Where we are right now

WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IS
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK

Friday, October 5, 2012

NO PICTURES

With very slow internet service I have been remiss in blogging.  I decided to just do it anyway without pictures and when I am able I will add another post with pictures. We have been busy seeing things that most people wouldn't find touristy.  We have spent several days with Mike and Vickie seeing Whole Foods flagship store in Austin.  It was amazing and if anyone reading is a foodie they really need to see this particular store. It is huge with underground parking and special escalators for the grocery carts. I know they have these in other places but the size of the store and the specialty items is unbelievable. We have had lunch at the Gristmill in Gruene Texas which is actually in New Braunfels, Texas now. The Gruene Dance Hall is right in front of the Gristmill and we walked through the Dance Hall and looked at many of the photos of country western stars that have played here.  You should see George Strait's early pictures since this is where he got his start. We drove around Texas State campus and finally found the dorm that I lived in 43 years ago.  It really is still there but almost hidden by all that has been built around it. Tomorrow we are going to Wimberley to Market Days.  It is a huge flea market and Mike and Vickie are volunteers there.  I will post again to tell all about that.  Glad you came to check on our fun.  Thanks for coming.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

LICK (SALT LICK AND LICK ICE CREAM)

In the last few days we have gone to IKEA, eaten at a favorite diner, had Ed's phone looked at by an Apple employee, and had lunch with Mike and Vickie at the Salt Lick BBQ.  IKEA was a destination in itself. Ed had never been in one and I thought he would enjoy it. We had their Swedish Meatball lunch and then I surprised Ed with ice cream at a little place called LICK. Oh my was this the absolute best ice cream I think I have ever had.  At the LICK their ice cream is made from all natural and organic ingredients all from Texas. They had flavors like Roasted Beets and Fresh Mint, Pecan Street Pralines and Cream, Goat Cheese, Thyme and Honey, and Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Olive Oil. My favorite was the Goat Cheese. Another day when we went looking for the Apple store we stopped at Amy's Ice Cream. It is another artisan ice cream shop and both of us had Mexican Vanilla ice cream.  I can say it was a flavor I will attempt to recreate at home. WOW it was excellent.

Yesterday we met Mike and Vickie at their flag store in Wimberley Texas. It is Eagle Mountain Flags and they took us to the Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood Texas.  That is about 15 miles from their store and almost to Austin. The Salt Lick has been on Food Network a number of times and has probably been on other channels as well. It was fantastic and I had to buy several bottles of their sauce to give as gifts.


Outside The Salt Lick BBQ




Look at this Pit

Can you believe this is in the Texas Hill Country??
This is an Italian Restaurant and Vineyard in Driftwood Texas




Saturday, September 22, 2012

EAT 'EM UP, EAT 'EM UP, GO BOBCATS GO

It went something like that at the Texas State Football game. Forty years ago I was a student here and never went to a football game, but now being married to a football fanatic that was on our agenda while here in San Marcos, Texas. This afternoon Ed's cousin Mike and his wife Vickie came to visit and take us to the game.  One of their employees had given them 4 tickets and a parking pass too.  We all had dinner at the local cafeteria and it was great food.  We then headed over to the stadium and had a terrific time watching all the kids.  The team was winning and so that makes for a much more enjoyable experience also.  Mike has some things for us to see and do while we are here and I know we will enjoy it all.  I am so glad that Ed insisted on our Texas trip.




Thursday, September 20, 2012

SAN MARCOS TEXAS

Here we are in San Marcos, Texas.  Our intention was to leave home on Tuesday and travel half way to San Marcos because it is almost 500 miles, but we didn't leave until today and so Ed wanted to get here so badly that he drove the entire way in one day.  He is pretty tired and so are the big dogs.  All three of them are already asleep and it is only just now 10:00 pm. 

We are in the Pecan Park RV Park and it is really really nice and the owners live in the house right in front of us.  Both Rachel and Dave and there 2 young boys have all been over to visit.  It is a great location because we are an hour or less away from most everything that we want to see and do in the next few weeks.  San Antonio, Austin and the Texas Hill Country are all call us to visit. 

Tomorrow I will try to get pictures of the RV Park and share those with you.  I guess it's time for me to hit the hay also.  It has been a very long day.

Talk with you all later.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

I DID IT

Yessiree!! I did it. Now you ask what that is that I did, well I actually drove the motorhome and parked it. Of course I only drove it in the storage lot, but at least I drove it. I put it into gear and maneuvered it into its space. Now I hope I will get the courage to try it on the road someday, but who knows. I just had to tell about it.

