IS OUR TIMING OFF??

Here we are in SE Texas, on our way to Louisiana... in prime Tornado season. 

What were we thinking??

We did research, but we must have missed something.

There are Severe Weather Warnings all around us... where we are and where we are going.  Threats of FLOODING... SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS... ONE INCH HAIL... TORNADO!!

Here is some of what we have been reading...

2011 was a particularly stormy year with 16 tornadoes in January.  THIS January had 95! 

SO... We have a dilemna. 

Do we take our chances and continue on?  Or do we turn back? 

If we turn back...

We could go back to Arizona and enjoy the beautiful warm Sun. 

We could spend some time in Lake Havasu, which was on the original trip plan,
 but bypassed for the dentist over the border.

We can try the East Coast trip again this Fall.

If we continue on...

Hopefully we would make it to Florida,
after seeing Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama with no disasters!

But would we enjoy it so much...
 if we were stressing and watching the weather forecast ten times a day??

so There is our dilemna.

We have until Thursday morning to decide... East or West??

 

But for the Here & Now...

We moved from San Marcos, TX to Dickinson, TX last Thursday.  It was a Valium day for me.  I get anxiety on travel days like this one.  This 200 mile drive was not one of those Interstate straight shot traveling days.  There were 10 turns we needed to make onto various Highways and Roads, to get from our park in San Marcos to our park in Dickinson.  I'm not the driver, but I am the navigator, so I had to be on my toes!  It was constant watching of road signs and following the map to be sure we didnt miss our turn.

Signs like this, STRESS me out!!

We have a second to react... 

how high are we??  do we fit through this??

We have measured... but I want to measure again. 

 I think we are 13' 2" but what if there is a bump in the road??

We made it through various underpasses and found all our roads,

 and we were happy with our new park and site.

And we have enjoyed our time here!

We have visited the Kemah boardwalk...

It was Windy, and there was hardly anyone there.

We have really enjoyed our visits to Galveston Island.

Historic Buildings

Hmm... that must be it for now.  I cant seem to upload photos now..

so I am posting this tonight and will continue tomorrow.

We welcome your opinions on our dilemna.

Sticky Hot!

It must be humid down here, even if February, cause it sure was a sticky hot today... and it wasn't really that hot, just 76 degrees I think.

We enjoyed our day at home today. 

We did some cleaning, Jeff wrote his brother a letter, the old fashion way, with pen and paper... and we will put it in the mail the old fashion way, with envelope and stamp.

Before the cleaning and the letter writing, we went for a walk along the river and around the RV park.  That's when we realized it was Sticky Hot! 

After the cleaning and letter writing, we just enjoyed the peacefulness of our surroundings, and listened to the many different birds chirping.  I wouldnt call it all "chirping"...

they make some very interesting and unusual sounds.

One of the many birds at the feeder this morning as I drank my coffee.

We usually wake to a Woodpecker outside our window, as well as all the other bird chatting going on.

At last post, we had postponed our visit to Gruene for the Gruene Market Days,

which occurs only one weekend a month for part of the year.

This was the first weekend of the year, and since Saturday was rainy,

EVERYONE must have thought this was the thing to do on Sunday!

I clicked these pictures as we were LEAVING!!

There was no parking to be found...

and we just aren't into crowds.

So much for Market Days... but its not like we would have bought anything anyway.

So what do we do now?

We're always up for a visit to another Harley dealership,

and I had already mapped one out!

I left with my usual purchase... a dealership Shot Glass

I'm gettting quite a collection... but it can also be expensive, so for the remainder of this trip I have agreed to one shot glass per State... so that's one from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, S.Carolina, Tennessee, and so on! 

We still had most of the afternoon, and we hadn't had lunch,

so we called Alan and Phyllis to see if they wanted to meet for lunch.

We met half way between Blanco and San Marcos, near Wimberly... at Brewster's.

MONDAY

We drove out to Gruene again.  This day it wasn't so busy, and finding a parking space was easy.

We looked through their shops at all the things we didn't need...

then had lunch at a place recommended to us, but a huge disappointment.

We were happy to get home, and happy to be home all day today.

We are quite the home bodies... at home in our wheel house wherever it is.

