Home for a Month

We departed Traders Village on the northwest side of Houston around 11 AM and headed on down Highway 290 West. Parts of it were under construction years ago when I lived in Houston and then later in Brenham and guess what? It’s still under construction an even longer way in what appears to be the addition of more lanes.

After getting really out of Houston’s reach, the highway became the 290 I remember, with no concrete barrier walls on the right side. Yay! We stopped at the Love’s I remember for a pit stop and a cup of coffee for Dave. I had a delightful conversation with a long-haul trucker while Dave was inside the store.

Scooting our way out of there, we were back on 290 until reaching Hempstead, where we branched off onto Highway 6 North. Now that was a pleasant drive! This took us all the way through College Station into Bryan, where we took the exit to get to Primrose Lane RV Park.

On our way here, we noticed how dry everything looked; the grass was brown, trees wilted and so forth. Entering the RV park, we noticed the same thing . . . even more so. The photos on the park’s web site are from days when there has been regular rain. That’s not the case now.

This park is divided into two sections. Up front there are some nice, long, concrete pull-thru pads for overnighters and short-term folks. There are back-ins for longer-term stays. There is another section behind a fence toward the back of the park that is a mobile home area. We took a walk this afternoon back there and decided we’ll stay up front in our section, as it really is . . . well, not our kind of area.

I actually backed us in, with some great spotting from Dave!

You can see how terribly dry it is here. Had to put our solar lights into cracks in the ground, as it was too hard to just put them anywhere. Yoinks!

We have a decent site, with tons of room between neighbors on either side. We do get some shade in the afternoons from the trees behind us. There is a street light across the street. Utilities seem fine so far; we were given converter boxes for the cable TV system. No TCM, but a better variety of channels than we have had other places. The manager was nice and helpful on our arrival, and we met a retired neighbor two sites down who came over to visit a bit.

This place really isn’t anything to look at and certainly isn’t nearly as nice as other places we have stayed; folks don’t seem to personalize or “cute up” their sites. There seem to be quite a few workers, but it is quiet out. That’s a good thing. The surrounding neighborhood appears okay; not fancy, but okay with some decent-looking houses across the road from the park. There is a nice H.E.B. about 2 miles away. The monthly rate is good and includes electricity (which is important in Texas) and I can get independent cable Internet if I need it for work. We have paid for a month and see how it goes.  We didn’t expect ritzy or upscale for the price we are paying.

We are expecting rain starting Wednesday with even heavy rain over the weekend. It won’t turn the grass green, but it should help the trees look and feel better. So incredibly dry . . . so sad. Guess you’ve heard there are wildfires in Texas again, even another one around the Bastrop area that was devastated not long ago by fires.

We did get settled enough today to go to H.E.B. for a few basic provisions and then I made quesadillas with guacamole for dinner. This evening I set up our converter boxes for the TVs and we’ve been enjoying having that on; right now we’re watching the series Fargo. Haha! It’s sooo Minnesota!

Well, we have landed safely and will use this as at least a starting point. I am grateful that the 90-something miles we traveled today were done in a safe and uneventful fashion.

Hope you’re settled and comfy somewhere and that you stay safe out there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Power Issue on Landing at Traders Village in Houston

We left Beaumont this morning about an hour earlier than usual at about 10:40. We boogied west on I-10 about 30 miles to make a pit stop at the rest area near Hamshire, TX.

Nice!

Grooviest ladies restroom I have ever seen at a rest area!

Our passage through Houston was uneventful and even easy up until we got onto Hwy 290 West. It wasn’t difficult, but a bit tedious; the right-hand lane had those construction barrier concrete walls all along the whole way with no shoulder. You know what I mean . . . makes the lane pretty narrow. We made it through just fine with no incident, although we heard a squeak/scrape sound at one point; Dave said he thought it was the truck behind us scraping the wall. Yoinks! I didn’t feel anything and checked our rig after landing here; it wasn’t us, as there was no sign of us caressing the wall.

Getting into Traders Village wasn’t as bad as I though it might be, although there was a ton of traffic. In case you don’t know, Traders Village is a humongous flea market with an RV park. We made it to our site with no problem and began our process for staying one night . . . lowering landing gear, putting out slides, etc. All was fine until . . .

No power inside the rig. Rut roh.

Power at the pedestal and into our power cord, but zilch inside. What to do? Called a couple of mobile services; it’s Sunday, so no joy there. Called Good Sam and talked with Technical Assistance, who was some help as to what it might be, but all they could do was give me phone numbers of RV service people. No joy there.

Opened all the windows and figured we’d just deal with it overnight and hit an RV service center in Bryan tomorrow (Monday).

Walking around outside, I saw two guys on the roof of a Class A two sites down. Walked that way thinking I might see a mobile tech van. Guy walks up and asks if I’d seen the owner of the coach; they were here doing work on roof and guy left his truck window down.

Nope, hadn’t seen the guy as we had just arrived. Asked him if he happened to be a tech.

Yesssssss!

So he came over and checked stuff with his voltage meter. After doing this, he right away determined it was our ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch), which is in a rig that has an onboard generator or is wired for one, which ours is. He found the box, opened it and voila!

The switch had melted. Yoinks.

He said this was probably due to low voltage. Well . . . our surge protector black box had shut us down a few times at the work site in South Carolina due to very low voltage like 105 (norm is 120). The facility manger had checked and said that everything was fine; however, by the time he would get to the spot to check it, incoming power would be back to normal ranges and our box would power us up again.

This happened several times during September. We weren’t totally convinced that our box was on the fritz, but there was nothing really to be done.

We did notice during our time there that our interior lights weren’t as bright as they had been . . .

So! Rhoan (the tech guy) commenced to fixing us. Since we do not have an onboard genny and have no plans to get one, he bypassed that portion of the ATS. Now power comes straight in and to the rig without going through that extra portion.

That boils down to power coming straight from the pedestal to the load (the rig). No middleman, so to speak.

Dave watching Rhoan (inside basement) rewiring the ATS. You can tell we have no A/C at this point, because our door is open and so are all our windows!

Rhoan works at Demontrond RV but also works freelance on weekends. I tell ya, after checking voltage in a few places, he knew right away what it was. Said he has seen this happen quite a few times before. He said we would probably notice our lights were brighter since we were using straight power now and bypassing the ATS.

