02-06-2019 San Antonio and then Finally out of Texas

Current Location: Shields RV Park, Gulfport Mississippi

Cloudy, windy and cool 56 Degrees F at 6PM

Our days in San Antonio went by in a blur.  Two nights is a luxury on this fast trip east,  but that still only gave us one full day for all the little myriad chores of living that don’t work well in a rolling vehicle, while still trying to see something of the place we are visiting.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we wanted to make our way downtown to the Historic Market Square, the Mercado, touted as the largest if not the oldest Mexican market outside of Mexico. There are dozens of shops and stalls and a lot of “stuff”. 

The camp host, Baker, was extremely helpful with maps of how to exit the base and get to the proper freeways to get downtown with as little trouble as possible.  It still was a bit crazy making, because her maps had names that weren’t showing up on google, and the street signs were all but invisible.  It didn’t help that when we managed to get going in the wrong direction, when we turned around to find our way, we ran into a ton of construction and the main one way roads closed and detoured.  Eventually we made our way to the parking structure just west of the Mercado, paid our ten bucks parking and easily found our restaurant.

I am sure there is better Mexican food in a lot of restaurants around the Southwest, but you cant beat the ambiance and the decor.  The food was pretty darn good, too.  We sat with my marguerita and Mos wine and opened up the blog to try to remember the last time we were here in 2007, the year we bought the MoHo in New Braunfels, Texas.

Our reading led us to the hysterical description of our first night in the MoHo, and we were laughing so hard I am sure people thought we were crazy.  If you want a good laugh, read this account of two newbies with their first fancy motorhome.  It really IS funny.

In the midst of the laughter, our meal was delightful, with lovely flavors and the sound of strolling mariachi musicians wandering around the restaurant.  Yes, campy and touristy, but still fun. 

After our mid afternoon dinner we wandered the market where we found the our little goodies.  We weren’t shopping for anything in particular, but we still got caught by some very nice number tiles and a wrought iron holder for Sunset House, and we both fell in love with some half price Christmas bells made from dyed cornhusks.  A fun addition with a nice memory to go with it for the holidays. Nice and small so they don’t take up much space in the Tracker as we make our way across the country and back.

With Baker’s directions, 2 paper maps, and google maps, we managed to get back on base through the maze of freeways without too much difficulty.  We made sure tanks were dumped again, the car was hooked up and ready to go, and we were completely ready for our next travel day toward the east.

Leaving San Antonio wasn’t too horrible except for the truly horrendous construction zones, horribly bumpy pavement, and narrow uneven lanes.  Stressful to say the least!  Even when the traffic lessened, the rough roads and side winds made the drive less than fun. 

We were glad that we had a destination with a place to be when we rolled into the Sam Houston Jones State Park in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  The park is a few miles from the Interstate, but there are very good signs pointing the way, even though it feels as though you are wandering off to nowhere.  Also, on a side note, fuel is still incredibly cheap.  In Louisiana, the cheapest fuel is again 87 octane and we have been filling the MoHo at $1.86 per gallon in most places.

When we stayed at this park on our eastward route in 2014 (blog link here) the skies were blue and we had a wonderful time hiking the trails along the river, enjoying our campfire and letting the dog and cat run around our campsite.

This trip we only planned a single night, and the weather was rather iffy, with dark clouds and threatening rain.  We settled in to the same site we had five years ago, and right away before it got too late, took the dog for a walk along the river.

The park is quite lovely, a hidden surprise a few miles north of the interstate, in the forest.  The state park is working diligently to restore the native long leaf pine forest that was almost completely decimated in Louisiana in the past century.  It was a quiet and lovely evening with the temperatures in the low 70’s , and we were serenaded by the lovely music of frogs and crickets.

Yesterday, on Thursday the 7th, we were on the road by 8:30.  It was to be a reasonable day of driving, with just 340 miles or so along I-10 to Gulfport, Mississippi.  I had originally reserved space for us at Keesler AFB Family Camp, but the more I read the more I began to worry about that choice.  I re-read Erin’s blog about their stay at Shields, where she also mentioned the difference between the two campgrounds, re-read the reviews of Keesler, and when I woke up Thursday morning, I made a call to Shields at exactly 8am.  Somehow we got lucky, and there was one space available for two nights.  I made the reservation, canceled our reservation at Keesler, and we continued on our eastward route much relieved that we avoided shooting ourselves in the foot.

I drove first, and before long, after a LOT of bumpy pavement again, we entered Lafayette.  We had decided that we needed to purchase a surge protector for the rig, and decided to stop at the Camping World in that area.  I cannot begin to describe the kerfuffle of trying to find that dang place, and I even called the store and spoke to someone who couldn’t figure out where I was and couldn’t seem to tell me how to get there. 

If you want a real laugh, look at this image from my google timeline that shows the circles we drove trying to find Camping World.  After a few short words between us, which doesn’t happen often, we gave up the search, got back on the freeway, and continued east. 

