Tag Archives: Mississippi

Mondays are for Memories – Mississippi!

Since we are heading to Mississippi and our November SOWER project at the end of the week I thought I’d look back to one of the first times we visited the state, fifteen years ago also in November. Here’s a little report from ‘early on’ in our Rving adventure –

Nov 11, 2005 –
I’ve been a little frustrated getting a good internet connection here in southern Mississippi. Even Starbucks let me down today! But we’re in Hattiesburg and someone directed me to a Kinkos/FedEx store where I could connect. Enough whining – just an FYI if you don’t hear from me very often!
I never mentioned our time in Vicksburg, did I? It really has something for everyone – Casinos, Outlet stores, History….. We just concentrated on the History – and after our visit to the Vicksburg National Park, we took a nice drive down through the town. We were glad we were just in the truck – those little city streets would have been a nightmare! Here is just one shot of the battlefield….
Vicksburg National Cemetery
There was so much information about the battle there – I get lost in all the details!

We’ve been busy this first week at Harvest Ministries. Previous to our getting here they removed 62 trees that were on the drive alone. Once the utilities were back they were able to house some of the evacuee, but now they are getting ready for some official “guests” this coming week. The men are busy with building repair, and we ladies are doing “housekeeping” – stuff we’ve all done before! Lots and lots of clean-up (inside and out) to do.
Here is a shot of the view from the dining hall where we meet for devotions each morning…
Morning at Harvest Ministry
I’ll try to get some shots of the damage that is being repaired, but that will have to wait until my next visit to a wireless connection!
Weather has been wonderful – cool nights and beautiful sunny 70 degree days.
And Diesel this morning was only $2.50 at Walmart.
=)

Here’s a link to the original post!

Mondays are for Memories – Plus some travel news

We traveled the Natchez Trace for the first 250 miles of our drive to Ohio. We’d done the Trace back in 2005, stopping at most every historic spot along the way. We did some camping, some traipsing about with just the truck, and lots of exploring all the nooks and crannies of this beautiful drive. This time, however, it was just the shortest distance between point A (Kosciusko) and point B (Nashville). Now, I’m not saying it’s the quickest route, but my oh my, it did my blood pressure good! Two lanes, minimal shoulders (so Gary took his half out of middle when he could), 50-55 mph speed limit, no stop signs, traffic lights, or merge lanes, no commercial trucks and hardly any car traffic at all.
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See what I mean? Ahhhh…..
All good things must come to an end, though, from Nashville to just outside of Columbus, it was Interstate all the way.
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Oh and rain.
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(That’s Cincinnati hiding in the mist.)
[Coming soon – a recap of our fun visit with the kiddos in Columbus]

All too soon (like this morning) we were headed for our summer destination, Montrose Bible Conference.
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But as sometimes happens when your house has an engine, something just didn’t sound right, so we are currently snugged in at a transmission repair spot near Akron, OH, where they have given us an appointment for tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon.
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We are very thankful that we’re self-contained, our waste tanks are empty, our fresh water and propane tanks are adequately full, and the generator is humming away. Flexibility is the name of the game. We’re safe, have food in the fridge (and a truck to go get more if we need it), and are praying for a quick (and economical) resolution tomorrow.
Meanwhile – here are some links to our travels down the beautiful Natchez Trace in October, 2005.
Along the Trace
Traveling the Trace
Moseying….Is that a word?

Enjoy the Memories!!! Mondays are for Memories, right?

April Highlights – Vol I

What an outstanding month we’ve had! We’ve pulled out of our spot at Pineview Camp, and moved to the Walmart in Kosciusko so we can get an early start tomorrow.  But before we hit the road , let me share just some of the highlights of this month.

The Team!
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Although we three couples are the best of friends, and have even gone cruisin’ together, this is the first time we have all managed to land at the same project together. Not only we were working just the three of us couples, but since this is just a start-up camp, there was only one other person on the campus at any given time. We shared most dinners, sometimes just bringing our own plates of food, but more often getting together in the kitchen, discussing who was contributing what and in the end presenting a feast!
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Easter ham, Florentine chicken, moose stew, steaks, tacos, breakfast for dinner – it was all amazing and so much fun! We loved having the big kitchen to cook in, and thoroughly enjoyed a new level of fellowship!
The Work
So much was accomplished in these three short weeks. The guys built six sets of bunk beds, did electrical work and plumbing work, and checked lots of other odds and ends off of their long job list. I know they were super busy and productive, but I have so very few pictures of them! Here they are constructing the bunk beds in place.
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After they built them, we three stained and sealed them.
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They looked really nice when the room was put back together again
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(We were so busy I had to clone myself!)
After the staining, We tackled a multitude of dorm rooms and bathrooms.
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but as always, managed to find a bit of fun in the doing!
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I mean really, wouldn’t you enjoy cleaning with these ladies?
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Thankfully, the facility was in good shape (cleaning wise), and mostly just needed a good dusting, sweeping, and bathroom shine.
At last count we were at 150+ beds, 19 showers, 30 toilets, 26 sinks, and one kitchen. But who’s really counting!
To take a break from the cleaning, we also tackled several flower beds.
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Hopefully, these little areas of blooms will continue throughout the summer to brighten the ‘curb appeal’ of the camp!
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(Gary, Kim, and Joe are the architects of this cute spot. Doncha love it?)

Since we’re Walmart camping, my electronics are slowing losing battery power. AH – the rest of these Highlights will have to wait until tomorrow!
Ta-Ta till then!
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Ups and Downs – the Conclusion

I left off last time, as I recall, where we had arrived safely at our April SOWER project regardless of the torrential rain, wild wind, and down wires that did their best to circumvent our arrival.  We were giving God ALL the glory as we navigated down the last stretch of muddy road, to our safe haven at Pineview Camp.  Now Pineview is a brand new SOWER project, and while the property had previously been an orphanage and has lots of facilities, it never had RV sites.  Continue reading Ups and Downs – the Conclusion