Turning on our living room overhead lights after dark . . . wow whee! Yep. It’s brighter in here again! We had replaced the regular bulbs with LEDs a few months ago and had commented on how nice and bright it was in here. We had noticed – while in SC – that it was dang dark in here and Dave was struggling to read or use the computer in his recliner.

Well, it was money we really didn’t need to spend on repairs, but taking it to an RV dealer might have cost us more, taken longer and might not have even been fixed.

Just Providence, good luck or whatever that I happen to look around and hook up with Rhoan.

So we’ve gone from looking at a relatively miserable evening and hassle tomorrow in getting to a dealer before landing at our spot in Bryan to being comfortable. A/C is working fine. I can charge my phone. The TV has picked up some sort of movie station (showing Gregory Peck movies).

Whew. What a day. I am looking forward to getting to our landing spot tomorrow, settling in, working my virtual assistant job and finding a medical transcription job. Hoping our life will settle down and we can get in a comfortable groove.

I am very grateful for today’s safe passage of a bit over 90 miles under beautiful skies and gorgeous weather.

Hope your Sunday was pleasant and that you stay safe out there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Relaxing in Beaumont, TX

We were sitting outside a wee while ago and realized we are finally get the relaxation layover we intended first in Lexington, SC (where we extended our stay due to the rain event) and then in Hope Hull, AL (where loose dogs were an annoyance in the park).

Finally! Yes, indeed!

Yes, Phyllis, there is still construction on I-10. Isn’t there always? Traffic was not backed up westbound, so it wasn’t bad at all. (Check out Phyllis’ full-timing blog here.)

We did get up and out the door in time to mosey over and check out the free breakfast here. It really wasn’t anything to write home about, but Dave got a cup of coffee. I brought a biscuit back, warmed it up and ate it with a bit of butter. Not bad, but not outstanding. It is a nice gesture on their part.

We were out and about before 11 AM, stopping first at Hidden Lake RV Resort not far from here. I certainly would not call it a “resort,” but it was a nice enough park on drive-through and one to perhaps consider in the future.

Our next stop was the Walmart, which was a bit of a drive from our park. We picked up a few items there and then dropped into the H.E.B. for some groceries on our way home.  For those who don’t know, H.E.B. is a Texas grocery store chain. This was apparently a “super” H.E.B., as it was the biggest one I have ever been in, and I’ve been in quite a few. OMG. Was it delightful! We supplemented to our current stock of provisions, so we’re good for meals for quite a while again.

We even have lettuce in the fridge again and we each had a salad with our stuffed salmon for dinner tonight.

Lettuce! The quality of lettuce was so deplorable in South Carolina that we stopped buying it. We haven’t had lettuce in almost three months.  I was in lettuce heaven this evening!

When I attended Lamar University here back in the late 1970s, I had no real reason to come to this west side of town. I tell ya what, though, it sure has grown! “Stuff” everywhere and the traffic to go along with that. We had initially talked (well, I did most of the talking – haha!) about having a meal at Patillo’s (BBQ) today, but after our errands . . . well, all I really wanted to do was chill out here at home. Dave was definitely okay with that, so that’s what we have been doing.

I recognized so many of the street names – Major, Phelan, Fannett, Gladys, Washington – even though I frequented those on their opposite end closer to the university. I sort of wish now that I had scheduled us for a longer time here so I could go exploring a bit. If we were here for, say, a week, I’d be checking out old familiar places, seeing what’s been done/renovated/added. There is a lot to do and see in the area. Oh well. Next time!

I’m just really enjoying relaxing and hanging out at home and the park.

We’ve had some strolls around the park, some with Maggie and some just the two of us. This is a wonderful place to walk, as the streets are paved and the park is well lit and fenced. One feels safe walking here even at night.

We have one more day here, and our friend Rachelle will be coming up to spend some time with us. Yay! Even though she and I talk on the phone frequently, we have not been together since right before we hit the road in 2010. She and I go waaaay back, having worked at Exxon together back in the 1980s/1990s.

So tomorrow should be a fun day, with perhaps a visit to Tyrell Park and the Botanical Gardens (or not), hanging with a dear friend, fueling up the truck and then hitching up later in the day with a view to hitting the road to and through Houston on Sunday. The emphasis will be chilling out. Just be-ing.

We did find our “Welcome to Our Clan” sign and hung it outside, and Dave graciously hung our pictures inside, since we’re having company! Tomorrow is slated to be about 12 degrees cooler than today, with a forecast high of 80F. I imagine there will be a bit of sitting outside time.

We can tell we’re definitely in Texas, as we can hear marching bands and the announcer from a nearby stadium and what sounds like a high school football game. It’s a lovely, almost cool and cloudless night, and the sound carries. I like it.

Speaking of sounds, we did not hear the trains after about 8 PM (I’m guessing) last evening and not at all today. Yay!

Hope your Friday has been as relaxing as ours and that your weekend will continue to be so!

Ya’ll take care and be safe out there, alrighty?

Thanks for stopping by!

Back in Texas

We had a nice overnight stay in Duson, LA at Frog City RV Park. We really did enjoy this park and would certainly return for an even longer stay. Part of that enjoyment was the visits we had with our next door neighbors, a part-timing couple from PA and their 14-year-old dog.

Rolling out of the park just shy of 11:30 AM, we hopped on I-10 to continue our journey westward. We planned to make a pit stop at about 50 miles at a Love’s Travel Center; however, there was no convenient truck parking and we had a bit of a tight squeeze getting through the travel plaza pump area after deciding this was not a practical stop. Whew. We did it, though, with no harm/no foul. That’s the last time I try that, I tell ya. RV parking my ptooie.

I do dig my Pilot truck stops and hanging with the big dawgs. It’s easy. We’re courteous – pull forward to the line after fueling, don’t leave our rig unattended – and we’ve never had an issue; in fact, all drivers we have interacted with have been courteous and friendly, if not downright helpful.

Good thing I wasn’t desperate for a pit stop, as the Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles was definitely kinda skeery. Well, not really. Well, maybe just a wee bit. Gee, that was steep. Dave did the sightseeing. I didn’t want to look down and I was focused on getting us up, over and down again safely. That sucker is steep! Did you know that the Department of Transportation has declared it structurally deficient? The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development says it’s fine and dandy. That’s according to Wikipedia.