I was looking forward to visiting the Atchafalaya Visitor Center near the long bridge that traverses the Atchafalaya Basin, another repeat of a previous visit, but this time all the updates and construction should be well completed and the place is so pretty I didn’t want to miss it.  Well, then it happened.  The Blowout.

But as they say, that is the “rest of the story”…

02-05-2019 It Ain’t All Sunshine and Flowers

Current Location: Joint Base San Antonio Sam Houston RV Park

Cloudy, foggy and 67 Degrees F at 9AM

Site 47 at JBSA Fort Sam Houston

We have safely landed almost smack dab in the middle of Texas for a couple of days.  JBSA Sam Houston RV Park is delightful.  Wide open spaces, green grass, level sites, with large patios and picnic tables.

The rain held off until we arrived at the park and as we checked in big fat drops landed on the windshield.  Lucky for us we had nowhere to go last night.  Especially since the Verizon Hot Spot on my phone decided to work after all.

Things get a bit weird when the internet acts up.  Especially when we chose this location as a place where we could catch up on bookwork and banking.  That stuff just doesn’t go away because we are traveling.  Deb is handling the mail, but it is tax season, and she is sending pdf’s of some items to us, and we are talking on the phone and discussing which hard copies might need to be forwarded to a location in Florida when we get there.

My phone had 5 bars and 4G so I couldn’t figure out why it kept saying “data connection not available”.  It certainly didn’t help my mood when I texted Daughter Deanna and she said she has had trouble with her hot spot as well.  Ack!!  What to do?  Go find a Starbucks?  I can’t believe how dependent we are on the internet, especially since we have arranged to have most everything handled electronically.  Then for no reason whatsoever, I tried one more time and the connections lit up nice as you please.

Fort Stockton RV Park

The drive yesterday started off beautifully, with a high cloud cover and a bit of light coming from the east as we left Fort Stockton.  I somehow missed the unmarked onramp to the freeway and ended up on a frontage road that ended ignominiously in a pile of dirt and a fence.  Lucky there was a turnaround and I only went a mile or two out of my way.

Another not so rosy development, for the second time on this trip, the battery in the tracker went dead.  Not a big problem, because we can start it up with the MoHo.  Only problem is trying to find a wide enough place along the interstate to get everything turned around properly.  Still aren’t sure exactly what the problem is but we are working on eliminating possibilities. We stopped in the little town of Sonora and started up the Tracker and Mo drove it for an hour eastward to Junction where we hooked up once again and continued on our way.  When we arrived in San Antonio, all seemed good.  Let’s hope it stays that way.

Photo stolen from a previous trip.  It was so ugly this time I didn’t even shoot a single one

The other not so rosy little thing yesterday was many miles and a couple of hours of dull, gray fog.  I have no idea how there is fog in the middle of this dry landscape, since there isn’t a lake or ocean for a few hundred miles at least.  But foggy it was.  Sometimes thick, sometimes thinning a bit, but  all the time gray and dull.  When the fog did clear a bit, we realized that the landscape was also gray. The grasses aren’t really yellow, but more like a dull gray brown.  The entire day seemed to be different versions of gray, brown, and dark dull olive green. 

When I drove with Daughter Deb to San Antonio in 2012 the flowers were blooming along I-10

The drive wasn’t too bad at all, and we got to San Antonio in about 6 hours, in spite of the extra stops.  However, I remembered well the maze of overpasses and freeway interchanges that are throughout the city from the times I visited my daughter when she lived here.  We were prepared. Mo was driving, I was navigating, with two websites open, google maps and the military camp website which had a full page of complex directions for getting through town, onto the base, and finally at the campground.  It was stressful, but not horrible, and traffic flowed along nicely in spite of the interchanges and construction. 

We were both incredibly grateful when we arrived at the park, and were greeted by “Baker”.  I have spoken with Baker a few times on the phone, and she is just delightful.  She offered so much help and information to us about getting around, and gave us several maps with directions to get downtown and avoiding the worst of the traffic. 

As soon as we settled in, after finally getting the internet to work, I checked out the showers and got a couple of loads of laundry going. The machines were clean, worked great and at a buck fifty each were a reasonable price.  The showers look OK, but I will wear my rubber shoes since I’m not so sure about the floors.  Still, this is a very nice park once you find it, and we are looking forward to our down time here.  Our big exciting outing will be to go downtown today to the Mercado, where we plan to dine at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants of all time.  More about that later!

Mattie was excited to head for the dog park this morning.  She was also excited to go back home.

Of course, looking at the weather hasn’t been particularly encouraging.  After really gorgeous skies and sunshine in the southwest, it seems we will now be dogged by rain, clouds and fog for at least the next two weeks.  It is supposed to be raining when we get to Louisiana, raining for the two days we will spend at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, and sadly, raining for the first few days of our visit to the gorgeous barrier islands of Saint Vincent, St Joe Peninsula, and Saint Marks. I am not quite sure how our kayaking plans will fit in with all the predictions of rain. All I can do is hope and pray that it lets up eventually, and sooner or later we will get a taste of why we are going to Florida. 