Thanks for checking in!

Leave us a note so we know you were here!

San Marcos, Texas

Here we are... sitting in the rain... in Texas

Where did the Sun go?

We moved from Kerrville to San Marcos on Thursday.

We are staying at Pecan Park.

Another good choice...

It's so hard to blindly choose a place to stay in this RV life.  That's why I enjoy reading blogs of fellow RVers to see and hear firsthand what a place is REALLY like.

Otherwise, its sorta like Forest Gump's Momma's words...

RV Parks are like a box of chocolates...

                          you never know what yer gonna get!

This place is tucked away so it is quiet, and there is space enough between sites.

It is free of highway noise, yet we are less than 3 miles from shopping

(even good ole Walmart Superstore)

Yesterday, we met with RV friends, Alan and Phyllis.  We met at Sugarite Canyon, NM 2 years ago, then met up again in San Antonio, then by coincidence met up in Custer, SD... and now again here!

When we left the restaurant, it was pouring outside...

so we rented a movie and went home to cuddle up and listen to the rain on the roof.

During the night, we had a horrendous downpour with blasting thunder and lightning!

It seemed to go on all night!

I like rain on the roof of the wheel house... but this was TOO much!

Today, we were going to Gruene for Market Days, but there was more rain with wind in the forecast...

So we opted for postponing Gruene Market Days until tomorrow,

and replacing it with a visit to the huge Outlet Malls here in San Marcos.

We weren't like the throngs of shoppers at the Outlet Malls.

We were just there to stroll the sidewalks.  Actually... the two outlet malls are so huge,

we got a good walk in, passing by stores and shoppers.

I watch shoppers come out with their arms loaded with bags full of their purchases from stores like Prada and Nieman Marcus, and I think...

This is SO not us!

We don't want stuff!

Anytime I am in a store, I remember all the STUFF we got rid of.

I NEVER wanted to be loaded down with STUFF again.

After 3 hours walking the sidewalks of the two outlet malls,  we left very happy,

 with a zippered hoodie sweatshirt for $7 and a calendar for $1

not bad, eh?

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The night before we left Triple-T RV Resort

We got together with John and Janie.

We had a great time playing games together.

Its great making new friends all over the States.

Maybe someday somewhere we will meet YOU!

Kerrville, Texas and Day Trips

Day 5 at Triple T RV Resort... its a bit humid outside this morning.  Forecast was Thunder Storm, but we haven't seen it!
We were to leave this morning, but the dishes are dirty... the clothes are dirty... and we're not ready to leave yet!  So we are staying one more night, and staying "home" today to get our chores done.

Our other days here have taken us to visit the surrounding towns...

Fredericksburg, Texas

an Old German town... 

We strolled the historic Main Street, meandering in and out of shops, but buying nothing.

Jeff did some sample tasting of various Salsa's at Rustlin' Robs, in search of something really HOT... but he never found one HOT enough for him.

Then we were ready for some lunch... and Jeff can't pass up a brewery. 

He enjoyed an IPA... his favorite beer, and this one was no disappointment. 

I ordered a small Spinach Artichoke pizza, which was VERY good.

Next Stop...

Luckenbach, Texas

made famous by Waylon and Willie

There's really no town... just the general store... still standing since 1849.

Now the store sells mostly souveniers, but in the back is a bar... a kick back place, where one can kick back, enjoy a cold beer, and take in the kicked back pickers.

Every day there is some pickin' goin on.

Get the idea?  It's a kicked back hideaway.

Yesterday's day trip took us  to  through Bandera, to

San Antonio, Texas

We spent 6 weeks in San Antonio, just a year ago, so we didnt plan to spend a lot of time,

 but it made for a nice drive taking the back road through Bandera into the city.

We decided we would spend the afternoon, at the RiverWalk.

There are alot of choices for lunch along the Riverwalk, but we made the RIGHT choice!

We ate at The Texas Republic... and both had the BEST Chicken Enchiladas we have EVER had!

It was another great day!

Back at "home"...Triple T Resort

We have enjoyed playing Pool and Ping-Pong in the evenings.

I did surprisingly well playing Pool at Oasis Park...

but here, not so surprisingly... bad!  Jeff has won every game.