A tad over 91 miles from our start, we rolled into the Texas Welcome Center. I think that’s a record for yours truly without a pit stop. The traffic on I-10 just whizzed (no pun intended), by while we took our stretch break.

Texas Welcome Center I-10 West

This wasn’t too far from Beaumont and Gulf Coast RV Resort, our home until Sunday.  This is a big place with paved roads and sites, Wi-Fi that is nonexistent (and we’re even in the first row by the office) and minimal TV stations, about 13 with really nothing to watch. Oh well. The park is well-lit and a combination of long-term workers, short-terms and overnighters. It is well maintained. The restrooms are clean, individual units with toilet and shower. There’s a free breakfast consisting of Texas waffles, biscuits and gravy, muffins, cereal, coffee, juice. Don’t know if we’ll make it for that, as it is served from 7 AM to 9 AM. There’s a pool, exercise room, playground and dog park.  Our site is concrete and plenty long with ample room between us and the site. We are on an end, so we do not have a neighbor site on our driver side.

We are in Site #77, convenient to restrooms and laundry. We also have a lovely power station in our site and a useless patio. Other than that, it’s cool. Well, only if the trains don’t blow their horns all night.

Guess the only thing I’d say on the down side is that the utilities are at the rear of the site. The pavement is only wide enough for the rig, so you step down into grass. There is a concrete patio with picnic table; however, it is at the front end of the site and essentially useless. Makes you wonder if whoever designed the place had ever set foot in an RV. All the sites are set up this way.

Maggie is feeling much, much better and is chillaxin’ here. She totally rearranged the daybed to suit her comfort.

We were walking Maggie in the doggie walk area earlier and about jumped out of our skins when the train blew its horn. Yes, the tracks are pretty dang close. I’ll let you know if this goes on all night.

Traffic was heavy coming through Beaumont, so I didn’t get to look around too much, but I did recognize some landmarks such as the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum and I certainly recognized names of the streets on freeway exits. We are on the western outskirts of town, and it’s nice not to be smack dab in the middle of things. We plan to go out tomorrow for a few provisions; not sure how much wandering around we’ll do. We’ll see. The washers and dryers in the laundry room are only a buck each, so I may do a load of laundry during our stay. Or not. Ha!

We’ve had a few strolls around the park, both before and after our dinner of burgers and steak fries here at home.

Again I am grateful for the 123.6 miles traveled safely and without incident today. It was in the low 90s here in Beaumont when we arrived but has cooled down nicely. Not a cloud in the sky all day.

We’re here for the weekend. Where are you spending your weekend?

Hope your Thursday was a good one. Stay safe out there, would ya?

Thanks for stopping by!

Spending the Night in Duson, LA

We both woke up before 8 AM this morning and got away from Indian Point RV Resort just before 11 AM.

Remember the dog I mentioned in yesterday’s post? Well, sure enough, poor doggie spent the night in the cage crate under the overhang of their 5th wheel.  Keep in mind that we had curtains open around 7:30 this morning. This is what we saw . . .

Animal abuse takes all forms. This is one of them.

Okay, so they had a fan heater of some sort sitting there; however, this poor soul was obviously miserable, shivering with every breath. It was chilly and damp out overnight. Doggie is not sleeping, but is hunched down shivering, being uncomfortable and plain miserable.

Time passes. We do our morning stuff, walk Maggie, have breakfast and start our leisurely prep for departure.

These jokers finally emerged (well, at least the guy did) at about 10:30 AM to get the dog. This soul was in the crate for a bit over 12 hours. Yeah. Doggie got out of the crate and was chained to a tree to have his breakfast outside.

This sweet soul made nary a sound overnight. Even when seeing me out with Maggie, no bark, growl or whimper was heard from the cage.

Here’s the rig of these idiots. Truck front plate is an LSU tag (not a regular license plate). The truck is a white dually. That’s a new-looking Blue Ridge 5th wheel. They had 2 bikes on a rack in the back.

We stopped at the check-in station (which is a bit of a ways away from the RV sites and is not visible from the main campground) on our way out. I showed the photo of the dog in the crate to the gal on duty and explained what had taken place, beginning with their arrival and the dog in the open bed of the truck. She thought that was pretty awful, and assured me she would advise the owner of the park.

A few stops today to break up the trip . . .

At the Atchafalaya Welcome Center

There sure were some long bridges heading west on I-10 in Louisiana! Whew! We stopped at a couple of Pilot truck stops; they weren’t busy, so it was a breeze in and out, and relaxing pit/fueling stops. I-10 wasn’t too bad, but a bit whump-a-whump over the segmented part in Louisiana.

We have landed here in Duson, LA at Frog City RV Park, cozied up in site #15 for tonight.

It was too dark when I got around to taking a photo of our rig in our site, but here’s a shot of the entrance sign.

This is not a bad little park at all.  The sites are neat, the park is well lit, the roads are paved and sites are gravel with a picnic table and of nice size. There are quite a few cable TV channels and free Tengo WiFi, but we are using my hotspot.  It’s a mix of long-term workers, short-term rigs and overnighters like us. There’s a hotel next door and a gas station/truck stop/convenience store on another side, but the park is fenced and these are not annoyances. You can hear some highway sounds from I-10 when outside, but not really when indoors. Restrooms are the individual kind with toilet, sink and shower; they are cute and clean. Dave is using these facilities tonight for his shower. The laundry room is clean and functional. There is a small swimming pool and a book exchange. Seems to be quite a few cats – young and older – around the office area. There was a raccoon washing its hands in a basin near the office; it scooted away under the office building when we went strolling by! Access is easy from I-10. Yep, we’d stay here again.

We have strolled the park and then had a nice dinner here at home of fettuccini alfredo and a chopped veggie salad.

We traveled 232.3 miles today – another long one for us. I am once again very grateful that our trip was uneventful and safe.

Tomorrow we head on to Beaumont, TX, where we will be for 3 glorious nights! It will be good to stop for a while!

Have a great evening and be safe out there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Landed in Gautier, MS for One Night

We departed Hope Hull, AL at about 11:15 this morning, in that time range that we seem to get going naturally.

We cruised south on I-65, stopping at a rest area and then a Pilot just north of Mobile to fuel up the truck. At Exit 0 in Mobile, we hooked up with I-10 West and headed towards Mississippi.