FIRST TRIP DONE

I changed the name of our blog to include our "little ones".  Of course our little four legged children are 90-100 pound babies.  Yes they are really big boys and traveling with them is a challenge sometimes.  We came home from the lake on Saturday and they both wanted to ride under my feet.  Of course only one was able to do that and the other just sat right beside me.  I am not strong enough to walk both of them at the same time if they see a cat or something else that they find interesting, so Ed has the chore of usually walking them.  We also have to walk around them or over them in the motorhome and that is sometimes a little tricky with them being so large.  We certainly would not want to leave them at home because they are our family and I know everyone understands that.

We ended up spending 10 days at Grand Lake.  We really enjoyed Bernice State Park especially after the Labor Day crowd left.  Most of the time we just sat and enjoyed watching the water and the waterfowl.  I have to get better at taking more pictures.  I do have a few to share but not as many as I wish that I had.

I haven't posted since we went to Branson MO for the day last Wednesday.  Ed and I spent a little while in Branson in 2001 and since it has been 11 years ago neither of us recognized anything.  We couldn't even find the road to take to the place we stayed before.  It now reminds me of Pigeon Forge and that was like a carnival atmosphere. We drove around and finally just went shopping at one of the outlet malls. We decided to take a back route to get back home that afternoon.  It was really a very winding road for over an hour. I don't think we went very far, maybe 40 miles, but it was really slow going.

Our next trip is to Texas.  We are planning to leave next Tuesday and head to the Hill Country.  I don't know where we are going to stay or what we are going to do.  I have some ideas, but nothing is confirmed. I would like to go into San Antonio a couple of times.  Growing up there and spending so much time there, I have many places and restaurants I would like to go to again.  We are also planning to visit Ed's aunts and uncles that live in Texas.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

WE LOVE THIS

Now I know why there are people that sell their house and travel the country in their RVs.  Other than this being a holiday weekend it is great being able to sit here in the air conditioned comfort and watch the water, the people and the animals in this campground. After the crowd leaves tomorrow we will get out and do more sightseeing and fishing.  As it is, we and mostly Ed have met many of the fellow campers and even had an invitation to go to a Rodney Carrington show in Miami Oklahoma.

It was a good thing that we didn't take the nice couple up on the invitation because we had to help Lindsay yesterday.  Emma was sick and so they took her to a doctor in Grove.  Unfortunately that doctor's visit lasted over 3 hours and then Emma was sent to the Emergency Room.  The clinic doctor thought she had a case of the croup but the ER doctor said that it wasn't, but it took all that time to get her oxygen level to normal. I am so glad that we were here to help her out with Jackson.

I sure found out that I need to remember to charge my camera battery more often.  There were a few times yesterday that I wanted to take pictures, but alas my battery was dead. So now I will get it charged and show you our motorhome and the campground.

Take care, talk with you later.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

THIS IS THE DAY

This is it!!! The day we get to hit the road, but what I haven't shared is that our whole plans have changed.  Ed wasn't quite ready to go far far away from home for our first outing, so we are going to Grand Lake to begin with and then wherever calls our name.  Wish we could have followed our plans but that was not to be the case and we just have to adjust.

Now I promise to at least post something more often.  Yeah, I know it isn't always easy to do that since we will stay in some places without wifi and we haven't invested in that yet, so please be patient and I will post as often as I am able.

Monday, August 20, 2012

PLAY TIME

It has been a pretty busy week.  Our plan now is to leave home next Sunday and head out.  This week is getting the last little things accomplished.  I of course have a list.  You know I just can't remember everything without that little list. I do remember the days when I never made a list and somehow got most everything done, but no longer.

Last week Emma and Jackson came over with their mommy and we all went to Chick-fil-A for lunch.  It seems the easiest place to take the kids because Emma can go in the indoor playground after she has eaten a little. Jackson just likes to dip his fingers in any sauce that you give him and then lick the ooey gooey stuff off.  We have named him Pigpen after the Peanuts character.  He gets so messy in such a short time. Another activity for the week was feeding the ducks at the lake near our house.  Jackson had no idea what was happening when all these ducks started swarming around him, but Emma just kept on throwing them food. We also went to the park another day so the kids could play.  Fortunately the weather has been a little cooler and this week we are not even supposed to get up to 90 degrees.  Who can complain about that.

The last thing we did was to go to visit Ed's parents yesterday.  It was such a nice and quiet visit.  Most of the time we only see them when there is a big group and then no one really gets to visit.







Monday, August 13, 2012

MONDAY NIGHT DINNER AT ZEN'S

My birthday keeps going on and on.  This evening our little dinner group with some of my very best friends had dinner at Zen's Chinese Restaurant in Edmond, Oklahoma.  It is always great food.  Ed and I shared Mongolian Beef with an appetizer of calamari and we both had soup.  Just want to share a picture of most of the little group with you.

How do you like my birthday cake that Judy made for me?  Everyone enjoyed it tremendously.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

A GOLD DAY

What could be better than spending the day watching the USA basketball team win the Gold metal and watching the closing ceremonies?  Being from Oklahoma City, the basketball game was especially exciting because we had three players on the US team.

