When I woke up on Monday, Apr. 6th it was 7:30. After being awake until 3am, for some unknown reason, I wasn't surprised at my late rising. I don't think I needed the extra blanket last night. I didn't know that Bill had left our little heater on so I was probably too hot.
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| Good morning! Gibbs makes sure Black Beauty goes NOwhere without him. |
It got down to 42F/5C so his reasoning was a good call. We got in motion, knowing it was a shorter drive today of about 300 miles, so no real push. After I had everything packed up inside, Gibbs and I walked a bit while Bill dumped tanks and checked tire pressure.
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| Leaving El Reno. Scissortail Bridge, Oklahoma City This motor home looked odd pulling a cargo trailer that was even taller! |
We said goodbye to our neighbors, Wendy and Perry from S.D., and pulled out at 9:25. A lovely morning, already 58F/13C as we got on US81 and caught I-40/Rte 66. It was a lovely drive, motoring along enjoying the new but familiar views of budding greenery.
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| Passing Tinker AFB in OKC |
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| I much prefer these divided interstates. This scenery stirs up the desire to get home. |
As much as we love the desert when headed south west, this view is always enjoyable in the spring.
We stopped near Checotah at an unserviceable rest area. Bill opened a slide for nature calls and Gibbs found grass for his piddles and sniffs.
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| These flowers are along the route today. I'm glad I got to see them up close at the rest area. |
Some pretty Indian Paintbrush flowers that I saw along the drive were here, posing for me. We had our lunch and were back on I-40E 25 minutes later. Temperature is 67F/17.5C, quite beautiful.
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| Each day our little traveler seems better and lays down more often. He also likes to pose for me. 💘 |
We are only 1 hour in 'time zone speak' from home and that seems almost impossible! Doesn't seem like we've traveled 5 days already.
The remainder of our day went perfectly uneventful. Thank you to the good Lord watching over us. We are grateful because we know how things can go........😁
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| This was a really nice travel centre in Arkansas and we were mostly alone. Whatever is Gibbs thinking? |
We stopped at Clarksville for fuel up at Casey's before reaching our destination. Another Mudflap discount saving us 9$ to fill at $4.90/gal.
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| Another water tower and more greenery. |
Taking Exit 101 off the interstate, we followed directive from the Harvest Hosts, turning onto cty Rd 113. I missed a step on my phone when we ended up on gravel, then onto a partial dirt/gravel road arriving at Paw Paw's Pecans at 3:30 pm. This is our Harvest Host stay and I was quite excited to arrive!
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| There is another entrance/exit to this farm, but these roads were fine for us in dry weather. Billy told us of the other, easier way for another time. 😀 |
A long laneway with a plantation home at the end welcomed us as we squeezed through their iron gates and parked between pecan trees, beside the 'fake' rock. After setup inside and out, I boiled water for a cup of tea and sat outside for a while drinking it.
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| A couple of selfies while my boys slept inside. It was so peaceful here! |
It was a calm warm day and all I could hear in the distance were birds and perhaps a far off farm machine.
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| Their 200-acre farm is host to 6000 pecan trees. |
There are 6000 pecan trees in this orchard and I couldn't wait to see what our hosts offered inside their stately home.
We were invited to join them at 5:30 for, wait for it, ribs! Wha???? We spent a relaxing afternoon; Bill and Gibbs dozed and I played phone games and took a couple of selfies until about 5.
We left Gibbs in charge, he needs to catch up on his sleep!, and walked up to Charlotte Teresa's Plantation.
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| Billy trained at a culinary school with the tv personality The Pit Boss and wanted us to taste his smoked ribs. Delicious!! Charlotte baked beans with peaches and I need to try this! |
Billy and Charlotte greeted us at the door with welcoming smiles. We shared a quick introduction and were invited into the kitchen for Billy's prize-winning ribs and Charlotte's baked beans with peaches. We sampled a few of their 12 fudge flavours, made daily, and came away with a box. 😋
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| Charlotte's quilt shop where Billy says she spends HIS allowance! |
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| Front entry hall |
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| A nice little store with lots of goodies. |
Oh my! Yes, we were spoiled. We learned a lot but the fact that only 2 of them run this whole operation (which started as a hobby) is crazy!!!
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| Pecan trees and the fake rock |
We had a lovely chat and a tour of the store room and the quilting room. Oh, Nancy, the long arm!! Of course, a few purchases were made and we shook hands and said our goodbyes.
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| The reason I wake up and smile everyday. 💕💕💕 |
They invited us to walk anywhere on the property and to help ourselves to any pecans (pe-cahns) that we found on the ground. They would just rot otherwise.
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| Charlotte's beautiful Clematis |
So, we gathered up Gibbs and walked around the house and grounds with a bag. The little guy was having fun, rolling in the grass and just being happy with Mom and Daddy. The sun was brilliant between the trees, still at 7:20 pm, preparing to say goodnight.
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| The home they built themselves as a second home and eventually a bnb. Some rooms can still be rented. Interesting fact: last year's eclipse had them with a full house and 64 rv's parked here. |
We sat to write blogs and used our laptops to stream any shows rather than turn the tv on. This was a great day, more acquaintances and we'd love to come back another time.
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| Such a beautiful piece of property to share. We were the only ones here today. |
I hope you enjoyed today's visit as much as we did. It reached a perfect 74F/22C with hardly any wind at all.
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| From our back window. Good night! |
(ps, I picked up a lot of pecans!)
Thank you for stopping by!
