022 - Maiden Voyage, Rough Seas

Today we struck out for TN...

We spent a second night in the Holiday World parking lot. They fixed our slide yesterday and we made a last minute decision to put an A/C unit in our bedroom because it was stifling in there and sleeping in a pool of your own sweat sucks (I suppose someone else's would be worse...). They needed to get the parts from their Katy store, so we decided to take them up on their offer to stay on premises so that we could be there first thing in the morning.

This morning was, in a word, hectic. Check out time at the RV park is noon, so we needed to clear out. We made it with six minutes to spare. After that we went back to Holiday World. They were just finishing up, so while they printed the paperwork they brought the 5'er out so that we could hook up... Rain was looming... it started falling... then it fell with gusto... perhaps even verve. In the meantime, Mike is moving the tray for the generator from the truck to the RV, I'm moving plants from the back of the truck into the RV, then we had to hook the truck up to the RV. It poured just long enough for us to finish up. Then it stopped... sigh... We changed into fresh clothes, I flashed the salesmen, we settled the bill, and headed out.

Our intention was to overnight in Hot Springs then continue on to TN tomorrow...

First setback was our departure time. We were already two and a half hours behind "schedule" when we finally got on the road around 2:30.

Second setback was when we overestimated our height. Our GPS has a Good Sam app where you can program your height and other information, and it will use that to route your trip. When we estimated 15 ft 6 in, it took us west. We decided to look online to find out what our height is... plus the new A/C unit... and once we input that new number it took us back east but we kind of wasted two hours. We're closer to 14 ft 6 in. Going through small towns with their low power lines and tree limbs is still no fun. And the height of the overpasses is almost in neon to us now... we notice every single sign.

Third setback was that a couple of hours outside of Dallas, we stopped at Buc-ees and noticed that the generator appeared to be sagging a bit. We don't know if we just need to shorten the rail to get a better center of gravity, or whether the basket is a piece of crap. We bought it at Harbour Freight so I'm leaning toward crap...

By then it was after 6 pm, so we decided to change our plans and stay near Dallas instead.

Then came the storm... we're talking the rain drops that fall with a splat. Followed by hail. Followed by me not being able to see anything (didn't have my glasses on but I'm not sure they would have helped much)... to more hail... I was a nervous wreck, but I had Gracie in my lap and she was on the verge of freaking out so I tried to stay calm. Mike was just pissed about the hail.

It's almost 11 pm. I have a load of laundry going and we're watching Letterman. We still haven't tried our carryout satellite... too tired to care. We're getting decent channels by letting the tv scan the airwaves. I will say that the new A/C is WONDERFUL... instead of sweating and being miserable, we may actually pull the comforter up tonight. It's the little things.

Yesterday we left Gracie in a cage with the RV while they worked on it... they kept the air going for her... Thought we were doing her a favor by not subjecting her to the truck, and it was easier on us because we didn't have to the leave the truck running. She went batshit crazy when we let her out... tried to dig her way into the couch... not under it... into it. Today we decided she needed to come with us while we ran errands. Mike has been wanting to let her out of the cage to explore the truck, I've been nervous about it. She mostly sat on the console between us, in my lap, or in the floorboard at my feet. Sometimes she would sit in front of the cage. Before we open the door I put her in the cage so she won't get out of the truck. Anyway, she's wandering around as if nothing happened... I guess she just needs to be with us and she's fine.

Tomorrow... good lord I hope tomorrow is far less interesting than today was... I would be happy with ordinary and uneventful... Guess they call it an adventure for a reason. :)