These are our boys!! James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant....

The other great thing that we did today was have a late lunch at Cattlemen's Restaurant.  It is over 100 years old and has even had a US President eat there.

This was my dinner.  A great filet and baked potato.  I had already finished my salad with their house dressing.  It is always a terrific meal.

This was a great day.  Come back soon.

DIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Yes I spelled it correctly.  That is what Emma calls a birthday. Yesterday was my birthday and we had a little celebration with fried catfish, baked potatoes, cornbread salad, and ice cream.  Jess (our 21 year old  granddaughter) was here and then Lindsay, Jeff, Emma and Jackson came over to help celebrate.  Lindsay is our youngest daughter and the rest is her husband and kiddos.  Emma is almost four years old and Jackson is 16 months old.  They are really a handful at times.  Jeff brought Emma's bike and we finished the evening outside so that Nana could watch her ride it.  She was pretty cute, but the funniest thing was watching Jackson run after her.  He never seemed to slow down even after he was tired and had fallen a few times.


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

SURGERY

Ed's sinus surgery went very well today.  The doctor said he was a little more aggressive with his surgical treatment than when he had done the same surgery on Ed three years ago.  He said that he was also going to put him on some different medicine after the follow up visit.  It is an anti-fungal nasal spray.  Hopefully that will help.

I asked the doctor when we could come in for the follow-up visit and he said to call for next week and then we can leave.  Now I have lots to get done!!!!!!


Monday, August 6, 2012

DIFFERENCES

Today was a productive day.  I  made list after list for our trip.  Just packing lists, to do lists, etc. Then this evening our little Monday night group got together for dinner.

For the last three years there have been a group of about 8-12 people that get together for dinner and try different places.  We do go back to some of the restaurants occasionally. It is really interesting to hear how different tastes everyone has. Some restaurants that everyone else likes and Ed and I are not crazy about and then there are places that we like that some of the others don't like.  I guess that's what keeps everything interesting.

The trip is getting closer!! Ed's surgery is this Wednesday and the doctor said that about 10 days later he would probably let us leave town.  Yeah!! I can hardly wait.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

ALMOST SWEATER WEATHER

The high here in OKC today is 94 degrees and that feels almost cold (LOL).  After having 112 and 113 for the last few days is down right comfortable.  Well almost comfortable.  When I read other posts about it being so hot where the people are I almost want to laugh.  What is really crazy was Ed and I went out for brunch and saw someone  with a hoodie on.  As Ed says, "I guess he didn't get the message".

I went shopping for a little while this afternoon, but didn't find much that I really needed so ended up just grocery shopping.  I didn't want to buy a lot because we need to use what we have before our trip.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring but, you all stay cool and talk to you later.

Friday, August 3, 2012

112

Yes, you heard me correctly.  It was 112 degrees here yesterday, but today it is 113 degrees in Oklahoma City.  Last night Ed and I went out for dinner with our good friends Jon and Tanda Ulm and even at 7:30 pm it was still 108.  The weathermen said it would be another record breaking day and it certainly was.  This is the hottest day ever that Oklahoma City has seen.  It certainly is a good thing that we have air conditioned air in the house.  I guess if we didn't have cool air then we certainly would be out in the motorhome.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

RAN OUT OF COLORS

I guess you are asking what running out of colors really means. I was just watching Sam Champion on Good Morning America and he said that the heat here in Oklahoma is so high that they ran out of colors for their map. It is going to be a record breaking day of 110 degrees and yesterday was only 108.  No wonder after all of our errands we didn't feel like doing anything.  It really is the dog days of summer around here.

On an upside, we were able to get the generator going yesterday, it even started the air conditioners, with just a little help from Thor.  The young man tried to help but even he couldn't figure it all out.  He said that we had a black box with the transfer switch under the bed.  Haha we fooled him.  There was no such animal under there.  He had to do a lot of research and ask his fellow techies (we could hear him asking them). At least it made us feel a little better that we weren't so stupid after all when the manufacturer's rep didn't know either.

Our plans have been to leave Oklahoma in about 3 weeks and head to Georgia, then go up the east coast to see our daughter in Maryland. I have been saying all along that September is a good time for hurricanes and we may even have to go west during that time, but Ed hadn't paid any attention until the news this morning saying that a couple of tropical storms were starting out in the Atlantic. You know it's terrible to always be right. :)) Now Ed is saying that we may not be able to follow through with our original plans. What's new?

I think I have most of this blog thing figured out, but now I just have to start adding photos.  That is my goal for today. I am really starting to have fun writing about nothing, as that is all I feel like I have to write about at the present time.


