Our RV arrived the week before Christmas. After preparing the tow vehicle, we headed out for our first trip. We decided that a trip to Texas would make a great "shakedown".

Since we were heading south, we didn't anticipate running into winter weather. This was our first mistake. We were about to enter one of the worst ice storms of the decade.

Things started out normal. We made quick stops for eating, drinking, and flossing (?).

We left from Evansville, Indiana and traveled through Kentucky and the tip of Missouri before hitting the ice storm in Arkansas. We took the advice of our RV books and immediately got off the road!

After driving a few hours on Christmas Eve, we stopped in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and a cute little KOA.

After parking the RV, we called our son Blake who is spending the year on a Rotary exchange in Venezuela. We really enjoyed the call. Although we email frequently, it was great hearing his voice.

We spent Christmas Eve watching The Christmas Story on television. The highlight of the evening was a group of Christmas caroler who stopped by the RV.

Annette couldn't wait until Christmas morning, so she started unwrapping presents.

After Annette unwrapped the big present, Larry began trying to put it together. We got a telescope and some books on astronomy. We plan to learn astronomy by watching the "big sky" of Wyoming next summer.

We made an old-fashioned Christmas dinner including turkey and mashed potatoes using our new stove and oven. Notice that we "dressed" for dinner.

We made it to Austin, Texas on the day after Christmas. Annette was tuckered out after an eventful first trip.