Ohio

flooded farmlands all over the place

river way over its banks

arena in Indianappolis

flat land, nice clouds....Indiana, Ohio.....

flat, flat, flat.........

Good Afternoon Family and Friends, wherever you are....

We're just outside of Dayton, Ohio at a VERY expensive KOA campground....54 smackeroooosl. Have no idea why....but there are a lot of kids here making all kinds of noise. Must be the sun brings out the campers.....who knows. We stopped here for a couple of reasons. One, it's off route 70 which is the route we've been on. Why are we on route 70? Because Mommy was not paying attention when Daddy got behind the wheel this morning and didn't tell him to go south so we could travel through Kentucky and Tennessee. So what does he do? Route 70, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Flat, really boring states, not to mention terrible road! Bumpy, pot holey, terrible road. Don't EVER come this way if you travel west.

So, that was the first reason. The second reason was that Mommy had not picked up any maps or camping books from the Triple A for these states because we weren't going to come this way. So she had nothing to look at except the KOA book she has, and that's what we had to choose from. I think she has a PA and NY one, so maybe tomorrow we can find a place that is less expensive, has no kids, and is quiet. I'll keep you posted. And I do want to say here that I like kids. I really do. But here I have to stay on my leash, and that's no way to deal with kids. I need to be able to run and chase and just have a good time.....like I do at home....where there are no kids....just Mike from next door and Daddy....both big kids.....

Hope all is well with you and your weather is nice. It's 60 degrees here, but will get cold enough tonight to have to put the heater on. I love you all.

Juni

Rainin' Again.....ho hum.....

Baby geese

Daddy showing Aunt Norma the Colombia book

The Arch...Gateway to the West

Daddy reassuring me...he loves me best...

But CB is certainly a close second....

Rainbow on the way to camper tonight

Other side of rainbow

Good Evening, Family and Friends, wherever you are,

What a fun day this has been. It started early this morning when we went over to Aunt Norma and Uncle Merrill's house for breakfast.....sausage and pannycakes. Yum yum yummy!! I got to lick Mommy's fingers, but that's all that she would share. However, the fun part really was the family of geese in the lake behind the condo. They were sooooo cute!! Oh, I wanted to go down and join them in their swim, but Daddy is a spoiled sport about that sort of thing, and he said I had to stay upstairs and play with Charlie Brown. Ok......I could do that.....but there were so many geese to see. Aunt Norma said there are hundreds and at times, there's so much goose crap on the sidewalks that they don't like to go for walks. I guess when you have one or two, or maybe even three geese in the area and they have their eliminations, you just call it goose poo. But when it's hundreds, it becomes true crap. That's just a guess on my part, but I'm a pretty smart girl, you know. Sometimes the people in the association go looking for goose eggs and when they find them, they cover them with cooking oil so they won't hatch. They just have so many in this area and they are noisy and dirty and not nice to have around. We don't have geese at our house, but we sure have crows! Oh, and turkeys! They're fun to watch. But I digress......

OK, so Uncle Merrill had to take a nap because he had just had mouth surgery a couple of days ago and he was a hurtin' human! And I didn't really want to go, so I stayed in the truck, in the shade, and took a nap, too. Mommy and Daddy and Aunt Norma went sight-seeing in downtown St. Louis. Mommy said it was sure different from Houston.....old, and run down in lots of places and not nearly as big. But it has the Arch, so that was interesting.

When they got back, we all just sat around and talked some more, and played with the curly one, and shared stories, and had supper......vegetable soup that Aunt Norma had made......and then we came back to the camper and I had my supper and now we're all just laying around and reading or writing my blog......tomorrow we head for home. Hopefully, we will continue to miss all the weather excitement. We've been lucky so far and I think the worst of it has moved on now, further to the east....where we are headed.....oh CRAP!

Talk to you tomorrow. I love you all,

Juni

Charlie Brown

Isn't he the cutest thing????

Not too spoiled, or anything.

Rain, rain, and more rain

Big wreck early this morning

gives piggyback ride new meaning

Uncle Allan....a cabin just for you!

In Aunt Norma's house

Me and the kid....Charlie Brown

Country girl meets city boy....cute, eh?

Good Evening, Family and friends, wherever you are,

We've all seen enough rain now to last the rest of the summer!! Good grief! Will it never end? It rained all last night....really hard and I stayed in bed with the rents until the big noises stopped and then I went back to my own bed. But that was not a good time, I tell you. And then this morning it started to rain while we were on our way to St. Louis and didn't stop until we got back to the camper a little while ago. Geesh!! Cut us some slack here, will ya, DOG? Enough is enough!