Ping-Pong was great fun... and as pathetic it may sound...we found it to be a great workout!

Jeff's injuries have kept us from being as active as we had been.

(at least that's the excuse I choose to use)

While here, we have enjoyed meeting fellow RV bloggers, John and Janie, of Flamingo on a stick

We all started our full-time RVing about the same time,

so we shared our travel experiences... until it was too cold to sit outside any longer.

Thanks for stopping by.. Janie and John.  It was truly a pleasure!

That's all for now... Gotsta get laundry and stuff done.

Tomorrow...

San Marcos, Texas

From where we will also visit New Braunfels, Gruene, Austin.

oh ya... Valentines Day...

 Isn't my husband sweet?

He brought this to me in bed with my coffee.

There Goes Another Hour!

Thursday - February 9

Just crossed over into Texas... and lost an hour.  11:40 MT to 12:40 CT.

There is MEXICO... Wow... That is Close!

...just a tall fence dividing the countries.

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Friday  February 10 - 8:30pm CT

Yesterday-- Once we were through El Paso... the drive was uneventful, unstressful and unexciting.  180 miles of nothing.  I have my computer to play with... but I think Jeff was quite bored with the drive.

We pulled off so I could make us a sandwich, but thats about it.

We arrived late afternoon, at our destination for the day... Saddlemountain RV Park... another Passport America park.  For $10 it was really great!

We woke in the night to the sound of rain on the roof.   Aahh... I love it.  It didn't rain hard but it rained for quite awhile.  No rain today... but the forecast hints that we may be driving in the direction of wetter and cooler weather.  Hmmm.

We left there this morning around Noon.  With the day's destination being only 160 miles away... we weren't in any hurry.  Our first Texas stop where we will unhook and see the surrounding areas is Kerrville, which was 330 miles... more than we like to do in a day, so we found a spot for the night half way. 

We are out of Ozona off the I-10 at Circle Bar RV.  It costs way too much!  but there is no competition around, so I suppose that's why they get away with it.  The site is long enough that we can stay hooked up, and it is quiet, so it's good with us.

--------------------

Now... back to where we left off at the last post...

Back at Tuesday's post, we were nearing Las Cruces where we hoped to stay at a Passport America park, Coachlight RV & Motel.  We never could get ahold of them by phone, but they did have a space available for us for the 2 nights.

We spent Wednesday afternoon walking around historical De Mesilla... but we had already been there and done that... We are SO ready for new experiences!

Before De Mesilla, we stopped at an RV dealership to see if they had a part we were looking for.  They didn't... but they had a friendly gal that was more than happy to show us a newer model Big Country.  Really... we only needed to show her a thing on the 5er so she could see what kind of thing we needed. 

That done... we were curious to see the inside of newer and different models of RV's... and she was happy to oblige!  We toured fifth wheels and motor homes, and had a great time.  BUT... we found nothing that made us go "Ooh wow I want this one!"

We are very happy and content with OUR Wheel House.  And THIS Wheel House is a movin'... in search of new experiences!

Next stop Kerrville... from where we will visit Fredericksburg and Bandera.

Thanks for stopping by!

En Route... Arizona to New Mexico

At last post, my final dentist appointment in Los Algodones was just a couple hours away.

UPDATE...
My final appointment went fine... my permanent crowns were set in place, and I was done!  Once back across the border, it hit me... I was finished!  I felt a wonderful sense of freedom and accomplishment!  I wanted to celebrate!

Photos above are of my final dentist appointment.  As we were waiting for some touch-up work on my crowns, Dr Carlos proudly showed us photos of his beautiful family. 

We feel good about our decision to go into Mexico for the dentist.  Our dentist was competent and all the staff was very friendly...   and we had the work done for a lot less than it would cost us in the States.

We left Saturday morning from our site on the CA/AZ/MX border.  Although Steve and Roberta got away before we did.  Once hooked up, Jeff noticed our rear truck tire was low... so we unhooked and took the truck into Yuma to get the tire fixed.  The culprit was a nail.

The kid that did the fix was a bit slow, but he got the job done and only charged us $12... so we threw in an $8 tip.  $20 seemed fair.  If Les Schwab was around here it would have been free... but they seem to only be in the Pacific NW. 

