Day 1    We are set to leave on our annual adventure with an 8 am ETD. Snow overnight means we must wait for the snowplow service to come and clear the drive. Okay, now it's 9 am and we are set to leave. Not so fast! We get stuck at the end of the drive! Denny runs up to get the car and a bucket of salt and we try again. Nope. We slide backward almost into a tree. Then we remember we have a cat, but more importantly kitty litter, with us. So, after dumping a whole box of litter on the drive, we are finally able to get out and on the road. Denny waits in the road while I drive the car back up and run back down the driveway. Final departure time is 9:45.

And yes, our 19-year-old cat, Kismet, who was supposedly dying from kidney failure 2 years ago, is alive and well and on her 3^rd winter vacation with us! We ended our day at a pet-friendly hotel in Effingham, Illinois, after 10 hours of driving. We are exhausted but there is no snow. It is above 50 degrees and tomorrow we will de-winterize the RV and start camping!

Day 2   After a bad night’s sleep (the beds were hard, and the cat meowed all night) we are back on the road. It is foggy but warmish, so we head to our second night’s spot in Arkansas where we de-winterize. It is now 60 degrees and we are able to go for a walk before dark! Even Kismet went for a short leash walk! Her old bones appreciate the warmth too!

Day 3    Finally, it’s spa day! As usual, it is foggy and misty in Hot Springs, but the temperature is in the high 60s. The price at Buckstaff Baths has gone up a bit but it’s still a bargain. I threw in a paraffin bath for my hands too! The masseuse told me I have very soft skin. I laughed and wondered who she had been massaging lately. Alligators? 😊

People filling bottles at one of the many free water-filling stations in Hot Springs.

We’re staying in a state park a little south of Hot Springs for a couple of days before heading towards Texas. There is a cold front coming and as usual we are trying to outsmart it!