Oxford, MS Ole Miss Country 033009

Saturday we left Jackson, MS for Oxford, MS, home of the Ole Miss Rebels. Brother Gene and wife Judy have a condo here in Oxford (@ The Mark), mainly for use when Ole Miss plays football, baseball, etc. We had dinner with them Saturday evening.

Brother George has an apartment here (@ the Links). We attended church at College Hill Presbyterian Church, now a PCA church. Built in 1835, original pews! Willam Faulkner was married in the little sanctuary. George's wife, Suzanne, is buried in the adjoining cemetery where union & confederate soldiers, slaves, church members are buried. Many graves have no names. Sanctuary was filled. However, I couldn't understand much of what was said. No PA system and preachers mumbled a lot. Enthusiastic hymn singing.

After church, Helen dropped me at George's apt so I could watch the Martinsville race. After the race, George and son David cooked steaks for Helen and I, Gene and Judy, and David's girl friend, Julia.

We are parked at Clear Creek State Park 10 miles outside Oxford. We are sevearl miles deep in the park and there's no one in the park but us! Beautiful area, real quiet and well kept. (Photo later...we have very poor internet connection deep in the forest here.)

We are hosting the family tonight at Texas Molly II for dinner. Tomorrow we plan to go to the Oxford Square to shop, meet Robert Khayat (Ole Miss Chancellor) for coffee and do tourists' stuff. Tuesday night we're going to the Ole Miss vs Jackson State baseball game, if it doesn't rain.

We are staying until Friday morning when we start making our way to Nashville to be with brother David and wife Beth and their kids & grandchild for Holy Week. Hope to play some golf, also.

Big Brother's Birthday Party!

Last evening we gathered with family and friends to celebrate my big brother's 75th birthday party at his and wife Judy's home in south Jackson. My brother just retired from nearly 50 years of outstanding service as a family physician, one of the last of the really caring family doctors. 60 pounds of crayfish was the hit of the party, provided by daughter Leslie.

I am really proud of Gene, his faithful medical practice and his genuine faith in God in spite of the tragedies that have fallen on his family. When I grow up I want to be like him.

Here's some pics of his and Judy's beautiful home and 15 awesome acres and the gathering.

Helen's Moss Point Pics 032009

Here are some photos Helen took last Friday when we visited MP. First some pics of Mom and Dad's old place behind my grandmother's home on Arthur Street and bayou pics.
Larry standing at the bayou just behind Mom and Dad's place...where many of us kids launched our boats or fished...grandkids, too.
Gfandfather and Grandmother Avera's home on the other side of town. (PimPim & Papa)










Uncle Bert & Aunt Charlotte's home was here before Katrina took it away, big time!

A Familiar Setting in Worship Today

We worshiped at Gautier Presbyterian USA Church today. Probably 30 people, counting children/Teens, in a small 30x30 room they call their fellowship hall. Worship atmosphere was informal, yet containing customary PCUSA worship components -- a lenten litany, a prayer of confession, assurance of pardon, doxlogy, sermon, etc. Friendly folk. We were the only visitors except for some former members who had returned to visit. The youth were just concluding a 30 hour fast and service projects which we celebrated with them. The congregation is awaiting the completion of their new, small traditional sanctuary. The Holy Spirit was surely there today in their worship and we did worship.

Tomorrow, Monday, March 30, we leave for Jackson to park Molly II at Swinging Bridge RV Park, some 5-10 miles from my brother Gene's home on Forest Hill Road. We'll be there for a week, I think, before we head for Oxford, MS for time with brother George.

I had a visitor today as I sat outside reading a novel.

The Shed & Camp Journey's End, March 21, 2009

Next door to our RV Park (Camp Journey's End) is The Shed, an amazing collection of junk that serves the most incredible Bar-B-Que! When a student at Ole Miss, the owner of The Shed began collecting junk from dumpsters and other places where he could find junk. Spent years collecting the stuff and used it years later to build The Shed. Inside The Shed is an amazing collection of any kind of junk you can think of, with the ceilings plastered with thousands of $1 bills. Last night there was more than a 1000 people there for dinner and blues music. Today there were hundreds of motocycles there. Here's some photos of The Shed and our RV park.

Back in Bayou Country, March 20, 2009

Thursday evening we arrived at Camp Journey's End in Ocean Springs, MS (actually we are in Gautier.) Today, we drove over to Moss Point and visited our former homeplace located just a few yards from the bayou. First, photos of the boarded up home, Mom's studio, my dad's workshop, the beautiful lawn and the dark waters of the bayou. (Remember, Katrina hit their home in full fury!).
Then we visited the place where I was reared, a block from the bayou home. Here's the huge live oak I climbed as a child, where I constructed a tree house and where I hid when I was in trouble.
Dad's store, which he sold when he retired, became a gym, but I found it closed. It's main street windows were ones I had to clean from time to time. Sad, huh?
Here's the Escatawpa River on which we fished and raced boats.
We visited our son Lance's grave in Griffin Cemetery.
Here's what Honey thought of the whole day!

