Monday, December 3, 2012
Today would be mostly a “road”day with us just trying to get about one third of the way to New Braunfels, TX where we’ll stop for our visit into San Antonio. We wanted to stop in Oklahoma at a Wal-Mart before we crossed into Texas thinking the gas would be cheaper with our 15 cent a gallon discount. We found a station in Durant but they were only giving us a nickel a gallon discount. This new credit card has been next to useless for us so far on this trip.
We also stopped in McAlester, OK for a McDonald’s to use the Wi-Fi and publish the first week of the Journal. But that idea didn’t work out too well so we moved on for the day. We did have Breakfast while we were there, however.
After we crossed into Texas we thought we could use the free Wi-Fi at the Texas Rest Areas and were surprised again. In order to use the Wi-Fi you have to visit a website and apparently get permission. HELLO!!!!!!!! If I could get to a website, why would I need your Wi-Fi? Another genius idea from bureaucrats.
We drove until mid-afternoon and managed upon a campground along side of the highway just south of Waco. The name of the place is Lucky’s RV Park. They’ve got about a hundred sites and they’re right on the frontage road of the highway. They’ve got Wi-Fi, but it’s a router in the office, but we managed to get hooked up anyway with a very weak signal. I was still having trouble publishing the Journal because my website wasn’t letting me rename files. Hopefully I’ll get it published over the next few days.
Sharon made up some ground pickle and bologna for sandwiches for supper tonight. Neither of us really felt like eating and that was something light to chew on.
Besides we’ll have that for lunch tomorrow sometime.
We settled in for TV for the night and I pretty much slept through most of the offerings. I guess I was unusually tired from the day on the road. We did stay up until about 11 though, anyway.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
We only had a short distance to go today so we got a leisurely start. The drive from Plano through Austin was quite busy, however, and when we finally exited the other side, it was clearly a relief.
Our only stop today was for gas and, as usual, right after we stopped we found gas for 10 cents a gallon cheaper just down the road. I think I need new websites that report the price of gas on a daily basis. MSN hasn’t hit one right since we left home. We got a Wal-Mart Credit Card that’s supposed to give us 15 cents of on a gallon and that’s working well. In Arkansas they gave us only 5 cents.
We rolled into our campground here at Sattler, Texas at about 1:30 and got set up almost immediately. We checked back and found that we had been here one other time in 2002 on December 21 for a week. They advertised the park as being in New Braunfels at the time. The Summit Vacation Resort is a very nice resort but no Wi-Fi.
So I tried to get hooked up on Verizon today but I need a new sim card for my wi-fi card.
We spotted a little BBQ place, on the road, on the way in, and decided to go back and try out the BBQ. It was just after lunch and we were both hungry anyway since we hadn’t eaten since Breakfast this morning. The BBQ was pork spare ribs and quite tasty although the meat was a little tough. I did like the coating they had on the meat although it didn’t seem to be a rub. The sauce was served on the side, as expected.
After lunch we stopped to get the car washed since we had driven through a sprinkle of rain today and ruined a $47 wash job on the motorhome and car. It was coated with stubborn “road dirt” that was difficult to get off.
After we got back home, Sharon took off with some laundry that’s been collecting over the past couple of days. Mostly wet towels that won’t dry with the humidity we’ve been encountering.
After a make-do supper for both of us we settled in front of the tube for the night to catch a couple of shows. There were specials on tonight that neither of us was interested in so we watched taped shows for most of the night. By 10 we were both looking for a reason to stay up later and couldn’t find one so we caved for the night.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
We were off to San Antonio relatively early this morning since we had a couple of things to do and we were anxious to get them done. The traffic was a little busy at times since we left home about 9:15. I don’t think we hit the full rush, but it was quite hectic as we got close to downtown.
Our plan was to find parking near Rivercenter and then plan the rest of our day from there. We quickly found a parking lot just a half block from the river. We walked to Rivercenter and decided to have a snack before we started and found a Cinnabon Store at the food court. We each had a Cinnabon and it was quite good although quite ooey gooey.
As luck would have it, when we got on the boat we managed to get on the “water taxi”, instead of the tour boat. For us it worked out great since all we wanted to do was see the northern (new) portion of the riverwalk, and we could get on and off all day if we wanted to.
After the Riverwalk we decided to take a double-decker bus tour around the city. We had never done that before, and the tour was somewhat narrated with about a dozen stops along the way. We could also get on and off the bus for the next 24 hours so we decided instead of paying for parking at El Mercado we’d take the bus and have it drop us off for lunch. We ate at Mi Terra, a Cortez family Restaurant. The place was huge and beautifully decorated inside. The food was excellent.
We just missed the bus by 5 minutes on the way home so we had to wait an extra hour for the next one. The bus dropped us off right in front of the parking garage so we didn’t have to walk far to get to the car.