We had read about trains at this park, and they were around, but not really intrusive.  We actually slept really well with outside temps in the 60’s and rain on the roof.  Sleeping in till 8AM is a rare thing for us.  It was nice.  Today should be an easy day with the fog predicted to lift before noon and the afternoon showers to be light.

Snow in November Snow in March

Home in Rocky Point Oregon: current temperature 36 Degrees F  high 43 low 25 partly sunny

Winter is long in this part of Oregon.  The snows start in earnest in November, with a few skiffs sometimes showing up in October.  The snow can be deep, and while we can get down to zero F for a week or so, the winters aren’t nearly as bad as places like Minnesota or the Dakotas.  Still, they are long. I love winter at Christmas time.  I love winter in January when I can enjoy it and then take off for California.  I love winter in February least of all, and ever since I moved from California to snow country in Northern Idaho back in the early 70’s I have done everything possible to get out of winter in February. 

But winter in March is different.  Even though it is cold and the snow is really tiresome by now, it feels different.  The days are getting longer, just a bit, but it isn’t dark any more at 4:30 in the afternoon.  When it snows, it is usually a bit wetter, and there are patches of blue amid the fluff of snowy clouds. The air feels different.  And the birds are back. 

Early in the morning I can hear them down by the lake, but they are out on the water in places we can’t get to yet with the snow and ice all around.  Still, we walked down there this morning to get the mail.  Gingerly picking our way through the re-frozen slush in the driveway and hoping our boots didn’t crash through the crusty snow banks down by the water.  When I went in to town yesterday, in the midst of a blustery snow storm, I saw open water along the edges of the lake, and saw that the swans had returned.  I only had the iPad with me, and there was traffic and snow, so it was a quick photo, but it still made me really feel the difference between the deepening winter feeling of December and the promise of winter eventually ending.  Maybe not in March, but still eventually it will end.

There is an aerial survey of the birds in Klamath Basin that is updated regularly, and even back on January 30, we had almost 44,000 tundra swans in the refuge complex.  I love the swans especially, and the snow geese, they look like flapping sheets in the wind when they fly in unison and rise and fall over the landscape.

I  am still having a bit of trouble writing about Florida.  My friend Bel, in my life for 19 years, passed away while I was there.  I was with her when she passed, probably the hardest thing I have ever done, and yet a gift I will always be grateful for. If you read my blog in the past, you know about Bel and my visits to her, my worries over her access to health care, some of her life difficulties.  This is our happy fun travel blog, how in the world do I talk about this here?  I guess I just can’t.  Up close family, up close friends, real words coming out of real mouths with sound, seem to be the only appropriate way for the moment.  I didn’t plan to say anything at all when I started this blog, and yet some of you are those real friends with real words who were there for me on the phone and on Facebook, of all places, as I was going through it.  So I needed to acknowledge that somehow after all and thank you.  Enough for now.

On the way home from Florida I was so happy to have almost three full days in San Antonio with my daughter Deborah.  She took off work on Thursday and Friday and we spent our time together driving around to places she loved in her new home, seeing where she worked, eating great Texas food that her sweetie prepared for us.  I ate ribs and cole slaw and Texas beans and cheese bread and brisket and omigosh…the heartburn!  I am not used to eating like that, but it sure was fun to let go for a few days in spite of the heartburn.

We checked out some quilt shops and picked out fabrics for the quilt I will make for her someday, we wandered off to Palmetto State Park and Lyndon B Johnson State Park, and spent a night in lovely Fredericksburg.  It was cool and breezy while I was there, but the sun was brilliant and gorgeous.  South Texas is a great place this time of year, even though the blue bonnets have yet to burst.  The grasses are greening up, and did I mention that sunshine?  Ahhhh.  It was so healing to be with Deborah, who knew and loved Bel, to have her to talk with about it.  I was blessed by two daughters on this trip actually, with Deanna re-routing a Tampa load to go through Ocala, where she met me for a long breakfast full of big hugs. Daughter Melody stayed with me on the phone a lot and son John called a few times as well, and of course Mo and Maryruth and my long time friend Laura from Coeur d Alene, a respiratory RN.  It was wonderful to have so much support and understanding.

It was good to get back home.  I did a deep clean on the house before I left, and Mo was away at her brother’s while I was gone, so we came home to a cozy, clean, wonderful home.  Mo beat me home by a day, so when I returned the house was still sparkly but was WARM with a nice big fire going.  Snow still on the ground, but sunshine and blue skies were wonderful.  And silence.  The nights are so dark and starry under the hot tub and the silence is just so SILENT!  No street lights, no traffic, no trains, all the stuff of towns and cities are absent here in the forest. 

We are settling in, enjoying home a bit before we decide just when to wander off to the cottage in Grants Pass and maybe get some beach time. Here at home I have a big quilt to finish binding, and fabric to play with, soil survey work waiting and all sorts of “retirement” projects that I still have yet to get to after three years as a retiree.  I am never, never bored.  Ever.