So we got here around noon, had some lunch, and then went over to see Aunt Norma, Uncle Merrill, and........ta daaaaa......Charlie Brown! Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen?? I just loved him and we touched noses and sniffed each others butts and I ate some of his food and he tried to play hide and seek but I'm an expert seeker.....and we just had the nicest time. I really liked Uncle Merrill....he's a great scritcher! Must be he's had some practice somewhere along the line.....it'll be fun to go back and let him practice some more! On ME!! I'm not sure Aunt Norma liked me so much cause I kinda left some of my hair on her floors....you know I only do that so folks will have reminders of me when I leave.....but her carpet is sorta....white-ish.....and I'm sorta.....the opposite.....could be the one and only time we're allowed to visit....

Had to put the heat on in the camper....can you believe that??? 92 degrees in New Orleans and we're puttin' the heat on in St. Louis. Crazy......

So, it's off to bed. Big day tomorrow.....early breakfast with the aunt/uncle, then hit the shops and who knows what after that. I'll talk to you tomorrow. In the meantime, have a lovely night and remember, I love you all.

Juni

Foggy Morning in Burlington

Good Morning, Family and Friends, wherever you are,

Daddy got all soopy this morning and told us he was such a lucky man: he has a good wife, a good dog, a new pickup truck, and a rifle and shotgun. What more could a man ask for? So I let him scritch my belly.......

Have a wonderful day! I love you all.....

Juni

Burlington, Arkansas

Can ya see the sun?? Very foggy this morning when we started.

This is a huge Baptist church....there were more churches in Arkansas than in Mississippi....and HUGE ones!!

This is a Cudja House, or part of one. Mommy was told about Cuja houses by her Daddy....Grampa Ben. They would look for them whenever they went on a trip when Mommy was a little girl, like me. It means "cudja love a man enough to live in one"........

A Rock Hatchery....they're all over the place in the Ozarks....

Very swollen river from all the recent rain...Arkansas River, I think.....

Burlington, Arkansas.....safe from flooding, but we hope not to get hit by lightning....

View from the campground, the valley below

The Duke, in Branson, MO

Some gorilla on a building....Branson

Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum

Titanic Museum......why????

Stormy....scared.....

Good Evening Family and Friends, wherever you are,

Here we are in Burlinton, Arkansas....isn't that neat?? It doesn't look at all like Burlington, Vermont, but that's because it's in Arkansas!! We left Mt. Pleasant around seven this morning, in some very thick fog. Daddy had to slow down because we really couldn't see very far in front of us and it was scarey! From our campground to the next town north, Texarkana, we saw one police car after another.....hiding in the medians, or just pulled off to both sides of the highway. Daddy said the cops were bound up thicker than fleas on a hound dog! The truckers were all warning each other on their CBs....and they thought the cops were looking for a particular rig that might be transporting drugs. Anyhow, it was nice a cool, and not sunny and Daddy said it was good driving weather.....easy on the tars.....that's how they talk here......tars.....get it? tires? And the truckers say....whadup? instead of come on....funny.....

Soooo, we decided not to go to Little Rock since that's where the tornadoes were going, and instead we headed north on a great highway through the Ozarks. It looked just like home!! It's really green since they've been having so much rain, and the creeks and rivers are well over their banks. We were told that the campground we were headed for in Branson was under water, so we opted for this place on top of a mountain instead. It's very pretty here, and nice and high. Hopefully, we'll be able to make it to St. Louis tomorrow. We're supposed to have a couple of good days weather wise, and then the rains are to begin again. Oh well....

Once we got here and got the camper set up, we drove into Branson to see what that was all about. HUGE tourist area, some really neat buildings, yummy ice cream, and a lot of junk to buy in the touristy places. Mommy and Daddy walked around some, and drove by all the places where they have shows, but they're too late, and I don't like to stay alone....specially in a storm.. so all we did was some lookin'.

So now, here's a question, because I really do not understand. Highway 65 is a four lane road with a wide median that is deeply ditched in the middle, and the ditch is filled with rocks. Right in the middle of this median was a sign, one of those big red signs, that said.....WRONG WAY. I just don't know what that means. Really......who is it for?? It was facing us, but we were going the only way we could go......and the cars on the other side couldn't read it....so what was that?? Some Arkansan joke?? Silly people.......

