Sweet Home Alabama

We drove just a couple hours today...from Long Beach, MS to the Escapees "Plantation" in Summerdale, Alabama.  We were in and out of rain, thunder and lightning the whole way.  Luckily we were able to get parked and hooked up without getting soaked, but when we drove into Fairhope to stock up on groceries at Walmart, we weren't as lucky.  We're parked on grass, and puddles/ponds circle the RV and we didn't put down our levelers for fear of sinking in the soft ground.  We went to the clubhouse for the Sunday evening Ice Cream Social and met up with friends Norm and Linda Payne.  We hadn't seen them in person since we camped together in Mexico in 2006, but have emailed them often over the years...especially this week when Tom was seeking advice on the light situation.  We had a chance to catch up on adventures and will meet them tomorrow to go out to eat.  We got a phone call from some former Palm Creek neighbors who are now touring Alaska and it was great to hear about their adventures up there, too.  We'll be here a couple more days and are looking forward to a few days without the white lines along the road.

We've seen the light!

We left Vinton, LA around 9am today, continuing our coast-to-coast tour of I-10 heading east...still without any lights on the tow car.  In Hammond, Louisiana we stopped at another Camping World.  The tech there was kind enough to rewire our electrical cable and it worked - except when we turned on the turn signal, we got a left on the RV and a right on the car - at the same time!  They were extremely busy in the service department, so Tom rewired it again, rechecked a few more things, replaced some fuses and, wow, WE HAD LIGHT!  And they were co-ordinated!  That took another couple of hot humid hours, so we stopped for the day at Long Beach, Mississippi.  We had thunder and lightning and rain off and on all afternoon, so it was pretty dreary out, but we took a drive along the Gulf coast.  The beaches are miles and miles of white sand.  Across the highway from the sand is, for the most part, just empty land dotted with an occasional old foundation, an old parking lot and some scrawny trees.  Every once in a while there is a beautiful home or an apartment building and a shiny Walmart that most likely have been rebuilt since the devastation of Katrina.  There were a few people in the water here and there, but we didn't get close enough to tell if there was any oil in the water.  In Gulfport we stopped at the Island View Casino, joined their players club and used the free slot play to earn enough for one of our seafood buffet dinners.  Driving back home we had fog - not fun in the dark in a strange place...but we found our way.  Tomorrow we plan to be at the Escapees Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL and will stay for a few days.

Exit Texas

We finally crossed the border to exit Texas...but not without some frustration.  We left Happy Oaks a little before nine and drove about 45 minutes to the Camping World in Katy, TX.  We spent almost 3 hours there while Tom worked on the electrical cable that attaches the RV and the tow car.  Our coach running lights still do not work and after he worked on the electrical stuff last night, our right turn signal didn't work.  The techs at Camping World offered suggestions and a few spare parts, but would not have time to work on it for us till Wednesday of next week.  So, Tom worked on it for quite a while.  We finally decided that we needed to get through Houston so we headed east again.  Actually, getting through the city was not too bad.  Traffic was not too heavy and was moving well and there was only a few miles of construction.  We stopped in Vinton, Louisiana at an RV park where we stayed a few years back.  Definitely not the greatest, but certainly convenient.  Several more hours of work on the lights and they are still not working, but we still have lots of heat and humidity.  Tomorrow's another day :-)

Still in Texas.

We didn't sleep all that well last night because of the humidity and then at about 6:25 a large lawn mower went right under our bedroom windows.  What a wake up call!  So, we got up and dressed, ran into Walmart for some fresh apple fritters and were movin' on down the road by 6:45.  We went a whole 11 miles to a rest area, parked and went back to bed for another two hours.  Leaving the Kerrville Walmart in the early light of day we discovered that our coach "running lights" were not operating.  They may have been out for a year or two as we never drive in the dark and didn't think to check them.  The headlights, brake and turn signals all work fine.  At the rest area we fiddled with switches, wires and fuses but nothing helped.  Later on down the road at another rest area we called Spartan and they made a couple suggestions and emailed us a 96 page wiring diagram (gee, thanks!)  So, we're still without the lights...but don't plan on driving in the dark.  We did come through a couple miles of good rain this afternoon and then decided to go for a place with hookups for the night....will enjoy the A/C (thermometer says its 92) and get some laundry done.  We even picked up a WiFi signal from somewhere here at Happy Oaks RV park near Columbus, TX.  We whizzed through San Antonio but will tackle Houston tomorrow.

