Yesterday morning we made the drive from Beaumont to San Marcos and of course, we had to travel through Houston. The manager of Hidden Lake advised us to go around Houston via the Sam Houston Tollway since there was a lot of construction being done in on I-10 in the downtown area. We did that and it turns out to have been a mistake.
After getting off of I-10 we made the mistake of getting on the EZ Pass only section of the highway. My first thought was, "this ain't so good Tonto". After a couple of exits we decided to just get off and onto the part of the Tollway we were supposed to be on in the first place. This section was nothing but a frontage road with several traffic lights and very heavy traffic.
After what seemed like miles and miles of that, the road finally got us on the freeway but then the traffic got really bad. When we finally came to a toll booth, I told the gal what we had done. She gave us a card with a phone number to call where we could pay the fee for the section we had run by mistake. Joyce called and yep, they had our license plate picture.
All-in-all going around Houston cost us $15.25 and added over thirty minutes to the drive. Should have ran I-10 and took our chances.
So, after all the stress of that trip, we are at the Pecan Park Campground just outside of San Marcos. This is a very nice Passport America park where we are hooked up to 50 amp electric, water and sewer for $18.50 a day. There is free cable TV and WiFi along with a swimming pool and other amenities as well.
Today we're going to do the factory outlet thing. The Columbia hiking shoes I have been wearing for several years have finally seen their better days so I hope to get a new pair here. After that we're having supper with Jim and Linda Hotz.
04/10/2013
Our visit with Jim and Linda yesterday afternoon at their home here was a lot of fun. We met them a couple of years ago when we were staying at Lockhart State Park and have become very good friends. Linda fixed a delicious steak dinner and the conversation was lively.
Jim gave me a beautiful knife that he has had for about 60 years. Thank you Mr. Jim!
They are in the process of selling their ranch here and buying a new home in Amarillo to be close to their daughter and her family. So, if anyone is interested in a beautiful 11-acre spread near San Marcos, check it out here: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/18700-San-Marcos-Hwy_Martindale_TX_78655_M77324-94815?row=2
There was a prediction of thunderstorms and heavy rain in this area for today but it looks like the front has missed us. When checking the radar this morning, it looks like the major stuff is north of Austin and all the way up into the Great Lakes region.
This morning we'll hook up and head down to San Antonio for a few days.
04/11/2013
We left San Marcos yesterday morning about 11 AM and headed south on I-35 arriving at Hidden Valley RV Park at 12:30. Traffic was very heavy which is not unusual for this stretch of the interstate but we made good time anyway.
All the hoopla about severe thunderstorms in this area of Texas didn't happen; just a lot of wind and rain in the morning which died down before we got on the road. Up north above Dallas, it was another story.
Our first order of business after getting set up in our site was to run up to the Sears store and have them order new shocks for our truck. Darrell, the service technician I had been working with, had already ordered them the day before. That was a pleasant surprise.
We have been having an intermittent problem with the air conditioning in the truck for a while now. Sometimes when driving with the AC running, the driver's side will start blowing hot air for no apparent reason. The issue always corrects itself when I shut the engine off and restart. Also, we didn't think that the AC was getting as cold as it should.
So, while at Sears we had them service the AC system in hopes that would correct the issues. It did, somewhat. The AC system was a pound low on freon so that fixed the temperature issue. However, although the left side is colder than before, it is still about five degrees warmer than the passenger side. Time for some internet troubleshooting before we take it in to the dealer.
Next on our list was to have some supper. I like Mexican food! No, I love Mexican food! and I haven't had good Mexican food since we left San Antonio last April. Our favorite restaurant here is Agave Mexican Restaurant on Pleasanton Rt. so that is where we headed.
To say that the chicken enchilada's were good is an understatement. They were great and of course, we ate too much.
04/13/2013
Change 2 to Plan 1A is in effect.
Looking at the weather over in the Big Bend National Park area, the forecast is for temperatures to get up to 104 degrees for the days we had planned to be there. Well, that is just a tad above what we want to experience right now so we have made some changes.
We're going to stay here in San Antonio until Monday then move over to Kerrville, TX for two days. Then we'll head west, spending one night in Fort Stockton and then on into Fort Bliss in El Paso. Kerrville is close enough to all the Hill Country that we can make a couple of day trips.
OK, Change 3 is now in effect.
I forgot to make reservations at Seal Beach Naval Base and they are booked solid. So, we'll have to bypass that part of the trip all together. Our plan (subject to change of course) is to leave El Centro NAS and then head up to March Air Reserve Base for a couple of nights and then go on up to Fresno. I'm going to miss seeing my cousin's who live near Seal Beach but maybe we can stop in there in the fall.
Yesterday Joyce and I went to see the new movie, "42, The Jackie Robinson Story", the story of his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Joyce and I both thought the film was outstanding, portraying very accurately what it must have been like for Jackie in 1947. Read more about Jackie on Wikipedia.
In the evening we had a nice fire in Bonfire Cove, a great way to end the day.
Hidden Valley
This guy was really good and having a ball!
Josh, the manager's son, and Levi, the new family addition.
Mark and Levi.
We left Hidden Valley about 9 AM and started the short drive to Kerrville, TX. A few miles up the road a truck pulled up next to us and yelled that on of our trailer tires was flat. I got the truck off on the side and discovered that all the tires had air but the right front one had some tread missing.
Fortunately, we were just down I-410 from the Discount Tire store where I bought truck tires last winter. Our trailer tires are a size that is usually not stocked but our service technician had a driver already at the warehouse so we got them in about an hour. We decided to replace all the tires since there was quite a bit of wear on all of them. So, 3.5 hours and $1800 later we got back on the road.
We're now at the Triple-T RV Park in Kerrville, a nice park off the beaten path that we've stayed in before. After getting parked, Joyce remembered we have a tire replacement coverage policy on our trailer tires. We tried the numbers on our policy form but both numbers were disconnected. However, I looked them up on the internet and the company had actually been taken over by another one.
This morning I called the company and was pleasantly surprised that they are going to cover the damaged tire even though we didn't call them before purchasing a new one.
Today we drove up to visit the Lyndon Baines Johnson National Historical Park in Stonewall, TX. Joyce and I had visited this beautiful park before but since we were last there, the National Park Service has opened President and Lady Bird's home. We really enjoyed our visit.
The school house where the President went to grade school. He actually started school when he was four years old.
The reconstructed birthplace of the President.
The President and Lady Bird's grave in the family cemetery.
The ranch is still a working cattle ranch.
The weights are to force the horns to grow curving down. The cattle are all champion Herefords used for showing. This bull is only a year old.
When the Johnson flew to the Western White House, the VC-137 would be parked in Austin. They would then be flown to the ranch on this VC-140 Jetstar, landing on the ranch's 6300 foot runway.
Until next time.
Barry & Joyce
