Trip #3

A Quick Trip To Wichita Falls Texas

Since January 2003, I have been planning another trip to Laughlin Nevada and then on to Wichita Falls to visit Sean and his family. In June, the USAF notified Sean that they were going to medically retire him because of his chronic back pain. This hit us all like a bomb. I think it bothered grandpa more than it did Sean and Michelle. It did, however, eliminate my desire to "boogie" in the Laughlin casinos, so, I decided that instead, I would make a trip straight to Wichita Falls to give everyone there a hug and to reassure them all that we were in this together. So, it's off to WF I go!

Day #1: (Tuesday, 17 June, 2003) -

Depart Holiday at 0330. I hit I-10 at 0615. Ya gotta drive US-19 in the wee hours to make that kind of time :-) I saw deer along the road just south of Chiefland again. It seems that I see them there on every trip.

On I-10, about Pensacola, I spot some thick black smoke on the horizon. As I got closer, I can see that it is a trailer that is on fire in the Eastbound lane, which adds up to a rotten day for some luckless traveler. In the fire, I can make out what appears to be some appliances such as washer, fridge, etc. I can't tell if it is some kind of a utility trailer or a camper / small mobile home. It is burned that badly. Looks like the trees along the road are beginning to burn also. They did manage to get the tow vehicle away from the fire. There are fire trucks approaching in that lane. I did not stay to see what happened.

I hit rain at about Pensacola, and it rained on and off for the rest of the day. It was very heavy at times. In some places in Louisiana, they were having what we used to call "toad floaters".

Lafayette La. - I decided that it was time to stop for the day, so I consulted my trusty AAA tour book and picked some possibilities. Guess what - No motel rooms available. There are lots of folks on the road. I'm guessing that June is a big travel month????

Alexandria La. - Same story: No motel rooms available. Now I'm tired and a tad worried. This kind of took the fun out of the seat-of-the-pants way that I like to travel. It seems that I always hear something funny on the radio when I drive through Louisiana. This time it was a character named "lipless Joe" who was simply too funny. Then there was this corny joke: What do you give a pig with a skin rash? Answer: Some oinkment.... Hey! I'm easily entertained when I am tired.

Natchitoches La. - 1730 hrs. One day mileage = 883 miles. Way too many.... OK, guess how they pronounce that town name. I asked. It's Nag-a-dosh, with the emphasis on the first syllable and a long "o" on the "dosh"! There was a nice Best Western here that had a room for me. The room is great!  First motel room that I have ever had with a ceiling fan….  Free HBO.  AAA only rates the motel with two diamonds.  I suspect that is because the furnishings are a little worn.  The place is spotless and very comfortable.  I got a much-needed rest, so all is well again.

Day #2: (Wednesday, 18 June, 2003) -

0430 – Back on the road.  I will make WF with ease.  Lots of fog.  Another surprise for this trip.  Truckers running over the speed limit, even in the fog.  It’s for sure that they are driving way beyond their field of view in this soup.  I guess they figure that the first guy, or “point man” will catch any hell that is beyond their range of vision.  So what if they run over a few “damned four wheelers” from behind.

Still hate driving around Dallas.  The roads are very poor with lots of construction activity to add to the normal traffic mess in this area.  As usual, I got off track trying to find the I-635 loop around the city.  I eventually found it, but I don’t know how….

Stopped for a break at “fancy” Texas Rest Stop along Texas Rt 287. They don't get any fancier than this, LOL.

OK, I shouldn't make fun of Texas' rest/picnic stops, but this is too funny. Oh yeah, the "facilities" are that large tree to the right of the shelter.

Another neat treat along hwy 287 was a small herd of dromedaries. One humpers to be accurate. I don't know what they do with them out here, but they sure do look healthy! So, here is what I'm thinking:

3pm - Hello again, Wichita falls. Trip mileage = 1315. Fairfield and Hampton Inns are full….  Here we go again??  Best Western had a room.  It’s OK, but I was hoping for a little “more” since I’m here for a while.  Oh well, it’s a place to crash.  The folks at this motel turned out to be very friendly. A lot of the motel guests are young military guys and gals. This means that it is kind of rowdy around the pool, so I was not comfortable bringing Sean and Michelle's girls over for a swim. Next trip, I'm going back to the Holiday Inn Holidome.

Day #3 - Thursday, 19 June:

0530 - I decided to postpone contacting Sean and make a trip up to Altus Oklahoma.  I did not make that trip on my last WF visit, and I wanted to make sure that I did not opt-out again.   Made the 75 mile trip to Altus AFB.  This was my first duty assignment after tech school in 1962. I had to look around a little to find Falcon road, but I found it.  I went on base to see what I would recognize.  There was a 100% ID card check at the gate.  There were Army personnel on duty at the gate.  They have concrete barriers set about 50 feet apart in alternating lanes, so an “S” driving pattern was required.  I’m sure this is to eliminate any straight-line high-speed runs at the base.  I found the old AMS building where my shop was in 1969.  It’s a little run down, but still there.  Instead of “Avionics Maintenance”, it just says “Maintenance”.  Got some pics of the building and some flightline shots:

 

There were several C-17s there, and one KC-135R that I could see.  Quite a change from when I was last there. I took some pics, but it was completely overcast, so the pics are kind of weak.  The base has changed a lot, and I got lost trying to find the gate to get back off base.  The same concrete barrier setup/pattern was in use.