OK......hope all of you had a wonderful day. If we're not hit with lightning, or swept off the mountain by all the rain, I'll talk to you again tomorrow! I love you all.

Juni

Tuesday Morning

Good Morning, Family and Friends wherever you are,

Feeling relaxed this morning.....storms moved East....we're moving.....East??? Oh crap.....

Love,

Juni

Mt. Pleasant, Texas

Mr. Sam Houston along the highway.

Proof that Texans don't know whether they're coming or going.....

Sky beginning to darken

Wind blowing trees over the road

trying to show whitecaps on this reservoir

Good Evening, Family and Friends, wherever you are,

Well, we're still alive as of 8:30 PM Monday night!! For awhile there, I had my doubts. We left Houston this morning at 6 AM-ish.....and although it was overcast, it wasn't bad driving. We stopped a couple of times for fuel and to wee wee, but wanted to get as far as we could before it began to rain. They are having really bad storms in this part of the world if you haven't been following the news. Terrible tornadoes all around here. Anyhow, it started to get windy around noon time, so we found a campground in Mt. Pleasant, Texas and battened down the hatches. Daddy did a quick run to the grocery store while Mommy and I cleaned up the kitchen and hid in the bedroom. Actually, I'm the one who hid in the bedroom......I'll be sleeping with Mommy and Daddy tonight. I do NOT like all that noise out there, and the flashes and the thunderboomers. Nope, not my thing. Call me a wuss, I don't care. I don't like it. Scares the beejeezus out of me and I want to be near my Mommy and my Daddy.....in their laps, if possible. But on the bed is OK, too. I'll come down for a cookie, or go take a quick wee wee....but then, let me back in the camper on the bed. I'm not sure why my mommy and daddy decided to travel in this part of the country in the spring.....when they tradionally have bad storms.....and tornadoes......and thunder and lightening.....and hail....oh yes, hail. That has been predicted for here in this town tonight... hail. We may come home all pock marked!! Sheesh.......

Hope you are having better weather than we are!! I love you all,

Juni

Happy Easter!!

Uncle Johnny and Auntie PK's house. We're parked to the left in the driveway.

Downtown Houston....lots of $$ here.

Rice University.....very wealthy school....

Auntie PK, Uncle Johnny, and me. Mommy has known Uncle Johnny since seventh grade......llllloooooonnnnnnggggg time!!!

The whole gang after church.

Good Afternoon, Family and friends, wherever you are,

And a very Happy Easter to you all!! It's a beautiful day here in Houston and I've had a great time so far! Mommy and I got up really early this morning and went for a walk around the neighborhood. That was funny because the neighbors all put their sprinklers on early in the mornings here.....like around 4 AM.....so we had to dodge water the whole time we were on our walk. But, not a problem and only my feet got a little wet.

Breakfast was amazing. Uncle Johnny had made Swedish Bread with his grandchildren the day before we came and I got to sample it......Mommy doesn't always hit her mouth when she's eating and I just pick up after her, if you know what I mean. So the tradition here in the Loeffler household on Easter is Swedish Bread....made from Cream of Wheat and flour, sugar and oil.....so it's like a heavy cracker but really good, especially if you put butter and jam on it. I had to eat mine plain, 'cause Mommy hadn't gotten around to all the other stuff when she dropped some on the floor.....and I picked up after her, remember?? Then everyone got gussied up....'cept me...I wore the same ol' black coat and red necklace......and they went to church. I had to stay home, which I was glad about 'cause all that singin' and music hurts my ears.

Lunch was really good, too.....sammiches in pita bread that kinda falls apart and I have to clean up after other people, not just Mommy this time. I'm sorry none of the roast beef slices were included, but I'm not complainin'. Nope. Not me.

So later on this afternoon, the grandchildren are coming over. They're two and five so I'm going to stay in the camper until they're all under control, and then I'll go meet them. Those high voices??? Kinda like the church music, ya know??

I'm sending pictures from the trip here, and of Auntie PK and Uncle Johnny. You'll know the other yahoos in the photos.

Hope you all had a wonderful day. I love you all.

Juni

Texas

Good Morning Family and Friends, wherever you are,

This has to be short, 'cause Auntie PK is making breakfast, and I have to go inside and make sure her floor is all cleaned up. Sometimes, cooks drop things on the floor, you know, and if it's not picked up immediately, there's a chance of an accident. So I like to be right there to make sure no one slips and falls. The only thing I ever picked up that wasn't to my liking was as piece of avacado that Mommy dropped......and I spit that right back out on the floor almost as soon as I snarfed it up!! Ptewey! Slimy, green thing. Yuck. Mommy had to pick that up herself....I wasn't going to go near it again. Almost made me upchuck. How anyone can eat that stuff is beyond me.....

