Red Bay, AL to Tunica, MS

On Saturday morning, we unhooked and headed toward Tunica and the casinos. When we checked out, it costs us $30, four nights at $10 plus a free night for taking the plant tour. For that, we had full hookups with WIFI! We thouroughly enjoyed our stay.

Enroute, we decided to visit the First Monday Trades Days in Ripley, MS. We had picked up a brochure at the Mississippi visitor station last week, and it reminded us of the Trade Days in Canton, TX. We did, and it wasn’t………… it was a flea market like none we had seen. They had chickens, ducks, geese, goats, horses, all kinds of puppies, and a lot of junk. If Texans are stereotyped by wearing boots & hats and driving pickup trucks, Mississippians would be characterized by wearing camoflauge clothing, carrying shotguns, and driving four wheel ATV’s. The rows were filled with ATV’s cruising, with some even pulling trailers with 3—6 kids in them while Mom and Dad were on the ATV!! We didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to “look around”. Unfortunately, we did not carry the camera.

After Ripley, we headed toward Tunica via the small back roads. It was a nice drive, and we got to the Sam’s town campground about 2:00PM. We checked in for the night, plugged in the motorhome, turned on the air to let it cool (it was over 90), and went riding around in the CRV. Here are some pics:
When we parked, I noticed a nice looking Dutch Star motorhome next door, but did not pay much attention to it. As we were leaving later in the day, I saw a couple come out and walk toward the casino. I then recognized them as Linda and Norm Payne, who are full-timers who have a website that I read regularly. Here is a link to their website:

http://www.seeya-downtheroad.com/

We drove up to them, and introduced ourselves. We had originally met them at an RVAmerica rally in the RGV in 2000. At the time, they were early in their full-timing, and we were still working! The Dutch Star that they purchased is exactly what Patsy and I were wanting to buy a couple of years ago……… interior color and all!! Here’s a picture of our rigs parked in the campground:
Gambling score as of late Saturday night: Casinos $25 -- US $0.