Today was the last workout before the 5K and after the weights and Pilates, I cut the run short at 20 minutes.
The rest of the day was spent hanging out with Faye and Don and enjoying an excellent Tri-Tip roast Don prepared for dinner. By now, it was obvious that Don is an excellent cook and enjoys having us around so he can prepare some of his favorite meals.
After yet another dominoes tournament, we returned to the coach.
At midnight, we woke to find a motorhome had pulled in next to us and was maneuvering to set up. This went on for over 30 minutes and included a backup beeper. We were just about to share our thoughts with our new neighbors when they finally shut it down. We were wide awake for the next two hours.
We were tired and slept late. Once we got started, we ran some errands in town before going to Faye and Don’s house. They weren’t back from running their errands so we let ourselves in. Thankfully, their dog, Roxanne the Rottweiler welcomed us and she was rewarded with a doggie treat.
For months now, we have been taking the Jeep to spray-washes, but it was long overdue for a through cleaning. We finally got the chance at Faye and Don’s and I got on with the task. The back of the Jeep was full of cleaning stuff, including the vacuum. Two hours later, the Jeep was sparkling inside and out and the vacuum was two pounds heavier from all the gravel and sand extracted from the carpet. This is no exaggeration.
Eventually Faye and Don returned and we had dinner with them at Appleby’s before returning to the coach.
All in all, it was a nice lazy Arkansas day.
Returning to the campground, we found it was absolutely packed for the Labor Day weekend. All the RV spaces were taken and there were only a very few tent sites still open. Kids were everywhere running and zooming around on bicycles. We will have to endure this for the next few days.
Today was the last full workout before Race Day and the warm, humid weather didn’t help.
After cleaning up, we went into Rogers to update the computers and run some errands. On the way back, we drove around the Beaver Lake area to look at properties and get an idea of values. Compared to Los Angeles, real estate values are very reasonable here.
In the late afternoon we returned to the coach to read, nap and prepare an early dinner. We made some calls to our Florida friends who were getting ready for Hurricane Francis. We had been through a hurricane ourselves and know what they were going through. We wished them well and will call them again after the storm passes.
We finished the day watching the Republican convention on TV.
After updating the computers at an internet cafe in Rogers, we took off with Faye and Don for some sightseeing into Southern Missouri.
The countryside was a little more open than around Beaver Lake and was mostly rolling rangeland separated by woods. The route took us through parts of the Mark Twain National Forest and Roaring River State Park. At the State Park, the Roaring River originates at a natural cold-water spring. During the 1930s, a government project used the spring-fed headwaters to create a series of holding ponds for a trout fish farm. The public is welcome to tour the facility (no fishing in the breeding tanks) and feed the fish with food available from vending machines. The operation is really impressive. We walked up a short trail to an overlook. In the river immediately below the fish farm, trout fishing is allowed and the number of fish released is controlled by the number of fishing permits issued. To avoid problems, separate areas along the river are designated for fly fishing, lures, bait, etc. Anglers are almost guaranteed to catch their limit. And, with most of the kids back in school, it really wasn’t crowded.
After the fish farm, we stopped in the small town of Cassville for lunch (Pizza Hut) before returning to Rogers. Don slept on the way back while I got a chance to drive the Cadillac. What a cruiser.
That evening after returning to the coach, we watched a Starsky and Hutch on DVD before going to bed.
We got up a little later than usual and got our workout out of the way before it got too hot. Jeanne has fully recovered from the flu and is back to where she left off with the exercise routine. Running up and down these hills seems to be building strength.
After cleaning up, we went into Rogers to return the video and to visit with Faye and Don at their house. We talked, shot some pool and briefly went out on the lake in their boat.
In the late afternoon, we all went to the coach where we grilled chicken for dinner and played dominoes late into the night.
With all the sightseeing and visiting we did these past few days, we needed a day to catch up on chores.
After sleeping a little later than usual, we got some stuff done around the coach before heading to Rogers at 11:00 AM. Jeanne desperately need a haircut and our food supplies were running low. We also took the opportunity to have some lunch, spray-wash the car and rent some movies.
Returning to the coach around 3:00 PM, we used what was left of the day to read, watch TV, prepare dinner and watch Kill Bill II on DVD.
All in all, not the most exciting day, but we enjoyed it and look forward to visiting with Faye and Don tomorrow.
Finally, Jeanne was feeling up to a workout. The morning was cool and clear. This time, we headed away from the fire station to avoid the long, steep grade. There were challenging hills, but nothing sustained. Jeanne was happy to find that despite two weeks of flu and recovery, she was able to pick up about where she had left off.