Anyhow, here we are at Uncle Johnny's and Auntie PK's house in Houston and again, it is HOT! It's only seven in the morning, and already it's about a hundred degrees. I'm not going anywhere with them today. Nope. I'm staying right here in the air conditioned camper and they can toodle around Houston in the heat all they want. Not my thing.

Uncle Johnny's house is really beautiful. It's a ranch, like ours, but with a western flair. Ours has more of an eclectic flair.....a little of this, a little of that. I think theirs is bigger than ours...it has four bedrooms, although two are used as studies and workrooms. But we have a much bigger yard! Theirs is fenced in though, so I can go out there without my leash which is a nice change.

So yesterday we drove from New Orleans and it took us seven hours. Lots of traffic around all the cities we went through. You'll have to wait 'til later to see pictures, 'cause the camera is locked in the truck. Yes, Mommy has a key but it's in her purse locked in the truck....and Daddy is talking to Uncle Johnny. But we had a nice trip and got here around one-thirty. It took me awhile to get the lay of the land and be comfortable in the house, but I'm fine now.

Supper was grilled chicken for the humans, green beans and rice. Very nice. I had the usual... hard little brown nuggets of deliciousness! And I ate it all like a good girl.

Talk at you later. I love you all.
Juni

French Quarter

Big, beautiful old homes like this.....

One of the waiters at the world famous Gumbo Pot......he was funny.....

Balconies all over the place

Gorgeous church....

Dark....chicory place....cafe something

view through an alley.....statue...naked.....

more balconies....

world famous....fried dough....

old building attached to new one.....

Good Afternoon, Family and Friends wherever you are,

Well, another day in the camper. Mommy and Daddy decided to go touring, which was fine with me, but they said I had to stay home because they might get out to do some walking, and/or eating and it was too hot for me to stay in the truck or walk on those hot sidewalks for miles and miles. Soooooo, I stayed here and had to listen to their story when they got home.

I guess we're really just country folks. Traffic, and a gazillion people milling around just aren't our favorite things. I myself much prefer the eclectic smells of a campground to the noise and confusion of a city. When you don't know where you're going, there are lots of stops and starts and it tends to make me sick to my stomach, so I was glad not to be with them today. I just stayed here and gnawed on my new bone, and watched out the window, and napped a little and whined some......we girls are apt to do that when we're left alone.....whine........some.....not a lot...just some.

Well, once they found the French Quarter, they decided to have an early lunch and beat the crowd. They ate in this cute little place called the Gumbo Pot.....Daddy had jumbalaya, and Mommy had a shrimp salad which would have been a lot better if they had deveined the shrimp, but they didn't. Yuck. She couldn't believe a restaurant would serve shrimp with the black line of.....you know what....I'm not allowed to say that word but it rhymes with pimp jit....get it?? Shrimp.....stuff??Yuck.......and, it had been frozen....wasn't as fresh as advertized. Oh well.....ya win some, ya lose some. After lunch, they went walking......did the tourist thing......stopped at the Cafe Du Monde and had coffee with beignets. We know these to be fried dough in Vermont, and they don't cost anywhere near what you have to pay for them here. Plus the Coffee is chicory.....oh my dog......Mommy about gagged......very bitter and not good at all. I'm tellin' you, we all have Vermont taste buds......

Anyhow, the touristy shops were fun, but they didn't buy anything because it was all so expensive: lunch was fifty bucks and chickory and beignets were nine bucks and parking was nine bucks.......I lied. Daddy got a cook book. Cajun cooking. Go figure.

The old houses in that part of town are awesome, very similar to old Charleston. The biggest difference is that there are beads hanging from all of the trees. Funny place. In Vermont, ladies wear beads around their necks. In New Orleans, they throw them up into the trees, or on the electric lines that the trolleys use. Interesting customs in different parts of the country.

So, when they finally got home, Mommy went to do the laundry so they don't have to be bothered with it in Houston. Uncle Johnny and Aunt PK are waiting for us there. We'll leave early tomorrow morning, so you may not hear from me for a couple of days. We may be busy, I don't know.

Anyhow, have a wonderful day. I love you all.

Juni