And Then There Were Three

When we arrived at Pine Island RV Resort last week, there was only one other camper on our side of the campground. As the time drew closer for the Board of Directors meeting, several other campers joined us but come Tues. all had returned from whence they came except for one that is still situated several sites away from us. So now there's only three again. Russ keeps wondering when those folks are going to leave because it’s gotten way too crowded here! LOL

This has been another laid back week with our only excursion being on Veteran’s Day for a trip across the lake to Wal-Mart and on the way we passed this display at the local VFW. Russ was also searching for the local Smoke Shop because the cigarettes are so much cheaper on the Indian reservations than they are in the stores. As it turns out the regular brands (Marlboro, Winston, etc.) are the same price or higher, and it’s the Indian brands (i.e. Skydancer) that are significantly cheaper. We finally found one at the parking lot of one of the local casinos. We went inside to check it out but did not gamble this time…though Russ was almost tempted as we watched the players at the one and only blackjack table that was open. But the max bet was only $50, and Russ said you couldn’t get a good roll going with that small a max bet! We stopped at Lowe’s to pick up a couple items before doing our grocery shopping and heading home. You know there’s only so much excitement you can take in one day!

The weather has gotten a little cooler than crisp this week. In fact the high yesterday was 43 with an overnight low of 28! The dogs didn’t even want to go out! At least we don’t have a foot of snow like some places in Nebraska or worse further north. One of the reasons we didn’t get tickets to watch Missouri play in Ames, IA, this week was because we were afraid the weather might really be ugly up there this time of year. Yesterday was the coldest since we arrived here but today it's supposed to be 60...go figure. We've seen some white tailed deer amid the trees, but these deer are way more skittish than those at Canyon Lake were. They don't get anywhere close enough to even take a picture. We’ve still enjoyed taking the dogs out for walks this week through the fallen leaves. With practically nobody around, we’ve even let them off leash to get a little more exercise and enjoy the world as only doggies do. We even let Jo go outside for a little bit…under close supervision of course.

I've taken advantage of the colder temps to do some cold weather cooking...you know those dishes that warm the belly and soothe the soul. I made a huge pot of French onion soup, broke out the bread maker to make a large loaf of bread, and used the very ripe bananas to make chocolate covered banana cake...all from scratch (okay the icing on the cake wasn't). The soup is a recipe I've had for years, cut out from the newspaper when an article had been done on the restaurants that used to be housed in the Famous-Barr department stores. Their French onion soup was their signature dish enjoyed by many lunch time shoppers. All the Famous-Barr stores were eventually converted to Macy's but not sure what happened to the restaurants.

A couple nights ago we witnessed one of the most spectacular sights. With barely a cloud in the sky, the light from the full moon above was reflected in the Grand Lake below. This picture just doesn’t do it justice but you get the idea.

Tomorrow we leave this beautiful, tranquil place for Branson, MO. We’ll spend almost two weeks there and hope to catch up with a nephew and a couple friends who live in the area. The day after Thanksgiving we’ll head for Kansas City for the MU/KU football game on Sat. Scott has decided to skip the trip to KC and will head on down to Orlando to await our arrival.