0024 - Never a Dull Moment

On today's episode of The LeBlanc Travel Diaries...

We got our carrier back, Bruce did an awesome job, and our generator is nice and secure. The RV park was nice enough to let us stay a little late, sort of like a late checkout in a hotel room, and we left around 2:30 pm.

We made it just past Texarkana, into Arkansas, and were pulled over by a State Trooper. I knew he was checking us out... he got in the lane next to us, got even with us then dropped back... and then came the lights. He said we were riding the line and didn't know if it was just the trailer or what, then he proceeded to ask Mike twenty questions - one of which was... ahem... "LeBlanc... what nationality is that?"

I am not joking. I wanted to say "American, dumbass..." but that's inappropriate.

He gave us a warning, so at least there's that. Arkansas is a very welcoming place. *cough*

Our truck has been acting up a little. While Mike is driving, the acceleration suddenly cuts out and he can floor it and maintain about 60-70 mph... starting from a standstill is painful. It doesn't do it all the time, but was happening enough to concern us. So about fifteen minutes from tonight's campsite the truck tells us under no uncertain terms that we need to get to a dealer. Wouldn't let us change the display back to mpg or miles to empty, just kept that message up... find dealer... need immediate service.

So... we may be here for a day or two until we can figure out what's going on. It's a nice place... lots of people here... it's on the water and it's a weekend so I guess I should have expected that. Didn't get to check it out much since it was almost dark when we pulled in and there was a nice storm brewing. We were rushing to get the 5'er ready so we'd be safe inside. I'm not sure it isn't just bluster, but there was a lot of rumbling and some nice wind and lightning. They were nice enough to change last night's reservation to tonight, so we didn't get charged twice. Hopefully if we need to we can stay put tomorrow. I'd like to get to TN... maybe bad luck will stop at the border...

023 - Road Trip

We decided to stay another day in Mansfield. As Mike would say, it's hot as ballz here... This is what I picture when I think of Phoenix in the height of summer. Mind you, I've never been to Phoenix... I just imagine it to be one of the hottest places on earth. To give you an idea, I went outside for about 20 mins and am now a crispy critter. I guess that's not an accurate guide for most people since I burn pretty easily anyway, but I'm feeling almost blistered so I assume 'normal' people would be feeling the heat, too. Despite that, it was nice to stay in one place for a day and relax a bit. We were still on the hunt for a solution to our generator issue, but we got to take our time instead of trying to turn and burn.

In my case, I slept in this morning (8:30)!!! Mike came home about an hour after I woke up, he went to get gas and somehow ended up at WalMart... that's the way it goes I guess. He got some cool stuff though... a wastebasket for the bathroom, which sounds silly, but you miss having one when it's not there... a bath mat... a mat for the entry... towels because ours are all dirty and I haven't been able to do much laundry lately... good homey stuff. And we have similar tastes so I don't have to worry that he'll buy fugly stuff. :) For the rest of the day we tinkered around the house for a bit, looked around for towing baskets and welding shops, and had a late lunch.

We're at the Texan RV Ranch. It's nice here. Quiet. Graveled versus paved, which does make a difference in how our self-leveling jacks behave... but all in all, easy to get to, generous space, some landscaping, and they have a general store which is nice, because there's nothing within walking distance. There is a lot within driving distance though. I would recommend it. Saw some 'parks' on the way in that I wouldn't recommend... they were barely more than parking lots. Depressing.

Our first stay was at Marina Bay RV Resort in Kemah. It was uber convenient, Target, WalMart, Home Depot, tons of restaurants. Really liked it. We used the shower facilities since we were parked at Holiday World for two nights, and they were spacious and sparkling clean. I still wore flip-flops, but if it ain't my shower, I'm not ditching them for anything, so that isn't anything against the park. The people who work there are really friendly, too... so far they all seem to be.

Selecting a restaurant from a list of names on a GPS is hard to do... you don't know what you're getting so it's risky... but we lucked out. We ate lunch at an amazing restaurant, Steven's Garden and Grill... everything was delicious, and the setting was nice. It was kind of out of the way, surrounded by metal buildings which seemed more industrial in nature, but once you turn the corner there is a nice patio with landscaping and tables. Half of what makes a meal memorable is the atmosphere of the restaurant, and this place had a relaxing vibe. I imagine it's packed in the evening, we picked an odd time because we ate a late breakfast.

Because it's so hot we ate inside, which is wood paneled and smelled of barbecue. I had a half of a half rack of baby back ribs, which were delicious even without the sauce, mushrooms, and baked potato salad (basically escalloped). Mike had brisket and sausage with mac and cheese, and the baked potato salad. Some of the food made it home with us... not much. Then we had pecan cobbler for dessert, which was basically pecan pie a la mode... also yummy. I would venture to say there isn't much there that wouldn't make your toes curl.

Just before lunch we decided we liked the more relaxed pace of today, so we are not going to set a deadline to arrive in Gainesboro. Instead we're going to take our time and make this a road trip. We needed to slow down... we've been pushing ourselves for the better part of two years now, and these last couple of months especially, have been monsters. I'm already feeling better about things.

And we found a place that can reinforce our hitch basket (that there is a technical term), Bruce's Welding. The guy had no problem doing a rush job so that we move on tomorrow. I figure we'll head for Little Rock. It's about five hours from here, so even if we get on the road around noon, we still arrive early evening and have time to set up and get dinner.

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. :)