Mississippi Welcome Center on I-10 West

A little bit later, we rolled into Indian Point RV Resort in Gautier, MS. This is a huge place with hundreds of RVs in here and quite a few cabins and cottages for rent. There are long-term workers, folks with apparently seasonal sites (and boats) and then some overnight spots such as ours towards the front of the sites. We have a concrete pad and patio, although the pad at this particular site really is not quite long enough for our rig still hitched up.

We are in Site PA2. That empty site next to us is no longer empty.

We were originally assigned to site PA1, the empty one in the above photo. Not sure why they gave us PA2 on arrival and I wish they had not. On this row of overnight sites, we have the most cramped and the trickiest to exit. Oh well. It’s only one night. There’s a small tree towards the front that is not in the photo; I’ll have to swing reaaaaally wide in the morning to get out. This site really is too close to the next one on the door side. Ugh. Oh well. One night.

One of two lakes here

Impressions so far suggest this is fine for an overnight stop, but it’s just not my kind of place. There are just too many people here and too many trees . . . We are bypassing the free WiFi, as it is not secured with a password; we’re using my hotspot instead. The restrooms/showers are okay, but Dave opted to shower at home tonight; he will often use the facility showers if they are nice, enjoying a larger shower stall. There is cable TV; it is very basic cable, but we are able to tune into CNN and have the Democratic debate on right now. There is a clubhouse, pavilion for gatherings, café (apparently only open in the mornings), swimming pool, pier and boat launch. Quite a few of the roads are sand/dirt. The sites that are not concrete are more grass than gravel; perhaps they were nice gravel at one time, but the grass has pretty much taken over. Even though it has the word “resort” in its name, it has more of the feel of a campground and/or fishing camp.

Again, fine for one night.

Moving along . . .

Since the above photo was taken, a dually with a pretty and big 5th wheel pulled in. Why am I mentioning this? Because . . . their rather large dog (not a pit bull but some breed that sort of looks a bit like that) was riding in the open bed of the truck when they arrived. I really cannot even imagine my dog riding in an open truck bed, much less with a 5th wheel hooked up to the truck. Sheesh. Any bump or turn of the RV and . . . it could result in a not-so-happy ending for the dog.

Then . . .

They chained the dog to a tree and put its food and water bowl outside. They have a cage for it placed under the front overhang of their RV. Yes, they have been inside with the dog chained to the tree outside. Yes, I’m guessing the dog will be sleeping in the cage outside tonight.

What the hell is wrong with dog owners in the South?

Now back to our regular programming . . .

Interstate 65 South is actually a nice highway and an enjoyable drive. I-10 hasn’t been bad so far. We’ll see how tomorrow shapes up as we head on into Louisiana for tomorrow night’s stop in Duson.

I am grateful that the 203.3 miles we traveled today were done safely and without incident.

Maggie is pretty much back to her usual self and made today’s journey very well.  The weather was gorgeous with a high in the low 80s.

Have a great evening and be safe out there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Yesterday and Today

We departed Madison, GA yesterday morning a bit after 11 AM under beautiful blue skies. What a relief!

One of a few stops today, this one at the Alabama Welcome Center

Our trip was uneventful, but we were glad to see Atlanta in our rear view mirror, even with taking the loop around the main part of the city. Interstates 85 South and 65 South were both of good quality and a pleasant drive. We traveled a total of 236.5 miles and landed at Montgomery South RV Park in Hope Hull, AL, which is just south of Montgomery.

We are in Site 1

We were not impressed upon arrival with the fact that the “campground mascot” dog (a small older dog which appears to have ear mites and a skin condition) immediately began hanging around our site, followed by a cat, then another small dog came around . . . sigh. This was while we were trying to unhitch and set up, and Maggie wasn’t even out of the truck yet. Later when we were backing the truck out to go get groceries, a tenant’s large dog was hanging around the truck; Dave had to shoo it away so we could get out of our site . . . all while the owner woman was seated at a picnic table at her site about 2 down from us. Yet another tenant’s large black-and-white dog was off-leash down the street, and this morning some dog left a “deposit” in the grass next to our rig right by our basement doors. I did mention this to the office person on duty, and he came by to clean that up.

When I casually mentioned I had never seen so many loose dogs in an RV park, the response was, “It’s Alabama.” Well. Okaaaay. That explains it? That’s a source of pride?

“Pets are welcome, although dogs must be kept on a leash at all times when outside of your RV. Pets must be walked in designated pet area and please pick-up after your pet. Pets are not to be left unattended.” This is under the park’s Rules on their web site. Be advised, however, if you stay here that this is in no manner enforced. They are adding 2 rows of additional sites here, so we are essentially in a construction zone to boot.

When we were out last night, I purchased a spray bottle for shooing critters away. Dave and I tandem walk Maggie. I think the “mascot” dog has gotten the idea about not coming over here after being sternly shooed away a few times.

Today we really considered looking for something else a bit down the road, but decided to stay here. It’s not bad enough to drag ourselves down the road and there really isn’t much around that is close to as decent as this.  I am tired and need a rest. The facilities (restrooms, laundry) are okay. There is no cable TV and no lights in the park whatsoever (so it’s pitch dark at night), but the WiFi is decent. Staff is nice and gave us a good site and good rate for our 6-night stay. Most of the current tenants are “worker bees,” but the park is quiet at night; I imagine most folks go to bed pretty early. We’ll see what it’s like on the weekend. The nearest town and grocery store is about 8 miles away and the nearest Walmart is about 25 miles, so I’ve been told. I would not stay here for an extended period simply because of the dog issue. If you do not have a dog, it’s probably not a big deal; however, if you do . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dirty clothes hamper became more full than anticipated due to our longer stay in South Carolina, so today was a much needed laundry day! Thankfully, no one was using the 2 washers/2 dryers, so I availed myself of them. Yay!

Dave hopped on his fixed-gear bike and got 32 miles today, his first time back on the bike in 12 days. He had a good ride on quiet country roads with no dog issues.

Drying out the awning under sunshine!

