Jacksonville, Arkansas and Temecula, California

Mississippi River - I thought it would be wider. Time has flown the past few weeks. I guess because everything is new and interesting. I've enjoyed every minute and not regretted taking this trip. I've learned so much and expect there are a few more surprises ahead of me. The trip to Jacksonville, Arkansas was fun. Sylvia flew down from Boise and met me in San Marcos. Together we drove to Jacksonville. We had a number of audiobooks to listen to during the nine hour drive, but instead just visited. I was introduced to Buc-ees, a chain of travel centers known for their food, clean washrooms and the number of fueling stations. To give you an idea why Buc-ees is so popular, they have just opened a new location in Texas which is 75,000 sqft and has a 120 fuel pumps. It was amazing. Visiting with David, Stephanie, Thorin and Annabelle was great. David is a firefighter and he was on nights when we arrived, so we spent the days visiting and swimming until his shift was over. The next few days were spent touring around the area. We went to Little Rock where we spent a couple of very enjoyable hours viewing the Clinton Library. We drove past Little Rock Central High School where in 1957 the Little Rock Nine entered under the protection of the Arkansas National Guard, who had been federalized by President Eisehower, and finally a tour of David's fire station. Unexpectedly, we went to Memphis the next day. What a great day, we "toured" Graceland (the various museums on the property). This did not include the grounds around Graceland or Graceland itself. There was a good reason for that at the time but looking back, we should have made the effort. All I can say is it seemed to be 100+ and a/c was calling.

We continued our tour of Memphis and had lunch at BB King's Cafe. There was a live jazz band playing and we enjoyed every minute of our lunch. Drove by the Peabody Hotel known for the Peabody Duck March. If you don't know the story suggest you google it. Interesting.

Four days of long but very interesting travel and I arrived in Temecula to my little studio apartment in the hills of wine country. Happy to look at trees and hops. The flowers are gorgeous and I hear the birds sing in am. Nice not to be in the valley and city. I still can't forget the scenery I drove through getting to Temecula. Very desolate and hot, hot, hot! The roads were great and in many cases, I was the only one on highway for miles. Everywhere you looked there were tiny sharp rocks, shrubs, and dust. Way too hot for Buttons to walk and the heat just seared your skin. US is not less expensive than Canada. Unfortunately I lost my phone which is a major problem. Luckily my nephew Joe, in Boise, purchased a phone for my use while I am in the states. I have no cell reception in the hills and the phone isn't connecting in the valley either, so at the moment it's a bit useless. I am getting emails on my laptop and text messages on my phone. My US number is 208 515 9359. All photos were on my phone so until I can connect to someone who knows how to get them from the cloud, I can't use today. Have been busy this week with various appointments and so have not had a chance to see James and Tammi. I'm going to go over tomorrow for a visit and to make some phone calls. I should tell you {I am quite proud of myself} I googled "find my phone" and it DID! Showed me the house and address. Google also gave me the option to erase all info once it's turned on and to cancel my phone, which I did. They can have the phone. I am not brave enough to go to the house. I'd probably get stabbed. I felt so good after that. The hot weather is certainly a problem for me. I have to watch how long I am out. Buttons not too impressed but I reminded him, he's just a dog!!