Lafayette, LA

Yesterday, St. Paddy's Day, we spent a lot of time at the RV Center, getting the new rear jacks installed, getting the truck and RV inspected (state law) and getting a tire repaired.

Today, Wednesday, we pulled Molly II to Lafayette, LA, where we are parked now at Bayou Wilderness RV Park in Cajun country. Moss again, ahhh.


Tomorrow we drive to Ocean Springs where we will stay in an RV park there through the weekend while we visit friends and family in Moss Point, visit the family cemetery and old haunts.

Then Monday it's on to Jackson.

Today Will Be Better...Hopefully!

Yesterday we woke to a steady, dreary rain, and a second flat tire in two days! I inflated the tire as best I could, then we pulled Texas Molly II to Livingston, TX where our official home address is (though it's not a physical address, but an Escapees RV Park). It took us 45 miles to find an air pump. At one attemmpt I backed up a slight gravel hill and broke both rear jacks...dang! When we finally got to Livingston, we could not get Molly II into a site -- all too small. We moved to a pull-through site and all was fine...EXCEPT I could not get the hitch to release the 5th wheel trailer! Dang again! So, rain, broken jacks, flat tire and a uncooperating hitch! So our day went. This morning, after reading suggestions on the RV forum site re stuck hitches, I was able to get the hitch to release and free the truck. Tomorrow we take Molly II to a local RV service center (RV hospital) to get two new rear hitches and get her inspected per TX law, and get the tire fixed. Oh, the hard life of a full-time RVer! But as Rusty reminded me months ago, "Every day for you, preach, is Saturday." So it is.

It's been nine months since we were at this Escapees park in Livingston. It felt like we were coming home when we pulled into the park.

Wednesday we head east to Mississippi.

LATER...6 pm same day:

It's been a gorgeous day...right not at 6 pm it's 93, clear and mild.

Rain & River Crossing Golf club

We woke today to a steady, badly needed rain (first in TX in months!) The rain prevented a day of golf at River Crossing Golf Club, ranked the second finest course in Texas. In spite of rain and wind (felt like 35 degrees!), we drove around the course a bit and I took a couple pics.
My friend Floyd and son Brian at lunch at River Crossing. Brian is the Director of Development for the corporation's many sub-division developments.

Cookouts, Worship, Sightseeing, March 7-10, 09

Last Friday our great niece, Carolyne Wood, from Dallas, visited and stayed with us in Texas Molly II until Sunday afternoon. We had a great time with her. That Friday evening we prepared 'low country boil' for our friends Rubye and Floyd. Then, Saturday evening we went with them to their son and daughter-in-law's home (Brian and Trisha)for a wonderful cookout (brisket & fixings). Sunday we worshiped with our friends at Spring Branch Baptist Church, a new, small congregation with about 50 in worship. Our worship experience proved again that the Holy Spirit doesn't pay attention to denominational labels. Their pastor, Rick, is bi-vocational, meaning he has a fulltime 'other' job and works without pay for SBBC. I admired the passion he exercised in his delivery and sermon content. It was a really good worship experience.

Monday was a day of chores for all of us, but today we headed out, first to Fredericksburg, then to Luckenbach. Fredericksburg is a beautiful old Texas city that has been wonderfully preserved. It is the home of Admiral Nimitz who commanded the 7th Fleet during WWII, the largest fleet ever assembled. Here is a photo of his home:
More Fredericksburg photos:

Luckenbach is a town (very, very small town!) made famous by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in their song "Luckenback, Texas", written by Hondo Crouch, the founder of the tiny village of Luckenbach. Here are some photos:

Our friend Floyd before P.O.
In the post office was a line on the floor. When you entered and did not cross the line you were in the post office. When you stepped over the line you were in the bar.See line below.
Here's the bar and a few more Luckenbach photos:

Alpine to Spring Branch, TX

In Alpine we attended worship with Donna and Manning at their UMC Church. Helen and Donna drove into Alpine and took some photos of cacti. Flat tire in Segovia, TX, just south of Junction where we stayed Monday night. Arrived in Spring Branch, TX, RV Resort yesterday about 2 pm to be with our friends, Rubye & Floyd. Photos follow:






Got to go to Walmart today (25 miles away) for supplies, RV parts, etc.
This is a great RV park we're in now for the next week or 10 days before we go to Livingston, TX, to register our vehicles as good Texas residents. Here's our site in this Spring Branch, TX, resort. Floyd and Rubye's motor coach seen in photo.