I did a few things around here like deploying our awning to dry, putting out our solar lights, arranging a bit inside for a few days’ stay, etc. Dave kept asking if I wanted to find somewhere to get our dinner, as it is my birthday today. “No, not really . . . but thanks.”  There really isn’t much around here and I couldn’t justify the expense for fast-food burgers. Ugh. “Wait! There’s a Stuckey’s back on the corner! Let’s go there. I haven’t been to one since I was a kid and there aren’t many left. Maybe they still have pecan divinity.”  Traveling with my parents when I was a kid, we’d stop at Stuckey’s. Dad would gas up the truck, they’d get coffee and perhaps we’d get a snack, we’d use the facilities and often I’d get pecan divinity.

Just a bit of silly fun and something to do for a bit.

Birthday present from Dave.

A low-key birthday, but I’m tickled to just be safely settled someplace for a few days and to have clean laundry again. We’re just hanging out this evening. We’re well-stocked for meals, so there’s no real need to go anywhere until right before we leave Tuesday just to pick up staples like bread and milk. I’m sure Dave will get more cycling in here and I’m hoping to get some virtual assistant work done over the next few days.

And some resting and recuperating from the rainy days in South Carolina . . .

Ya’ll be safe out there, wherever you are!

Thanks for stopping by!

It Doesn’t Even Have a Name

This massive rainstorm doesn’t even have a name, although it is certainly worthy of one. I imagine you have heard about the devastating rain event occurring here in South Carolina. We are in Lexington, which is probably a bit under 10 miles west of Columbia, one of the hardest hit areas. We have been very fortunate so far with no flooding issues whatsoever. Turns out our neighbors across the street used to live in Lexington for several years, so they are quite familiar with the surrounding areas. It was great to get some information about what to expect (or not) here and so forth. We exchanged phone numbers this morning and both turned off city water in case of contamination and disconnected sewer hoses from the ground connection in case the sewer system backed up.

Later today, Columbia was advising residents to boil their water. Lexington has not issued such an advisory so far, but better to protect our rig than be sorry later.

This is what we had for about 10 minutes this afternoon, including a wee showing of sunshine. We started on a walk, as did several others in the park, but the rains came on again, so we headed home. That’s us up front on the left.

Yes, Susan (Travel Bug), I have the AccuWeather app, along with The Weather Channel, WunderMap, FloodWatch (USGS service), iDamage, NOAA Radar, Weather Alerts, the Red Cross, FEMA and a Police Scanner app among others on my iPhone. Conditions on the site in New Jersey necessitated that we be in touch and aware of weather and our environment up there, as we were subject to severe conditions such as Nor’Easters and were parked by a river. Thanks for your suggestion!

Dave went to bed last night a bit before midnight, but I was too wired to sleep and wanted to be up to monitor what was happening since we are in an unfamiliar location. I tell ya, the rains were absolutely torrential. Epic. Biblical. My phone kept sounding with alarms. At about 4 AM this morning, I felt confident enough that flooding was not going to be an immediate issue and I was able to get about 4 hours of snooze time in my recliner with Maggie snuggled on my lap.

There were lights on in quite a few of our neighbors, so I wasn’t the only one keeping vigil.

The rain has eased up today but has been fairly steady, and it has been a bit breezy. Our forecast is calling for possibly 1-2 additional inches through Monday. We have decided to stay Monday night and continue our journey westward on Tuesday, which is looking pretty good at this point.

Amazingly, this morning quite a few rigs pulled out during heavy downpours, hoping for better conditions elsewhere. We watched them leave, hoping they would be safe. Advisories were being issued for people to stay off the roads even this morning. I hope these RVers did not run into any issues on the roads. We know some sections of I-20, I-95 and I-77 (I think that’s the one) have been closed due to flooding. There are numerous secondary roads that are flooded and washed out.

We’re just more comfortable with waiting until conditions improve a bit more and we feel it is safer to travel.

I talked with our destinations in Madison, GA (Tuesday’s stop) and Montgomery, AL to change our reservations yet once again. The park in Madison has not flooded; they did not get the rain that we have seen.

The rest of today has been just hanging out and watching The Weather Channel coverage of the events unfolding here in South Carolina.  Since we travel well stocked with groceries, it was homemade quesadillas for dinner tonight. Comfort food!

We so appreciate the messages here and on Facebook and the phone calls I’ve received today from everyone checking up on us. Ya’ll rock! It’s so nice to know so many people are thinking of us and helping keep us safe.

I hope this has made sense. I’m pretty tired tonight. I’ll have shower in a bit and then I am going to actually go to bed tonight. I bet I sleep!

Stay safe out there, okay?

Thanks for stopping by!

Plans Are Coming Together

After speaking with the owner of the security company this past week, we know that there is simply no work going forward. We also know we will get a phone call should something become available.

Okay.

When I first spoke with the manager of a possible landing spot (RV park) in Texas, she indicated there would be no long-term availability until mid November. After looking at some possible parks, including that one, Dave and I both decided it would be the one. I spoke with the manager again this week to indicate our interest. She indicated that since our initial visit, a couple of spots would be coming open in October, one of which she thought would be nice for us.  I put down a deposit to hold the spot. Now we have a place to land.

This means that we can head straight to Texas and I can begin looking for work as a medical transcriptionist; this eliminates that awkward month in limbo. We can establish care with local doctors and I can handle health insurance research/enrollment without the added craziness of traveling while doing so.

Alrighty then!

My wee cozy office nook in our RV

Dave removed our dining table this week and brought over the desk, filing cabinet and chair. This arrangement is comfortable and functional for now, although I will still be tweaking it a bit once we are landed in Texas. I like having a side window for natural lighting; there is an LED 12-volt light above my laptop. The filing cabinet, wee desk and chair are freebies from our work site. Score! I am no longer in the office building at night during my shift, but here now. I was somewhat concerned about keeping Dave awake (he sleeps from 10 PM until 2 AM), but he runs the A/C fan in the bedroom and is actually sleeping quite well. He says he doesn’t hear a thing with that overhead fan running. I am really enjoying my cozy work nook.

Yay!

Right now I’m thinking we’ll head south on I95 when we roll out of here on October 1. We can hook up with I10 in Florida and head west to Texas. Neither of us have been in Florida, so at least we can say we spent a night there, eh? I might plan a couple of nights in Florida so Dave can add another “cycled in” state to his list. I have not traveled that southern route of I10 since I was a kid and this would a first time for Dave. It adds another day of travel, but we both agree we would like to see something different instead of retracing our previous routes across Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Been there, done that. More than once this year, actually. I can wait a loooong time before I travel I20 again, thank you very much.