After a quick shower, we spent a few minutes scrubbing the bugs off the front of the coach and installing the sunshield. Shortly before noon, Faye and Don dropped by and it was Faye’s turn to tour the coach.
We piled into the Cadillac and with Don at the wheel, we took off for a long drive through the areas east and south of Rogers. The countryside was really, really nice and was the sort of area we had envisioned for ourselves to settle in. Along the way we saw rolling hills, farms, cattle pastures and stands of trees. Some of the area was truly remote. Our route took us through a small portion of the Buffalo National River that flows through the Boxley canyon. Once again, we were amazed at how nice the area was and how few people there were. If this park had been anywhere close to Los Angeles, the resource would have been pounded to dust, spray painted and covered with trash. On a beautiful weekend day, there were less than a half dozen people around and a check of the trail along the river revealed extremely light use.
On the return trip, we stopped in Eureka Springs for a light dinner. Faye and Don dropped us off at the coach before dark and we spent the rest of the evening reading and watching old movies on DVDs.
Here was the plan for the day: Faye would be returning from a business trip late in the afternoon and we would meet Don at his house before going to the airport to pick her up. Afterwards, Don would fix dinner at his house.
We had the morning to ourselves and set off to explore the towns along I-540; Rogers, Springdale, Bentonville, Fayetteville, etc. We also wanted to stop by a Kinko’s to update the computers. The morning went according to plan and we were impressed with how prosperous the area was. There was development everywhere we went. We also noticed lots of young families with kids, which is a good indicator that the local economy is creating lots of jobs. Along the way, we stopped by a business selling Fleetwood manufactured homes and went through the models. We were somewhat underwhelmed, but we were curious about the concept and suppose a manufactured home would work in certain circumstances.
On one of the running-oriented websites, I noticed a 5K/10K run scheduled for Labor Day in Rogers. In a moment of temporary insanity, I registered for the 5K run and paid the $20 entry fee. Hopefully, it will rain buckets on Labor Day and the event will be cancelled.
In the afternoon, we picked up Faye at the new Northwest Arkansas Regional airport and immediately headed back to their house where Don prepared an excellent shrimp stir-fry dinner. Afterwards, we played dominoes late into the night.
On our way back to the coach, we were stopped at a sobriety checkpoint. No problem. We were soon back at the coach and dreaming pleasant dreams.
Jeanne was still not quite up to doing a workout, but I was out of excuses. The morning was a little warm and humid and the hilly roads promised to be a challenge. I took off down the road towards the volunteer fire station, which was about a mile away. Unfortunately, the way to the fire station was mostly downhill — meaning the return was mostly uphill and steep at times. What an effort! Once again I proved that most problems in life are self-inflicted. It took my knees two days to recover.
The area surrounding Rogers is mostly rolling hills covered with oak and pine. There are bugs, but most of the land is well drained and the mosquito population is kept in check. The weather can be hot this time of year, but this has been an unusually cool summer. The people are friendly and due to the success of Walmart and Tyson, the local towns are generally prosperous. Overall, we like it here. We are seriously considering settling in this area and want to see as much of the region as possible.
After cleaning up, Don dropped by for a tour of the coach and was most impressed. We then departed in Don’s Cadillac (a real cruiser) for a tour of Rogers and the area north of the lake. For dinner, Don hosted us at a all-you-can-eat crab leg dinner at a local restaurant. The number of crab legs Don consumed was astonishing. It was a great meal and a real treat for us.
We returned to the coach and slept soundly.
The drive to Rogers, Arkansas would be relatively short and we were in no hurry to leave. After a leisurely breakfast, we finally got going around 10:00 AM. Except for gusty winds, the drive was about what we expected. The campground is outside of Rogers on Beaver Lake and the farther from town you drive, the narrower the roads become. After winding our way along the lakeshore, we finally reached our destination: not the most aesthetically pleasing, but it will do. Once we got set up, we met Don at his house on the lake. Faye was working out of town.
A little background: Faye and Don are close friends from Los Angeles; Jeanne and Faye were coworkers for several years. Faye and Don retired and left Los Angeles to settle in Northwest Arkansas. Eventually they build a house on Beaver Lake, which is an Army Corps of Engineers lake that provides water and recreational opportunities to the region. During the past nine years they had become part of the community in Rogers, Arkansas. We (mostly Jeanne) have kept in close contact and visited them from time to time. Back to the story. . .
After talking for a while at his house, Don took us to an excellent Chinese buffet where we ate way too much. We returned to his house and talked late into the night before heading for the coach.