We hit the road a couple hours after our friends, but met up with them in Gila Bend at Holts Shell RV Park, a Passport America park, so we paid only $12 +tax.  We stayed hooked up, and thought we would stay only one night and continue on to Tucson where we could get the Superbowl on antenna.  But Steve and Roberta were staying 2 nights, so we stayed... we have too much fun together to part ways yet.

We watched the Superbowl at their place streamed from the internet courtesy of NBC.com.  But the connection was not good... and it did more buffering than playing.  We were lost the entire game.  It wasnt a very exciting Superbowl for us... but since none of us cared who won anyway, it didnt matter.  We enjoyed our time together.

After the game, we played our own games... which were alot more fun.  We finished our game of Phase 10 that we had started the night before, then moved onto a game of Skipbo.

I made the mistake of leaving our camera at their place when we went home.  Steve showed up at our door with the camera a few minutes later... but not without first having some fun with it (we later discovered when we downloaded the photos).

Thanks for all the fun times Steve and Roberta!

We all left Gila Bend Monday around Noon.  Like us... they are not early risers.  We said our good-bye's... they left for Organ Pipe Cactus National Park, which is South from Ajo.  We got on the I-8 and headed for Tucson. 

Not far down the road, Jeff posed the question "if we are staying hooked up for the night, why are we stopping at Tucson?"  The plan was to stay for free at a Casino parking lot where we had stayed before.  But he was right... why?  So new plan again.  We found another Passport America park in Benson, AZ... so we set out for there for the night.  It was just 167 miles.

It was a nice park, especially for $15.  With our RV Park receipt, the Denny's Restaurant (across the street) offered a  10% discount, so we took them up on that!  We very rarely go out to eat... so its a real treat when we do.

The park has Cable TV that we conveniently hooked up to, but we opted for movie night, after dinner.  We watched "Father of the Bride" Part 1 AND 2.  Steve Martin is so hilarious... such a good actor.

After a good sleep, we got up and rolled onto I-10 East with a destination of Las Cruces, NM.

Right now, we are about an hour out of Las Cruces, and have been unable to connect to the RV park we hope to stay at... so we will see if we get a spot.

THANKS FOR CHECKING IN!

No Gracias

Thursday February 2
Sometimes I have no idea what to use for a blog post title, and this is one of those times.  So there you have it... "no gracias".  Having gone over the border 4 times now, making our way through the pushy street vendors to get to and from the dentist office... these have become the only words we need to speak.  I don't like to be rude, and given what I have felt like saying sometimes... the words "no gracias" are very kind.

Today was to be my final appointment, when I get my permanent crowns.  But I was a bad girl and didnt take my antibiotic after my root canal, so I got an infection.  I was nervous about taking this unknown mexican medication, and figured I didnt need it, but I was wrong.  So now I am taking it.  Tomorrow I will go, and hopefully all will be fine.

I wasn't the only one to see the dentist.  Jeff had a split tooth, and after examination, the dentist determined that it could not be saved... it had to be extracted.  Roberta knew that she needed a crown, but when told that she first needed a root canal, she backed out.  I had never had a root canal before, but having finally come up with the nerve to see a dentist over the border, I was determined to get the work done, and if that meant a root canal before I could get the crown on that tooth... I would do it.  So I did it, and it really wasn't that bad.

Friday February 3
For whatever reason... distractions to do other things I suppose... I didn't finish this post, so I will try aain.  I still have pain in my gum and jaw so I dread going to the dentist and having him pushing on it... but we are going.  I want to get it done, so we can move on from here.

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The other day we hiked back in this area where we are, climbed up and over a couple hills and came upon a Pet Cemetery.  Its actually straight down the road from where we are parked, but we found it the back way.

I'm sure it started by one person burying their pet who died while they were here, but I had to wonder... people don't stay here a long time... so all these pets just happened to die while their owners were camped here?

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I don't have a lot more to say!  We have enjoyed our stay here.  It's been fun sharing a site with friends, and we will most likely relocate together.  However, they have to be back in Oregon in March, so we will part ways soon.

The next blog post will most likely be from our new location.... WHEREVER that may be.

Until Then...