This is indeed the “end of an era” for us and a change in our lifestyle. We are, however, adapting and planning with a hopeful outlook.

Thanks for stopping by!

On Station, On Duty - Darlington, SC

We  enjoyed another morning without alarm clocks, awaking a bit before 8 AM.  Once again, we steadily but unhurriedly prepped for getting on the road for the final leg of our journey to Darlington, SC.  We pulled out of The Barnyard RV Park in Lexington, SC at about 10:45 AM and hopped back on I-20 East.

With a 90-mile drive ahead of us, we took advantage of the one rest area on today’s route about 30 miles down the road.

This rest area was not far on the east side of Columbia.  The Barnyard’s address is listed as Lexington, SC, but GPS showed us as being in West Columbia; therefore, Columbia itself was just a wee hop down the interstate.  Getting through Columbia was a breeze.  I-20 doesn’t go directly through it, I suppose, and that helps.

Ever notice how these rest stop photos all kind of look alike?  Guess they do.  Really it’s to document our rig being there . . . me indulging in taking photos of our rig on the road.

Ahhhh . . .  coffee!  I confess I have missed my late-night one cup of java.  We have use of an office again this time for which we are grateful.  Sure helps a lot since we are sleeping in shifts.  We have our laptops set up on a table facing each other, Maggie’s bed in one corner (although she prefers a towel-covered chair when she and I are on duty together) and our coffee station set up on another small table.  It also gives Dave a place to put the bikes . . . in a closet in this office.

That black lump in the chair to the right is Maggie

I have to say I miss our washer and dryer.  We sold them to the facility manager when we left here in March; he jokingly offered today to sell them back to us for twice what he paid for them.  Hahaha!  Ah well.  I know where at least one laundromat is, so no big deal.  If we are ever somewhere long-term again, we’ll get another set if it is feasible.

With about 50 miles to go after the rest stop, we arrived at the facility a bit before 1 PM.   After the guys watched us trying to back the rig into its spot, one of them stepped up and offered to do it for us.  “I sure appreciate it.  I would have gotten it; it just would have taken a while.”  “We didn’t want to you be trying to do it in the dark.”  Haha! 

Home until October 1

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting set up . . . plants out, frog whirligig in place, solar lights and some other lights set up, macerator hooked up, etc.  Sure was glad to have that leftover chicken noodle casserole for a  meal. 

There’s something about returning to a familiar place.  We know where the stores are, what the job entails, what the environment has in store, the people with whom we work. 

Yeah, temporary insanity leaving here.  Oh well.  It seemed like the thing to do at the time, we gained some  experience in campground work, we traveled a bit, we took care of some personal biz in Texas and we learned valuable lessons.

Dave and I each have a  Road ID bracelet that we wear when traveling, cycling, whatever.  It has contact info on it in case we are involved in an accident.  Dave was unable to locate his when we left here . . . we thought it was still here somewhere and we’d never see it again or perhaps stowed in the basement someplace we had not yet looked.  Well, guess what I spotted shortly after we arrived this afternoon . . . perched on a stepladder in the guard building?!

Well, there’s an affirmation that we made the right decision in returning here! 

Okay, so it’s almost time for my midnight patrol rounds . . . driving the property in a facility truck.  Then it’s only a couple of hours until I wake up Dave for his shift.  Amazing how quickly the night goes. 

This evening I am thankful for an uneventful trip, not only today’s section  but the all the days of travel we have racked up these past few months.  We have been very fortunate to have had no mishaps or mechanical issues.  I am also thankful to be back doing the type of work which we enjoy and to which we seemed suited. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Safe and Sound in Lexington, SC

We got away from Country Boys RV Park in Madison, GA a bit after 11 AM this morning and once again continued eastbound on I-20.   Our stay there wasn’t bad.  Again, it’s not terrific, but it was quiet and fine for an overnight.

It certainly was a nice morning with bright sunshine and actually pleasant temperatures.  What a relief after the hot days we’ve endured lately!

We cruised down I-20 with a fuel stop at a Pilot after a short ways and then hit a rest stop before going through Augusta, GA. 

Lovely blue skies and a light breeze at Georgia Rest Stop 62.  Sweet!

Passage through Augusta wasn’t bad at all, probably given the fact that today is Sunday.  Pulled into the Welcome Center over the South Carolina state line and gave Maggie a rest stop.  She’s such a good traveler!

Another 50-odd miles and we were arriving at The Barnyard RV Park in Lexington, SC.  The RV park is sort of behind the Barnyard Flea Market.  This is our third stay here, but we had never been here on a weekend and I wondered what the traffic would be like getting in and out of the RV park, as the road to the park is indeed behind the flea market.  It wasn’t too bad, thank goodness.

I had made our reservation here about two weeks ago, stating the size of our rig including truck, the number of nights and that we wanted a pull-thru.  Fine.  We were given site B-3, close to the laundry and one of the better (utilities in the correct spots, long enough, etc.) spots for big rigs.  Well, guess what?

B3 was still occupied with no tow vehicle in sight.  The office person tried calling them, but got no answer.  Okay, so we were given D3.  Fine. 

Not so fine. 

Sewer ground connection at the back end of the site, the site is shorter and . . . trees overhanging that would definitely be hit by our rig.  Nope.  Not gonna do it.  We had stopped short of the site and decided to take the next one to it, D2.  Sewer and water connections in better positions and trees, although hanging down, not totally dragging on our RV.  Went and told the office gal.

Took a while to level our home, needing two tiers of Lynx levelers on one side . . . they kept sinking into the ground.  This site is more dirt than gravel and is not as long as we really need.  We had stayed in Row A before; those sites are gravel and plenty long. 

Contrary to what the gal in the office says, these sites are not as long as those and they obviously are not as well-maintained/groomed as Row A.  Over here we are more in the midst of long-term folks.  Nothing really wrong with that or the site, I guess, but it is definitely not as nice as Row A or even Row B.  Longer distance to the laundry and the dog walk, too.  That being said, there is plenty of room between sites in all sections of the park; however, the grass could do with a trim.

Our home for three nights – Site D2.  Might be a wee bit tricky getting out of here, as it’s two sort of tight right turns close together.   Definitely not a convenient big-rig site.