Sunday, July 29, 2012

HOT HOT HOT

It is so hot here that we almost don't want to do anything. I am trying to get everything ready to leave the house for a few months. I still have a few days of cleaning to do, but it is getting there.  I HATE housework, but I know it is something that has to be done. I know that I won't want to cook much while on our adventure because we really like trying out new restaurants, but there will be a few times that it will be easier to eat at home, so I am trying to gather a few easy recipes and print them off to keep in the motorhome.

Tomorrow we plan to go by AAA to get maps, books, etc. Since we are members we should take advantage of the free maps.

I know that this blogging thing will get easier the more I do it.  I have never journaled or written a diary so it is not the easiest thing for me.  I really don't want to bore anyone with my trivial blah blah blah. Just give me a little while to get the hang of this thing.  Thanks for reading.

Friday, July 27, 2012

FRUSTRATIONS

Another day of frustration. We still haven't been able to take the motorhome out for it's initial trial. We keep going to the storage unit trying to figure things out.  I think we have most everything figured out except the generator. When we went through the run through at the dealership we thought we were paying attention, but alas we missed the part about how to get the generator running and now can't figure it out. We have looked and looked for a transfer switch, we have tried starting the engine and letting it run to charge the batteries, but that is to no avail.  I guess we will just have to call the manufacturer and let them help.

I forgot to tell you about our frustrations yesterday.  This is so typical for us too. We wanted to get everything done before our trip that we were able to do here in Oklahoma, so we wanted to purchase a Senior Access Pass (formerly the Golden Access Pass). I looked on the internet and found that the place to purchase one here was at the Murrah Building Bombing Memorial Museum. We went there and were told they no longer sold them there but to go across the street to the new Federal Building. We then trotted over there and were told that they no longer sold them in that building either. The young guard was so nice and wrote down the address that we had to go to in Moore, Ok. It was now at the Bureau of Land Management. That was in the opposite direction from our house, but we were determined to accomplish this little feat and we finally did just that.  What should have taken us about 10 minutes turned into an all afternoon task. Oh well, we are retired so why should we care. Unfortunately, Ed still is more impatient than he should be.


Thursday, July 26, 2012

ALMOST READY

I know I know!!! It has been too long since I posted anything, but our life has been pretty uneventful. Our plan is still to leave Oklahoma City sometime in the latter part of August and head out on our first big adventure. We have been trying to get everything in order so that we can accomplish that goal.

Last week we finally got the Jeep back from the body shop. For those of you that don't know, as soon as we bought it the following week we took it back to the dealer to have the windows tinted and detailed. I had just switched the insurance the day before. The night we took it to the dealer there was a BAD hailstorm. The jeep was beat up so badly that it cost $6000.00 to have it repaired. They even had to cut the whole roof off and replace it. The repair shop said we would get it back in about 10 days but it took almost a month. At least we have it back now!! YIPPEE...

The other major obstacle to our adventure beginning sooner was Ed's sinus surgery. It was supposed to happen in May, but for one reason or another it is now scheduled for August 8th. I did ask the doctor yesterday just how long after the surgery can we leave and he said 10 days. I couldn't believe it.  We might actually get on the road in less than a month.

Hope to see you back soon.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

BRAKE CONTROLLER

We are getting closer to GO DAY. Today we started loading all our precious possessions into the Buggy and tomorrow we take it in to get the brake controller installed so we can pull a car on the dolly that we purchased for this adventure. After our little outing I will take some pictures so you can see our new home.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Ed and I picked up the Big White Buggy yesterday and headed home today.  It was my first time in this big a  vehicle other than a Greyhound bus. (I rode the bus often as a kid). It started out pretty scary and we were doing a fair amount of yelling because we were both extremely nervous.  The wind was horrendous and neither of us knew where we were going. Oh, of course we knew the highway numbers but when we got into town and had to follow the road signs, well that was a different story. Ed wasn't listening and thought he knew the best way to get through town. You need to ask him how that worked out for us!

With much tension and disagreements we finally made it to the house after about 7 hours.  We didn't think that was too bad but were totally worn out.  At times the wind was whipping the buggy so much that I personally was getting sore from trying to stay in the seat. I guess those muscles will be getting more work out from now on.

We don't know where our travels are going to take us, but we are looking forward to the adventures. It will be several weeks before we take off, so in the mean time I am going to attempt to learn how this blogging works. I hope you will follow us along the way.  Thanks for coming!!!

Monday, March 5, 2012

About Us

Just a little background about The Tuckers.  Ed retired from the military after a 40 year career.  He enlisted in the Army and went to Vietnam. He was there from 1968 to 1969. After his stint in the regular Army he joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard and retired from there in 2008.  He held many jobs in those years and his final rank was that of Colonel. LeeAnna worked for Oklahoma City Public Schools for 22 years as a School Psychologist and retired in 2010. We are very fortunate to have had such long careers without changing employers in all those years.