Tally Ho Travelers

We drove into Little Rock, Arkansas to check out a few suggested places we should see.  Our first stop was MacArthur Park , located just behind the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.  Little did we know it's currently under a renovation and was torn up with excavating machinery all around.  We just drove on by.  There were some very architecturally beautiful older homes in the area.  It reminded us of German Village in Columbus, Ohio. Our next stop was to the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library .  We couldn't go in because we had the dogs, but we at least wanted to stop and see the building.  I'm not a fan of modern architecture.  The style of the building seems harsh & cold.   William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library Park outside of the library We then drove to Julius Freckling Riverfront Park to walk around with the dogs.  There was convenient parking right at the park.  This park is sensational.  So wel...

We spent 6 nights at Willow Beach Campground, in Scott, Arkansas.  We arrived on Monday 2/10.  Willow Beach Campground is located on the Arkansas River near the David D.Terry Lock and Dam.  We love staying in Corps of Engineers (COE) campgrounds as they are always along a waterway.  We find the sound and sights of the waters to be so relaxing.  Although it was cold, we were able to get out to see some sights.   Willow Beach is a small campground with only 20 campsites.  It wasn't too busy, and certainly not full of campers.  It was quiet and the camp hosts were friendly.   We took a drive just outside of Little Rock to do some grocery shopping, fill our small propane tank.  It's been raining off and on, which does put a damper on outside  activities.   Finally, on Thursday, the rains stopped!  The sun shone, but the winds made it feel colder than it was.  We took a long walk through the park along the river's edg...

What does one do on rainy days when traveling full-time in a motorhome?  Since we have the dogs with us, we rarely leave them behind so we can go and do "inside" things.  Rainy days are a good opportunity to slow down.  We read books, play games, watch nature outside our windows.   Where we are now we've seen ducks and egrets on the Arkansas river.  The ducks seem to be migrating and we just love watching them fly in formation and then the long strings of ducks lagging behind.  Today, we also saw an Opossum.  Pretty sure it got rained out of its den. 🙁.  We played several rounds of Rack-o which is such an easy game for anyone to play.  We also play Chess, Backgammon, Battleship, Sorry, a few card games.  I recently started playing solitaire again, too. I also took time to check out where we might want to head next.  We're just flipping a coin and heading where our hearts take us. Since we have wi-fi, we can have movie nights! ...

Yesterday, we drove to Shiloh, TN to visit Shiloh National Military Park.  The park commemorates the April 6-7, 1862, battle that raged around Shiloh Church and Pittsburg Landing. There were more than 23,000 casualties.  The battle was the largest engagement in the Mississippi Valley campaign during the Civil War.  Currently, the park has over 5,200 acres, and was established by Congress in  1894.  People often ask Steve and me why we visit Civil War sites, whether battle sites, historical buildings, or cemeteries.  The short answer is, "so we don't forget our American history."  We go to remind ourselves how many men, and women, gave their lives in the fight for freedom, freedom from slavery, and  whether slavery should be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states.   We go to honor the dead, to remember that freedom isn't free.  We seek knowledge about our past, so that history is not destined to rep...

I recently read an article in the magazine The Simple Things, February issue.  It was an article about "glimmers."  According to Deb Dana, clinician an author, "Glimmers refer to small moments when our biology is in a place of connection, which cues our nervous system to feel safe or calm, rather than our automatic "fight or flight" response. So, where do you find glimmers?  First, you must be present.  You must be open to looking for them.  They are not great big experiences, but rather micro moments that trigger joy.  Use your senses, sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.  Each season you can find these small sensory jewels.   February, although the shortest month of the year, can be gray and cold.  But it is a great month to look for those glimmers.  The sun peaking through the clouds, or a bulb pushing its leaves up through the ground.  The chirp of birds returning home, or the silence after a snowfall.  The feeling of a co...

We are here at Natchez Trace State Park in Wildersville, Tennessee.  We came in yesterday around 3pm and got set up in our site #32.  This campground is beautiful.  We have an open view to Pin Oak Lake and our site is long and level. We took a walk around the campground this morning with the dogs.  It's huge. They have RV spots and cabins available at this location.  There are also two campgrounds at Cub Lake and Wrangler campground where those with horses can stay.  Lots of hiking trails but only one close by us, up near the Lodge.  The Lodge and restaurant are currently closed for renovations. There are a few places we'd like to check out while we are here. Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park  Liberty Garden Park & Arboretum Parker's Crossroads Battlefield and Shiloh National Military Park which we'll stop at when we head out on Sunday. Here are some pics from our first day here.

We ended up spending 3 weeks in Chester, VA while Sir Didymus was being repaired.  I won't go into the gory details.  The Fairfield Inn, where we spent most of our time, was right next to the Cracker Barrel.  They were very accommodating as our check out date kept changing.   We took advantage of being stuck.  Since we had our car, we found a lovely park about 10 minutes down the road that we traveled to almost daily.  The dogs loved the trails, as did we.  We also took a drive to Colonial Williamsburg.  It is one of my favorite places.  We walked the Duke of Gloucester Street up and down and admired the buildings and scenery.  It was a gorgeous day. We also took a drive to Richmond, VA and visited Capital Square Park.  It is a gorgeous park.  We saw the Capital, Old City Hall, and many monuments depicting various events that took place in Richmond and surrounding areas. We also stopped at a local winery, Ashton Creek, in Chest...

OUR TRAVELS & TRAVAILS If you've been following along on my Facebook page about our travels, you know we've run into a few bumps in the road.  Our plan, last July was to come down to Cave City, Kentucky and spend some time with my brother and his wife.  We got here on July 9, 2024.  We enjoyed time with my brother and his wife, checked out the trails at Mammoth Cave.  We've been to the caves before so we did not check them out while here.  I'll be sharing some interesting places to check out while in the area in another blog post. In late July we headed to Dale Hollow Dam, which is a Corps of Engineers campground.  It was wonderful there.  Spent 10 days, and enjoyed every minute. Dale Hollow Campground - COE We headed back to Rock Cabin camping so that I could fly into Cleveland for a couple of weeks.  I had some minor surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.  I stayed with my sister and got to visit with Tiffany & Brad.  Went to the zoo...