I went into Altus City to see what I could recognize, and to find our old home at 502 W Broadway, where we lived 1962 - 1965.  This is where we lived most of our time we were in Altus on my first tour, and where we brought our first son, Tom, home.  The town has changed a lot.  It has not aged well.  I found 502.  It is still there, but man, what a shock!  It is so run down.  This had been one of the nicer homes in Altus City when we lived there.  Mr. and Mrs. Joe Stroud always kept the property well maintained and manicured.  Joe had built two small one bedroom cottages behind his home as rentals, and we had rented one of them.  This was a great little home for us.  It was very small, but well kept, and had every thing that we needed.  All we had to add was a wash machine (remember, all we had were cloth diapers!!).  There was even a tornado shelter which the Stroud’s shared with us on several occasions.  I was always fascinated by the power of thunderstorms, so, like a fool, I would often go out and chase the storms to get a peek at a tornado.  I never actually saw one, but I know that I was close several times because I witnessed the “greenish” skies, and the ammonia smell that I have heard were associated with tornadoes.  I did witness some awesome lightening storms, some that the locals called “ball lightening".  It seemed to hit the ground a roll along.  Man, what a thrill!!!!  Hey, I know I was crazy….  I did actually witness a tornado right here on Sheppard AFB back in 1961 while I was in tech school.  It was a small one and it just tossed some cars around a little.  To this day, I am still thrilled by thunderstorms, and they still cause the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. More about the property - The yard was always well manicured, and there was a rose bush that covered the fence that ran the entire back property line.  Now it is all grown over, and I doubt if the cottages are being lived in.  In fact, there was a “Santa” on the door of the cottage that we had once occupied.

The old Stroud homestead at 502 W. Broadway:

Our cottage at 502B. This was so depressing for me to see it in this condition:

It made me very sad to see the property run down like this.  Like they say:  “You can never go home again”.  If there is an afterlife, then Joe Stroud has to be looking down broken-hearted over the current condition of his precious homestead.  Joe Stroud was a survivor of the dust bowl and was one of the nicest people that I have ever known.  He was also my fishin’ buddy.  We used to go up to Lake Altus and catch 50 to 100 channel catfish on each trip.  We would stop fishing when we figured that we had more fish than we wanted to clean.  If you have trouble believing this fish story, ask me about it sometime and I’ll share some of Joe’s catfishin’ secrets with you.  We had a catfish skinning and cleaning assemly-line set up in the back yard. I never enjoyed eating catfish, but Joe loved them, and he would share them with friends and neighbors.  It was rare for someone to give CLEANED channel cats away.  We were very popular.  Those were great times.   I was too bummed out to try to find the old missile silos where I worked, so I headed back to WF.  Maybe I’ll try later in the week. I wanted to find the Scott Street house that we had in 69, but I could not remember how to get there.

I called Michelle to give her a heads-up and then headed there for a visit.  Sean was at work, but I got lots of hugs from the girls. That always makes me feel good :-)  Efrain, a good friend of Sean’s stopped by.  What a nice man.  One of the few real gentlemen that I have met lately.  Sean got home about 6pm and was wearing his uniform, so we snapped a pic of the two of us. He really looks puny and like someone who should be medically retired, doesn't he.........??......

I was running out of steam and feeling kinda yucky.  Had a short visit, and then back to the motel to crash.

Day #4 – Friday, 20 Jun:

After a dose of Phillips, the old tummy seems to be settling down.  I decided to test it and run out for an oil change.  I found a place that had Mobile 1 oil, and went out into downtown WF to find it.  It was called "Mikes lube shop".  Nice man.  Great service.  I find that WF is a difficult town to find my way in.   After dealing with several counter folks and drive-through food clerks, I have decided that my inability to speak and understand ebonics has become handicap.  Guess how much that ticks me off!!!

Spent some quality time with Sean and his gals at their home and then at a Chinese buffet for dinner. Everyone had a great meal which Sean and Michelle bought, and we headed out.

Day #6 – Sunday, 22 Jun:

This turned out to be a laid-back morning.  I was able to do some more reading.  The pool gate was left unlocked, so I found a table with a shady chair and puffed a stogie while I read some. Called Sean with a heads-up and then went there at about noon.  Michelle made some chili.  It was yummy.    Michelle snapped a pic of me, Ashley, Samantha, and Rebecca. I know this looks like I'm trying to smush poor little Rebecca, but I'm not....... They are all growing too fast, especially Ashley.

Day #7 – Monday, 23 Jun:

0400 – On the road again, headed for home.  I’m not in a “Laughlin” mood.  Maybe next time. I missed the correct turn off of the Dallas loop (I-635) again.  Somehow I ended up going the wrong way on I-20.  Oh well, just another U-eee. Making good time, so I decided to try for Pensacola to RON.  Well, everyone in the state of Florida was either heading into Pensacola, or coming out.  All of the access roads were jammed.  It was rush hour, I guess.  I ended up in Crestview for the night.  Total one day mileage = 915. Again, waaaay to much. It seems that I get into a "road groove" and can go a long way before I need to stop. Had to settle for a Holiday Inn. I haven't used that chain for a long time. It was a little over-priced, but comfortable.

Day #8 – Tuesday, 24 Jun:

0640 – Up and on the way to Holiday. It was a pleasant drive. I still enjoy driving the old US-19 of northern Florida. A lot of this highway in the Perry and Chiefland areas has been re-surfaced.

1250 - Safe and sound at home again. One way mileage = 1290 miles. Total trip miles = 3008 miles. It was a good trip. I'm glad that I made it. In the 10,000 or so miles that I have driven since my retirement from Honeywell, I feel qualified to judge my fellow road warriors: IMHO, the worst all-around drivers in this country are right here in Pasco County, Florida. The worst highway drivers are the truck drivers who are terrorizing the roadways.

Since this trip, we have learned that the USAF has returned Sean to AD, and I can quit being P.O.ed at them.

Now it is time to plan another trip out there to celebrate that good news and Sean's selection for promotion to MSgt......