
We got up at a reasonable hour and walked around the grounds trying to find the shade as much as possible. The middle of the park is wide open with very few trees, so we are limited to walking along the hedgerows. We still walk the roads as well but try to limit how long we stay out in the sun.
Following breakfast, I got onto the internet to find a car rental place close by and after a few phone calls, found Hertz that had a car I could rent. I explained that I did not have a way to get to their place of business and they sent a driver to pick me up. He was a very entertaining older gentleman and kept me amused with stories of the town as we drove along. We arrived at the Hertz place, and I managed to rent a small truck which rides hard but is OK. Not by choice incidentally but that was all they had available. It will not get driven that much anyway, just for shopping trips mostly. I rented it for a month, and it cost me $2093.00. Not cheap at all. My Good Sam Insurance does not have a rental car included in the policy which I will try to change. Will not happen this time around though.
I ran into all kinds of trouble when I tried to pay using my debit card which apparently, Hertz does not take. So, I tried American Express and in sequence, another AE card and then a Bank Visa card and all were rejected on account of possible fraud. I never thought to look at my phone as it has never happened to me before. Turns out there was a message telling me to approve which I did not see until I got back to the RV. They got over it by using the debit card and bypassing their prevention sequence. The problem was the Texas Bank address and the large sum of money.
I stopped at Walmart’s and managed to spend $230.00 stocking up on the things I had cleared up these last few days although I did find a Starbucks. The drive home was easy, and we were sitting outside, and the camp manager stopped by. Mikey went nuts and broke loose and literally attacked the guy. I caught Mikey and was full of apologies, but I think I am on the blacklist. We will need to be on our best behavior from here on out. Mikey has never done anything like that before usually hanging behind me when strangers approach. Hope he does not tell us to leave but I am sure that Mikey is now listed as an aggressive dog at least at this campground.
This is a university town with University of Arkansas found here. The football season starts tomorrow and there are several of their football team supporter’s RVs in the park, some bedecked with the Universities logos and flags. I had better not tell them that I worked at the University of Texas for 22 years… The whole town has a buzz about it as the team is playing at home, tomorrow. Not my game though. In my 22 years at UT, I only went to one football match and although I understood the concept of the game as it is very similar to Rugby only much more violent, I never enjoyed it. I could not see the point of it. I know a lot of Americans feel the same way about soccer as they do not think it violent enough for them but at least my football, does require foot and heading skills besides being very fit to run for 90 plus minutes. Why the American version is called football is beyond me as there are only two players that use their feet, the kicker and the punter. I think it is another jab at England from centuries ago when the first settlers were determined to break loose of King George or whoever was on the throne. They probably brought the game over with them and never changed the name but changed the game to the present-day version of American football.
We went out for the afternoons walk but I never enjoyed it as I was still worried about Mikeys attack on the owner. Mikey knew he was in my bad books and spent as much time as he could trying to make friends with me again. When we got back, we sat outside until it was dark listening to an Audiobook before heading back inside for the rest of the evening’s entertainment which Incidentally will change next week as the English Premier League has cancelled this week’s games due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth, mourning, and out of respect, along with the rest of the country and much of the World.
RIP Queen Elizabeth. The longest serving Monarch in British History.
Written 09/10/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com
Strange behavior from Mikey—he must have thought you needed protection.
That must be it as he is usually so docile and hides behind me.