Rhonda, Patty Lonozo and I went to Beaumont, Texas to make a day of it. First we stopped for pizza at Joe’s Pizza Place, went to see the movie, Morning Glory, the girls dropped me off at Barnes & Noble’s while they went window shopping and then we all walked around the mall. Since it was getting close to Christmas the girls had to stop by Santa’s Shop and say hi and get their picture taken with him. Aren’t the cute on Santa’s lap?
Music at Paradise RV Park
The first Saturday of the month there’s music, food and folly at the Paradise clubhouse. The food was excellent and plentiful thanks to Linda.
We had a really good time and we were the only couple to dance this night. Patty showed up with about one hour left of activities in the clubhouse. Patty, Rhonda and I went to our M/H just for a little while after the festivities to talk and visit. 
Motor home site for December
On the 6th we moved down to Warren, Texas so Patty could take care of our cats while we were gone for the month of December. She has 7 or 8 acres. I disconnected the water, electric, sewer and satellite for the move to Patty’s. We left Paradise Park around 1:25 p.m. arriving at Patty’s just 14 miles away.
After a few unsuccessful attempts to try parking M/H beside her backyard deck, we decided to put it in front of the deck directly behind her house. It probably was the best place we could have put it. The Beginning of 3 Weeks of Whirlwind Activities
The anticipation of getting on the road woke us up at 2:51 a.m. on the day of our
departure, the 7th. We were out of bed by 3 a.m. and the start of our whirlwind of activities for the next three weeks began. We completed the finishing touches of getting things ready for the trip up to Murray, KY. Our trip started at 4:17 in the morning. We transferred driving duties every hour for the first four hours. 
We then did two hours apiece and finished up the trip with each of us doing 1 ½ hours each. The Grumpy old Grandpa voice on our new GPS brought us right to Neil and Joan’s lake house. They are Rhonda’s second cousins. The trip took 12 hours, 11 of them driving. One hour was for pit-stops, gas refueling and stopping to eat lunch. The GPS brought us right to their front door at exactly 4:17 pm. We received the warmest of warm greetings from them both. Joan made a wonderful dinner with pork meat, mashed potatoes, lima beans, salad, and hot rolls. It was delicious and their company was delightful. We spent the better part of the evening just talking and having a great time together. They gave us the complete tour of their “new” lake house.They had at one time a small rustic lake house (see picture above) and a small amount of living space 600 feet. They had a new lake house built which took five months instead of the three months promised. The delay was mostly because of bad weather. They went from 600 square feet to over 3,400 square feet. They have a magnificent view of the lake from any of their three levels. Their two decks or the basement level are all great to gaze upon Lake Kentucky. The basement is not yet completed but they are getting every so close to completing it. I took pictures inside and out of their new lake house.
We always look forward to seeing them anytime we are in their area. We said our goodbyes to Neil and Joan after a wonderful breakfast and good conversation. We hugged our goodbyes and put our suitcases inside the car. Plugged in my youngest daughter, Katie’s address to the GPS and pulled out of their drive way at 10:45 a.m.
My Sweet Granddaughter
We switched drivers every hour of this 5 hour and 47 minute trip, driving an easy 581 miles according to our GPS. We arrived at 6:10 p.m. Katie’s house just as it was getting dark outside. My sweet granddaughter, Ally greeted us as we entered their home. She was excited to see us and gave us big hugs. Katie gave me a big hug and I returned it because I’d missed her so. They gave us the nickel tour of their house. It’s a really nice house. They still have things they want to get done but that’s normal with any young couple just getting started in their new house. It’s a house before it becomes a home. Kevin my son-in-law has already carved out his man-cave in the basement where he has set-up a 100 foot TV screen by painting his wall with a special paint and putting a border around it. It’s the neatest darn thing. It’s almost like being at a theatre. It was really nice to see Katie and her family. 
Northern Indiana
The very next morning we took off for Ft. Wayne taking Sadie to Rhonda’s friend, Bonnie Kellams. She was dog-sitting for us while we went on our cruise later this month. We left Sadie in her capable hands and drove just a few blocks to a nursing home where Rhonda’s Uncle Carl had been admitted. We stepped into his room and Rhonda’s cousin Marsha was visiting her stepdad. Carl was laboring for every breath and it was just a matter of time before he would take his last one. Rhonda’s, Aunt Jean was across the road with some friends having lunch so we stopped over to see her too. We gave her our condolences and said goodbye.
Our next stop was meeting Rhonda’s mom at a restaurant for lunch. We took the computer inside to show her some pictures we had taken recently. It was a good lunch and good time with Rhonda’s mom, Jane.
We weren’t done yet our next stop was to see our friend Nancy Biscardi. She had moved from Colorado to the Ft. Wayne area since her husband Frank passed away and this was the first time we were able to see her and her new apartment. We think we almost have her convinced to full-time RV.
After visiting with Nancy we then traveled back down to Greenfield to stay with my daughter, Katie.
Indianapolis to Los Angeles
Katie took us to the Indianapolis International Airport for our flight to Los Angeles where we would board our cruise ship, The Mariner of the Seas, a Carnival Cruise Ship. We arrived at the airport really early but it was worth it.
Going through airport security was a lot easier than I’d expected. The flight out to LA enabled me to start and finish a new book I had bought at the Kountze Trade Days titled, So Innocent, but So Dead, authored by a retire police officer, Bill Davis who I met and he signed my copy for me. We flew on Southwest Airline and it was a very good one and the first time we had been on this airline.
We arrived at the LAX Airport right on time.
Next up our cruise down the Mexican Rivera.
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