A real Mexican supper in a real Mexican restaurant

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Tonight we went with our family to a real Mexican restaurant here in Austin. Keep in mind that we do not have many genuine Mexican restaurants in central Indiana. Of course there are the Taco Bells that don’t even count. There are sit down Mexican eateries, but they all seem to have the same limited menus and most all items taste alike from restaurant to restaurant.

When you first walk into the La Tapatia restaurant you know that you are in for a real Mexican meal. The interior is simple but clean, and our party of five was directed to sit at whichever table we wanted. Our wait staff immediately took our drink orders and brought warm nacho chips and salsa to our table. Of note was the size of our drinks: the glasses were huge, and must have held at least 32 ounces.

Within a very reasonable amount of time our meals were delivered to our table. The size of the portions were frankly amazing. The amount of food was the most I have ever seen. Even the kids size order for our 5 year old granddaughter was huge! Everyone in our party praised the quality of the food. My plate was filled with 2 enchiladas, one taco, beans, rice and salad. There must have been at least a pound of seasoned ground beef in the items and sprinkled on the plate. The whole plate was covered with shredded cheese.

This was a great restaurant. The food was excellent, the service was also excellent, and I can’t say enough about the portion size. The prices were reasonable, averaging about $10 a person. We all were full when we left!

 

Home Sweet Home: An RV park in Texarkana, Texas

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Home Sweet Home RV Park just west of Texarkana, Texas is a comfortable full hook up RV park. This is not a large facility (48 sites) but the sites are level on stone. The roads are stone and wide enough for easy driving of any size rig. The park has both back in and pull thru sites. Sher and I recommend this park if you are in the Texarkana area.

The normal rate is $30 a night, but we used our Passport America card and only paid $15. For a park with full hook ups and free WiFi, fifteen bucks is a great deal. The hook ups included cable TV. The WiFi worked well, although I had to re-connect a few times the morning we left. Note that all of the electric shore power posts have 50 amp plug configuration. You’ll need an adapter for your 30 amp plug. There is an on site laundry.

Wide gravel roads and level, stone base sites

This is a unique park in that the office is located in the Tire Store next door. Make sure to call ahead to let them know you are coming. The office is open from 8 to 5:30. We arrived right at 5:30 and were met by the park host. He showed us our spot and said we could go to the office in the morning to settle up. This is a very nice, no frills RV park. The management couldn’t be nicer and willing to help in any way. Here is the Home Sweet Home RV Park website with all pertinent information.

Continued journey from Texarkana to Austin

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We had another chilly night, this time in Texarkana. We hit the road again mid morning heading along I-30 towards Dallas. I was surprised to see the interstate speed limit of 75 MPH. I never run our RV at that speed, but I did run a little faster than our normal 60!

In front of the massive Dallas Historical Society

We really had a great time when we stopped at Dallas after we spotted the Cotton Bowl from the street. What we found when we turned in that direction was the Fair Park, a huge area filled with tons of different things to see. The plaza was built for the 1936 Texas Centennial World’s Fair and featured large statues and buildings honoring the six countries whose flags have flown over Texas.

Fair Park Plaza with Dallas skyline in the background

There was a butterfly exhibit in one of the science buildings.

One of the many pretty water features

We saw a neat Christmas lights/celebration set up along a large pond system. Bet that this is very impressive at night. Some of the buildings were closed, some were open, and there were very few people in the park. Otherwise, we would not have been able to drive our RV through the park! We met a nice dad who was there with his two kids and two dogs. He snapped the photos of us in front of the Dallas Historical Society building, and told us of the history of Fair Park.

We spotted this from the street and found Fair Park. This is the original Cotton Bowl

We finished today’s journey when we got to our family’s place in Austin. A great ending to a great day!

Passport America saves 50% on camping plus get 6 months free membership

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If you have any plans for any kind of camping and plan on staying at commercial parks and campgrounds, you owe it to yourself to invest in a membership in Passport America. This discount club offers half price camping at over 1900 campgrounds across the US, Canada and Mexico. The yearly fee is only $44.00, and if you join through our member number, C-647737 thru January 2018 you will get 6 months free membership.

Some of the features that come with membership:
All new International Camping Directory with nearly 1,900 RV Parks and Campgrounds
Personalized embossed 50% discount camping card
FREE trip routing, campground updates & valuable info on-line 24/7
FREE Smart Phone App with complete park listings and “Find Park Near Me” feature
FREE RV America E-Magazine with updates on new parks
A friendly and professional staff who is always happy to serve you!

A welcome sign to see at your next campground!

This is a no-brainer, folks. You will pay for the membership after a couple of nights of 50% off camping fees! On our way from Indiana to Texas we have saved $30 in camping fees and stayed at nice RV parks with WiFi and full hook ups. Remember to join with our referral number C-647737 before the end of January 2018 to get 6 months free membership! Go to the Passport America website for information and to join! You’ll be glad you did.

Continuing our journey to Texas, today via Arkansas

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Nashville TV last night was kind of going nuts over overnight lows in the low 20’s.  It was another very cold and very windy day. Today’s travels took us across I-40 past Memphis into Arkansas, the home state of that famous (or to some infamous) Clinton family.

An RV park downtown on the river

 

Little Rock is the state capitol, and what a pretty city it is. When you follow I-30 south through town you can easily drop down into the city and go to the Clinton Presidential Library. Just follow the brown signs and you can easily get to the library. The parking lot was plenty big, and there was lots of room for RV’s. We actually met a nice couple from Ohio who were also on the way to the Austin area.  Sher and I had seen them on the road at least a couple of times today.