A couple of thoughts:

• There should be some system for knowing who is scheduled to depart each day and then checking to see if they do leave the park.  We did this at the KOA in Texas.  Seems like common sense to  me, especially with the overnight sites at the front of the park where you can easily check them.
• If you move someone to a different area/section, give them the password to the WiFi booster that has the better signal in their new section.  Phone was busy when I called and then the office was closed.  We’re both using my hot spot, although Dave typically uses park WiFi when available.
• Trim overhanging trees.

More notes about this park:

• There is a good amount of space between sites.
• Each site has a concrete patio and picnic table.
• Sites both with shade and without (in case you have a satellite).
• Cable TV with oodles of channels, including TCM.
• Decent utilities.
• Sites may or may not be sort of level.  Ones in Row A weren’t bad; however, this particular site is not level side-to-side.
• Lots of ants, so bring spray for around the perimeter of your rig.
• Paved streets.
• There is no nearby grocery store.  There used to be a Piggly Wiggly across the street, but it is no longer there.  You’re a bit of a drive from amenities such as groceries.
• Be aware some sites have sewer and water connections at rear of site.
• Watch for overhanging trees in sites.
• It is convenient to I-20, but we would not consider this for an extended stay.  The surrounding area is congested with busy streets, something which does not appeal to us and is definitely not tempting for cycling.  You can get more pleasant environments for your buck elsewhere.
• There are really too many long-term folks here and, if you are put in their midst, you don’t get a chance to visit with other RVers with whom you might have more in common to chat about.  With over 100 sites they may be . . . may be . . . approximately 20 short-term sites.

What we have seen at several of the parks we have stayed at recently is that there are few overnight sites; even if the park is large (such as this one with over 100 sites), most of the sites are occupied by long-term guests.  I know in same cases these were workers in the area such as welders, electricians, etc. in the area for a special work project. 

Nothing wrong with that, really.  We don’t stay at high-end resorts but the parks we stay in are not slums, either.  It’s just something that we have noticed more lately and it makes getting a reservation and/or a pleasant site for a short-term stay.

Truck’s odometer clicked over the 56K mark during today’s journey.  Good Truck!  Good Truck!

Total miles today = 152.2.  I’m once again grateful for a safe and uneventful trip.  Nothing jumped out of the cabinets and nothing took a swan dive from its allotted spot in the rig.  Sweet!

Thanks for stopping by!

Landed in Madison, GA

Site 54 at Country Boys RV Park in Madison, GA

Whew.  What a long day.  I’m tired.  Dave has “given me permission” to goof off the rest of today.  Seeing as I got us through rain, construction that was a wee hairy in some places and smack dab the middle of Atlanta in one piece (or two pieces hooked together), he’s made a good move there, eh?  Ha!

Rolling out of Anniston, AL this morning just a tad after 11 AM, we continued our journey eastward on I-20.  Not a bad ride, that.  I’ve seen worse.  Namely, I-40.

Rain was not far away when we hit the road, and we were just ahead of it until we made our first rest stop.  Pretty much after that we were in rain of varying intensity all the way here to Madison.

We stopped once at a Pilot for fuel and shortly after that were in Atlanta.  Man.  Atlanta goes on forever!

Oh yeah, we hit areas of the interstate narrowing down from three lanes to one and other spots of road works here and there.  That, combined with the rain, made today a longer journey in time than it would have been otherwise. 

In addition, we crossed into Eastern Time at the Georgia state line, so we lost an hour there, too.

At least the road works and rain slowed down the Atlanta traffic a bit, so it definitely could have been worse.  I don’t know . . . we took the loop around Birmingham and perhaps might try the Atlanta loop should we come back this away at some point.

Thrilled to be through Atlanta unscathed with sanity somewhat intact at Georgia Rest Stop 52

When we arrived here at Country Boys, I saw lightning in the distance and clouds appeared to be bringing imminent rain;  however, Mr. Sun made an appearance.  For a while.  It’s a bit darker now and there has been spitting rain.  Apparently a cold front is coming (I see storms on the radar) and we’re forecast for storms this evening/tonight.  Hope we miss the worst of it.

Interestingly, our microwave vent cover made a kamikaze leap off the microwave during transit today.  Okay, I can take a hint.  Must be time to give it a good cleaning.  Did that and put it back in place once we had the rig opened up (slides deployed).  That’s a new one.  It’s firmly attached again.  And clean, I might add.

Glad I cooked that chicken yesterday!  It made a nice sandwich just a wee while ago.  Dave was a champ and hooked up the cable here, so we have quite a few stations.  That’s  good, ‘cause just about all I want to do this evening is veg.  Well, I would like a stroll around our loop.  I like/feel the need to walk a bit after a day of travel.

We’re still hitched to the truck and, along with cable, only have shore power connected.  Once again we’re running off our fresh tank and pump.  It’s just an overnight stop, so we’re good.  Makes getting away a bit easier in the morning.  We’ll head to Lexington, SC tomorrow, where we will be at The Barnyard RV Park for three nights prior to heading to our work site in Darlington, SC July 1.

This is our second stay here.  It’s fine for an overnight.  The sites and park are not spectacular by any means, but it’s a port in a storm.  Literally, it seems, as it may be stormy tonight and our overnight stay in March was extended by a night due to nasty weather.

We have friends who are on their maiden voyage this weekend with their new-to-them 5th wheel.  How cool is that?  Am proud of them for getting it set up and am so tickled for them!  Looking forward to hooking up with them at some point in the future and putting our rigs side-by-side.

Gave the truck a pat a bit ago, “Good Truck.  Good Truck.”  Truck is still a bit of a youngster with just a bit under 56K miles on the odometer.  Beast.  Faithful steed.  Like a rock today with everything thrown at it – wind, rain, road works, traffic.

I think my Dad was probably watching over us today and I know he’d be proud of me getting us here safe and sound.  He was probably grinning that mischievous grin of his, too.  

Total miles today = 145.9, but it sure seems longer than that.

Thanks for stopping by!

Travel Day to Anniston, AL and Five Years on the Road

Five years ago today we pulled out of the self-storage facility in Cedar Park, TX (adjoining Austin) to a nearby RV park.  We commuted back to work as managers of that self-storage facility for a couple of weeks before hitting the road.  I mark June 24 as our launch date, because we began living in our rig on this day in 2010.

Five years.  Wowsers!  What adventures we have had and what memories we have made!