Texas is a big state!

We've driven across Texas quite a few times in the last ten years...we think it got bigger!  Man, is there a lot of nothing as you drive across I-10.  We did notice the difference in color...it got far greener as we headed east.  And, as we got closer to San Antonio, there were the famous wildflowers along the highway, but they were definitely past their prime - as in mostly brown.  We stopped for the night in Kerrville where we had stayed 4 years ago at Walmart.  We thought of the McCurdy's as we faced our dinner dilema.  Within 100 yards of our parking spot we had McDonald's, Wendy's, Chilli's, Sonic, Starbucks, Quizno's, Culver's and CiCi's.  Big spenders as we are, we ate dinner in the midst of a 12 year old's softball team awards dinner at CiCi's.  It was actually quite tasty.  More of Texas to come on Thursday.

Success

We were waiting at "Casa Decor" when they opened this morning and were successful in getting the piece of furniture that Beth and Geoff want.  Good thing we don't have a home to furnish...I could have bought lots of stuff there!  We were on the road into Texas by 10:30 and arrived in Balmorhea at the Sadleback Mountain RV Park around 5:00 Central Daylight Time.  Looks like we had just missed a nasty rain.  The goal for tomorrow is Boerne, TX.

A few errands to run

On Monday we made several stops in Las Cruces. Most importantly for our stop here, we took on a small stock of "Hatch" brand chilies, salsa and sauces that Geoff and Beth's taste buds are missing. We also met the couple who will be leasing their house as they came to see where the house is and peek in the windows before they meet with the property manager on Tuesday. (From Alabama, they agreed to lease the house on advice from a relative.) They were quite surprised to find us and our rig sitting in the driveway. Today (Tuesday) we will go to run another errand for Beth and then plan to be on our way to Balmorhea, TX. We're not sure what internet access we'll have crossing Texas.

Las Cruces, New Mexico

The house is hiding behind the trees while

our rig and car sit in the driveway.

This morning we moved on from Lordsburg to Las Cruces, New Mexico with a strong wind helping us along. We are settled in for a two night stay at the home of Mary’s cousin, Geoff. Unfortunately, Geoff and his wife Beth have moved to Virginia. Their gorgeous home, where we have enjoyed wonderful visits in the past, will be leased shortly. In the meantime we are grateful for a place to park and will run some errands for Geoff and Beth and enjoy the beautiful mountain and desert views - and their hospitality in spite of their absence.

The view from the patio.

Our life is flexible!

The weather in southern Arizona this May has been absolutely wonderful!!! We were in no rush and had no time sensitive schedule. We enjoyed a get-together with friends who were leaving for Alaska and had worked on our shrinking list of "Things to Do." A few more of our neighbors departed for their summer adventures. We played our daily 18 holes of free golf. Finally we picked Friday, May 21 as our departure day, completed our list of chores and said good-by to our remaining neighbors and golfing buddies. But, departure was not to happen! When we turned the key, the Dutch Star diesel engine burped and fell silent. There were phone calls, a battery boost, alarms and flashing lights, an overnight charging, more attempts at starting, and lastly, after one more early morning round of golf and visiting many of Casa Grande's auto parts stores, a purchase and installation of two new batteries. Hooray! The engine started right up on the first try. So, we put in the slides and unhooked our power once again, hooked up the car and were on our way. It was about 11:15am Saturday, May 22 when we got on I-10 heading towards Tucson. Tom was well aware of the winds that the weatherman had predicted, but we drove on…and with a rest stop in Benson, made it to our first goal of Lordsburg, NM.

Getting Ready!

We've slowly been working our way down the list of "Things to Do" before we hit the road.  The weather here at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ is as perfect as we can ever remember for this time of year...cool evenings and mornings and bright and sunny during the day...allowing for a full complement of outdoor living.  Only about 200 of the almost 1900 sites are actually occupied and we are enjoying the peace and quiet.  There are still friends with whom we can enjoy a round of golf, a set of tennis and some time socializing on the patio.  We're in no hurry, but plan to be back on the road sometime the week of May 17th.