Clinton Presidential Library

The formal name of the Presidential Library

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, the Clinton Library was a huge building, however I was not really impressed with the architecture. And I was surprised that there was not a statue or at least a bust of Bill out front. The area around the library has lots of green space, trails, benches and other amenities.

We went on from Little Rock to Texarkana. Seems this town can’t decide whether it is in Texas or Arkansas. The Post Office is actually on the state line!

Tanbark Campground near Nashville accepts Passport America

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About 45 miles west of Nashville, Tennessee on I-40 you will come across the Tanbark Campground. It is very close to the interstate Exit 163. We found the campground on the Passport America website. We got to the grounds at about 5 in the afternoon on the day after Christmas. We had left central Indiana on our way to Texas and were hoping for some warmer weather. Alas, the overnight low was to be 20, according to our host and campground owner Richard Reifer.

The office building with the restrooms

Our site was very close to the office, gravel base and very level. With the temperature being low, we did not have water hook up, though the spigot did function if I needed water. We did not need or use the restrooms or laundry. No cable, but over the air TV from nearby Nashville provided ample channel selection. Of note is the very good free WiFi available. As most RV’ers know, free WiFi advertised at most RV parks is somewhat of a myth. Not so at Tanbark: the WiFi was strong and we both had our laptops in use with no slowdowns or interrupted service.

The sites are fairly close together. Our was on gravel but was level. Roads are well maintained gravel.

While we stayed only one night, your PA card is valid for three nights except on holidays. The PA rate is $14, and checks or cash are the only accepted payment means. This is a comfortable, reasonably priced facility. There is gas and food at Exit 163 which is most convenient. Yes, we would recommend Tanbark Campground. The phone # is 615-441-1613, and here is their website.

On our way south to Texas, via I-65 and Louisville

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We had a marvelous Christmas with great food, some nice presents, but most we had precious time with our family. Sher and I were really ready to get back on the road though. It did not take too long to get the RV loaded with the clothing we would need as we headed south. It was way too cold to even think about de-winterizing the RV’s water systems. It was 11 degrees when we hit the road for lands south.

Louisville, Kentucky as seen from Clarksville, Indiana

KFC’s “YUM” Stadium on the riverfront at Louisville

We stopped on the Indiana side of the Ohio River across from Louisville for a short break and to get some pictures. We will stop on the other side of Nashville, Tennessee tonight.

Another year gone by, here comes 2018

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It is hard to comprehend that the year 2017 is just about gone. I can remember back when I was in my late 20’s that the year 2000 seemed such a long time away! Well, we’re well into the 21st Century now. For crying out loud, our oldest grandson is 23 years old! Can’t be, we tell ourselves.

Merry Christmas from Maj and Sher

Well, it can be. Life goes on, and so does our RV adventure we call our Roadtirement. We appreciate your joining us in our journeys, both the long and the not so long. We’ll continue to let you know what we think about where we’ve been and what we’ve seen and what we have done during our travels.

As we close out 2017 allow us to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and a  successful New Year. We look forward to interacting with you in 2018!

Benny’s Pizza and Pub is one of central Ohio’s best

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It is no secret that local non chain restaurants can often be the best places to dine. Benny’s Pizza and Pub in Marysville, Ohio is one such place. It was a classic car hop service Drive In during the 50’s, complete with one of those huge Frostop Root Beer mugs on the roof. The old mug still graces the roof, but Benny’s is now a large facility with a menu featuring pizza, ribs, subs, salads and award winning in-house smoked brisket. There are specialty drinks and 31 taps offering craft beers, some of which are from a local brewery.

You start you culinary adventure at Benny’s with a large basket of freshly popped popcorn to munch while you read the menu. Three of us were dining and it took us a while to decide on our ordering strategy. Pizzas? What toppings? Half and Half’s? Dinners? Subs? Whew! Everything looked so inviting!

Enjoy some popcorn while you read the menu

Delicious Southwest 7 layer salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finally decided to order the smoked brisket with the house BBQ sauce and beer battered fries for my side. Sher and our son went with the family sized pizza, half veggie and half “All the way”,  a cute name for lots of variety of toppings. We all ordered a Southwest 7 layer salad as well.

The pizza as delivered!

In a very reasonable time our food arrived. The pizza was huge (18″ according to the menu) and was literally overflowing with toppings! I was amazed at the portion size of my smoked brisket and the fries. Wow! There was enough brisket there to serve two people at least.

Brisket, fries and Texas toast. Look at how much food!

Well, Sher and our son loved the pizza. My fries were very good, hot upon arrival. The brisket was fabulous. Fork tender, you could really taste and enjoy the smoked flavor that came through even with the BBQ sauce, which was also excellent. We ended up with some take home boxes, as we didn’t finish the pizza or the brisket. Including our drinks, our tab ended up being just shy of $20 each. While not inexpensive, the pricing is worth it for the quality and quantity of food.

Benny’s Pizza and Pub is a great place to dine, and we would highly recommend it. The decor is not fancy, and there are some TV’s scattered around. Of interest is the nice collection of old photos on the walls, including some of past visits from celebrities. There is often live entertainment on the weekends, and seasonally there is outdoor dining and large crowds for the bands. Benny’s is closed on Sundays. Go to their website here for full menus and hours.

And if you like brisket, you’ll be making a mistake if you do not order it when at Benny’s!

This photo of Pete Rose and Roy Rogers together caught my eye. There were lots of old photos on the walls