We hit the road, and by this time it was around 4 PM so we knew we’d be in the traffic. It actually wasn’t that bad on the way home, I guess because we expected it to be.
We were back home and settled in front of the TV by 6 PM. For the rest of the night we just relaxed in front of the tube. We had a couple of favorite shows on tonight and a couple that we record because they’re on at the same time as our favorites. But by 10 it had been a long day and we were both ready to call it enough. It didn’t take long for us to make up our minds and cave in.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
We had a couple of things to do today which required us to go into New Braunfels this morning.
Our first stop was at Verizon to pick up a new sim card for our wireless modem. Apparently the old one has expired, and we can’t get connected with the one we have. We also have to stop and pick up a few groceries for the next couple of days on the road. And as long as we were in town over the lunch hour we decided we’d stop at Popeye’s for their fried crawfish. Everything was going swimmingly until it came time for the crawfish. Apparently the crawfish is not an everyday thing and nobody was serving it. We didn’t feel like chicken so we went to Schlotzsky’s Deli right around the corner. We each had one half of an original sandwich and a bowl of soup. The soup was cream of broccoli and very good, and rich.
After lunch we came back home and I decided to dump our holding tanks and get ready to leave tomorrow. It took about a half hour for me to get everything done and Sharon surfed the internet while I was outside slaving. It was the first time that I worked while she sat since we left home.
We went our own way for supper tonight. Sharon finished up her sandwich from lunch and I had a couple of slices of bread with BBQ beef on it, which she just made tonight.
We had a couple of good shows on the tube tonight so we settled in front of the idiot box and stared for the night. We were entertained until 10:45 tonight before we folded up our tents and headed for the night quarters. We’ll have a long day tomorrow.
Friday, December 7, 2012HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Today would be a true travel day. We had about 600 miles to travel over the next two days so we would just be planning to get in the motorhome and drive today. It’s also our 38th Wedding Anniversary today.
The motorhome was traveling on fumes today so our first stop would be for gas. We managed to find a Murphy Gas Station in Boerne, TX to use our discount card at. We got the 15 cent discount but the pump was screwed up and we never got a full tank.
We were back on the road and heading west in a short amount of time.
We drove until we stopped for lunch. After a quick 20 minute stop we were motoring again.
We pulled in to Fort Stockton, Texas about 3:30 and quickly found our campground and got set up and got ready to go out for Dinner. We hadn’t been in Fort Stockton for about 10 years so we weren’t familiar with the town or the eating places. We decided to drive through town and just look for one.
We found K-Bob’s Steakhouse almost at the edge of town that looked pretty good, so we stopped. The food was very good and Sharon was happy with her anniversary steak.
On the way back home there were tons of people sitting on the side of the road and it didn’t dawn on us for a minute or so that they were waiting for a Christmas parade. And we thought they were lined up to greet us.
We got back home and relaxed for the rest of the night in front of the Telly.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
We left Fort Stockton this morning with the intention of making it to Deming, NM by the end of the day.
Our first stop was for gas in town, but only enough to make it to van Horn where the gas would be 10¢ a gallon cheaper. At the prices we’re paying, we need to find the cheapest places.
At Van Horn we put in enough to get to Anthony, Texas which is on the New Mexico border. We filled up there since the price at $3.05 was as cheap as we’ll find it anywhere on this trip. We also took time to get ourselves a couple of Subway sandwiches and eat lunch at the side of the road.
We were quickly back on the road again and our final resting place was at the Little Vineyard RV Park in Deming. We got in in time for Sharon to take off for church and she was planning on stopping at KFC to pick up Chicken Pot Pies for Supper tonight. After church she had such a hassle at KFC she drove away without the pot pies. After she explained the story I certainly didn’t blame her.
I had my leftover Fish Platter from last night and she had BBQ beef which she had made up a day or so ago for us to eat on the road. I’ve already had a tasted of it for a lunch.
Tonight was a pretty weak night for TV but we had a few things on tape for back-up that we watched. We lasted until 10:30 before the curtain fell and the actors retired to their dressing room.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
It was starting to get colder again today and the wind was suppose to make a significant appearance today.
Sharon was busy as a bee today from the moment she got up. She started out re-arranging cupboards and then got to vacuuming and dusting the shanty. After she got done she decided she was going to browse K-mart today and then do some shopping.
She got back about 1 o’clock bearing gifts for her and for me. She came back with slacks for her and corn dogs for me. She had also made a stop at Wal-Mart while she was out.
By 5 o’clock we were getting ready to sit and watch the game between the Packers and Lions and the wind started to pick up. The wind plays hell with the dish and affects the reception. The campground here has free cable TV but I couldn’t get it hooked up tonight in the wind and darkness. We did, however, see enough of the game to know the Packers scored a touchdown near the end of the game to ice it away.
By 10 we were both in bed since the TV was shot to hell anyway.
