed up, which for me, is why I like the Christmas festivities.

Pam Quyle got separated from her friends, cell phones not on, so she waited for them to find her. We chatted until I got cold and ditched inside the shop…

What did I find?  Like a golf hole, this apparatus is for frisbee players. Murphys, San Andreas and  Bear Valley now have a course. Frisbee is very popular. I took this picture for my son-in-law, Cedric, who is a tournament player. If we were a gift trading family…only $149.

Since I hadn’t had dinner, I was searching for cookies. At Tanners Wine Shop, Amy was serving her decadent Cowgirl Apple Dumplings. She gave me a double since I hadn’t had dinner. Oh, yum. Better than cookies. She claims the secret is gravenstein apples and dumping a can of Mountain Dew over the whole works. “It is one of two delicious unhealthy things I make,” she told me.  “I never use mock whipped cream except for that pretzel jello salad, it doesn’t work with real whipped cream.”  I know, I’ve made it too. Ah, let us all praise decadent desserts.

This gallery has a piano player every year. I missed all the choral groups on the street that played Christmas Carols.

The Brew Pub had a good rock band and people were dancing, listening and having fun.

At the tea shop? Bonanza!  Cookies and tea. I stayed and talked to the owner and was surprised to be reminded she has had the tea shop for 10 years. Businesses change hands, close, and each year you miss another one.  I often remember the business that was in the spot before. Beautiful Christmas trees in the shops were enjoyable.  I’ve off loaded a gob of ornaments, I don’t lavishly decorate, nor bake cookies now that Doug does a better job of it.  Hmm!  Maybe this year I’ll indulge.

Though I was late, and I didn’t make it to the West end of Main St. I had a terrific time along with an unusual dinner.

COOKIE BAKING PARTY.

Daughter-in-law, Laurie hosted a cookie making party.

Laurie and my sister-in-law-to-be,Theresa, had dual mixers going and gobs and gobs of cookies were the result under their expert hands.

Stewart and Mason, home from college for the season, enjoyed the snacks and the game and the food and just being home.

Abbie and Anthony kept themselves entertained until there was room on the counter for rolling the sugar cookies.

Ken always likes me to taste the latest brew he has discovered. I rolled sugar cookie dough for the little ones.

Anthony and Abbie had never cut and decorated cookies before.

Norma got into the act along with the kids. She decided to make it a family tradition since the kids enjoyed it so much.

Laurie couldn’t resist decorating a cookie.

Doug, too, whose idea it was in the first place since he remembered doing the same as a kid, one of our family traditions every Christmas.

Some of us recognized the best part of the party was not the cookies, but the lunch. Friend Tynna swooned. We had friend Norma’s enchiladas, and chocoflan, Doug’s turkey chili verde, I brought spinach souffle, that everyone loves. And, doncha know we all enjoyed  cookie tasting.

And, then the bakers took a break, enjoying the great food everyone brought to share. Yum!