Once again, we awoke with no alarms and rolled out of Benchmark Coach and RV Park in Meridian/Marion, MS about 10:45 this morning.  Having done most of the ready work yesterday and last evening, it was a pretty easy getaway. 

Our first stop was a rest area on I-20 East about 50 miles down the road into Alabama, only to find that the facilities were closed.  No problem-o!  We have our own facilities, and I took advantage of those.  We boogied eastward on I-20 about another 40-odd miles for Dave to check out the rest area facilities, and I took the opportunity to give Maggie a walk.

Our Maggs is so ready to get in the truck once it’s running for leaving that she can’t be bothered to go potty.  She is focused and excited, and makes a beeline (with leash and me attached) to the truck.  Figured she could use a rest area break herself at this point in today’s journey.

We took the I-459 loop and skirted around Birmingham.  Definitely the thing to do, I think.  I-20 was of a decent quality – not brilliant but not deplorable – and we did encounter a few spots of road works which slowed us down a bit. 

Our last stop was about 25 miles out of Anniston at a – you guessed it – Pilot to fuel up.  We could have made the entire trip on a full tank with fuel to spare, but I just like to be topped off after the gauge reaches a certain point.  Dave got coffee and I had a wee break.  From there, we scooted on into the Camping World/Good Sam RV Park here.  It’s right next door to a Camping World and easy to find from the interstate.  We were here in March, coming from the east.  The couple managing the park at that time has moved on, but she and I keep in touch.  I’m tickled with that, as Linda and I seemed to hit it off from the get.

Site 18 – Our home for the next three nights.  Storm clouds brewing!

Maggie and I were out taking a walk not far away when all of a sudden . . . W I N D ! ! !  At that point, our awning was deployed.  She and I hightailed it back, as the awning was starting to bounce and flap.  Thankfully, Dave was already bringing it in.  (It’s an electric awning, opening and closing via a switch just inside the RV).   I tell ya, that wind came out of nowhere. 

View from the other side of our rig.  We are on the end of the row, with a grassy area on this side.

After the sweltering heat of the past few days, the breeze and abrupt drop in temperatures in front of this storm were absolutely delicious.  Dave and I stood outside for a bit just loving it and watching the awesome skies.

I see the folks across the road have returned.  They left a while ago, with the awning on their Class A still deployed.  Thankfully, it looks like there was no damage and they have taken it in now.

Don’t deploy your awning and leave it unattended, peeps.  The results can be . . . ugly.

Trust me on that one, okay? 

There is another entire section of the park in the distance.  Perhaps for long-term folks?

It’s dark out now and we have had very little rain.  What we are having, however, is a spectacular light show.  We’re just back inside after watching it outdoors for a bit.  We are seeing horizontal forked lightning with no associated thunder.  This is something new to me and it’s totally awesome.

I just did a Google search for this type of lightning and found out it is known as “anvil crawlers.” 

Cool.

Yes, actually, it almost is outside right now.

Cool, that is.

This evening I’m grateful for a safe and uneventful trip today, for five memorable years in this lifestyle, for good friends I speak with on the phone, for our home on wheels and the dependable steed of a truck that pulls that home and for the man in my life, my husband, who shares this adventure with me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Long Travel Day to Meridian, MS

We really enjoyed Frog Hollow Campground and RV Park last night.  Talking about our fave one this trip, we both agreed that was it.  Although not ritzy, it was clean and cute with amenities we both like.  Okay, cable would have been nice but we were both fine without it; we didn’t raise our batwing antenna, so we might have been able to pick up more TV stations with it deployed.  There was loads of room between the sites, and we appreciated that.

Knowing we had a long (for us) day ahead, we took our time getting ready and finally rolled onto I-55 South about 11 AM.  We stopped about 30 miles down the road at a Pilot for fuel and then continued on southward towards Jackson and I-20 East. 

The drive down I-55 was actually pleasant and going through Jackson, MS wasn’t really all that bad.  We hooked up with I-20 East around Jackson and kept going.

And kept going.  And going.

I’m not really sure how long it was until we came to a rest area.  I think it was probably a couple of hours.  That’s long for us, as we usually take a stretch break about every hour to hour-and-a-half.  Whatever it was, this was a loooong time, and we were both ready to get out of the truck for a few minutes.

 Doesn’t the weather look terrific?  It was at that point!

We had only about 50 miles to go from there to our destination of Benchmark RV Park in Meridian (Marion), MS.  The quality of I-20 turned out to be much better than I had anticipated.  Yay!

About two exits away from the one we were to take, the heavens opened up and it began raining cats, dogs and small farm animals.  Lovely.  Thank goodness for my typed out route sheet (I do one for each day of the trip) with  detailed directions and for the small blue signs for the park along the way once off the interstate.

I mean it was raining.

It was still coming down like crazy when we arrived at the park.  The office is open from 4:30-6:00 PM only, but a phone call got our site number. 

Site 14A, our home for the next five nights

Notes about this park:

• Concrete pads which are pretty darn level.  Pads are really about only as long as one’s rig, so staying hooked up for an overnight would mean part of the RV would be on gravel.  Our truck is parked on gravel behind our RV, but the RV itself is on concrete.
• The laundry and shower/toilet rooms are all in the same building.  I’m not crazy about that.  There are two washers and two dryers.  The shower/toilet rooms were basically nice, but needed housekeeping attention this afternoon when we arrived.
• Owner lives in home next door and is nice.
• Park grounds are clean and mowed.
• Good shore power.
• Free WiFi which so far is good.
• Cable TV with decent number of stations.
• Dumpster needs to be emptied.
• On-site propane sales.
• Gas station with diesel and convenience store across the street; I like the convenience.
• Grocery store about three miles away and apparently a Wal-Mart not too far away.  The park info sheet lists a few restaurants, but we really don’t care about those.
• It is a bit of a drive off the interstate, but not bad and worth being  on the far side of Meridian and away from all the hustle and bustle of the city.
• Good Sam and Escapees are honored.  Escapees got me the better discount, so the nightly rate is well under $30.

Well, I was pretty pooped once we got set up, so we splurged and did something we have never done before.

We had pizza delivered!

I really,  really am happy to be off the road for a few nights.   Four blissful days of not moving, just hanging out, doing laundry, working my online job and just be-ing.

Total miles traveled today:  216.6.  I am grateful for a safe and uneventful travel day.

Thanks for stopping by!