Day 2 of our travels brought us to Silver City, New Mexico. Richard and I had stayed at Rose Valley RV Park about nine or ten years ago. It is a nice park.
We were assigned a nice long site with a privacy fence. Easy --- did not have to unhook the truck and trailer!
The next day, we headed to Texas. It was a 273 mile trip to Van Horn. The RV park where we stayed was a former KOA. It was a nice park with a lovely little lake.
The RV park had a cafe. It was nice to order take-out breakfast on a travel day. We also enjoyed a very nice sunrise.
That morning, we noticed a lot of oil on our trailer and on our truck. Darn! The diesel truck must have another oil leak :-(
The RV park reception desk recommended M&M Wrecker in Van Horn. We called them and drove a short distance to their establishment. They thought it might be an oil pan leak. But, they were not equipped to fix the problem.
Tom purchased extra motor oil at the local Napa Auto Parts and we headed east on Interstate 10. I called Rick and he gave me the name of a reputable auto service place in Austin, near where we were staying. Tom and I didn't want to get bogged down with truck service issues in small towns.
The next stop was Sonora, Texas. It was about 263 miles. The little RV park where we had reservations served as a mobile home park too. Five day earlier, the nearby river overflowed without warning and flooded the park. The park was dry by the time we got there, but some of the cars, RVs, and mobile homes had bad water damage.
Kelsey and Libby seemed to have no trouble sleeping soundly that evening!
The last leg of our trip to Austin was only 191 miles. I called Austin's Auto Specialists --- about our oil leak. They said to bring the truck by their shop in the afternoon. We arrived at La Hacienda RV Resort around noon. We set up the trailer, had a bite to eat, and drove to the repair facility. We left the dogs in the trailer. Up the hydraulic lift the truck went!
Bad news...the rear main seal had to be replaced. They would hold it overnight and begin work on Friday. It was going to be a 1 to 1 1/2 day job with the cost being several thousand dollars. Oh well, it is a 16 year old truck with over 333,000 miles!
We were taken back to our RV park in a courtesy car. The park is only 10 minutes away. Rick picked us up at 6:00 pm. We had cocktails and dinner at their home. I had not been to their home in Steiner Ranch for six years.
Joell made fish tacos and chicken enchiladas. Yum! Rick was a great bartender with flowing margaritas and Moscow Mules!
Friday, Rick and Joell picked us up to go visit their wedding venue property near Dripping Springs. They purchased 38 acres of "hill country" unimproved land and are building a huge modern barn and venue sight for weddings. The water and electricity infrastructure are in, the barn is built, but not yet complete. The four of us walked through the building and visited two wedding places --- sunset hill and the grove.
The property, Mae's Ridge, is incredible. Joell created the plans and artistic concept and Rick has done most of the work himself.
The next stop was a brewery, Twisted X Brewing Company. There, we met up with Andrea and Skip Cooley. They live across the street from Rick and Joell in Steiner Ranch and were out and about that day too. We then made a caravan to nearby Deep Eddy Vodka. We all enjoyed adult beverages!
Rick and Joell have a favorite barbecue restaurant in the area, Salt Lick BBQ. The four of us went there for a late lunch or early dinner while Andrea and Skip headed out for more adult beverages! We ordered our barbecue meals and sat in their wooded courtyard.
My truck is still not quite ready to be picked up at Austin's Automotive Specialists. Fortunately, they are open on Saturdays!
The fun set up for Saturday was going to downtown Austin. The Austin City Limits Music Festival was in full gear, so Rick took us to the downtown area in a "round about" way. But, it worked! The first stop was the YETI Flagship Store. I was not knowledgeable about YETI, but Tom was. YETI is a company that specializes in sporting good coolers and drinking devices. I dove right in and bought my very own YETI.
It was a nice fall day to walk around the downtown area.
We had a late lunch or early dinner at a North Italia Restaurant. Even though it is a high end chain, the food was delicious!
University of Texas was playing University of Oklahoma in football at a Dallas, Texas stadium. As we walked through the downtown area, we stopped several times to check on the game. Fun! The Longhorns beat the Sooners! It was an upset, as Oklahoma was ranked 7th in the nation and Texas was ranked 19th.
On Sunday, I walked the dogs (as usual!) around La Hacienda RV Resort. This is a very nice park located less than 20 minutes from the Austin Ebberts. It was a lazy morning. We were not meeting up with with the Ebberts at their Steiner Ranch home until early afternoon.
The plan for today was going boating on Lake Austin. Rick and Joell co-own a boat with their neighbors, Skip and Andrea. The boat slip is at the home of another couple, maybe 15 minutes away. Grandsons, Jake and Beck, joined us. The weather cooperated!
Lake Austin was formed by the dam below Lake Travis. But, all is part of the Texas Colorado River. Rick drove the speed boat.
Jake played interactive games on his phone.
And Beck surfed the wake.
Tom and I were willing spectators.
We got off the water at about 6:00 pm. There is a Mexican Restaurant near our RV Park. It was decided to have dinner together there, at Los Pinos. After dinner, the six of us went to our travel trailer. Beck and Jake have never met Kelsey and Libby. We took a family photo.
It was time to say our good-byes, as Tom and I were leaving in the morning.
The next day, we drove 253 miles to the Gulf Coast RV Resort in Beaumont. East of Houston, we got off for some gas in Baytown, Texas. I was driving and pulled into a Texaco station. The diesel pumps were not well placed, so I pulled around and the trailer hit a three foot post! Darn! Darn! Darn! Hopefully the slide was not damaged.
We reached the Beaumont RV park at about 3:30 pm. We were assigned a nice pull-thru site. It was a pretty RV park, but the ground and grass were soggy with recent rain. It was here that I had my first experience with chigger bites. Ouch! We tested the slide where we hit the post. It worked fine. Thank goodness.
Breakfast was included at this park. So, the next morning, we helped ourselves to making a Texas waffle. A first!
That day, our commute to Slidell, Louisiana, was 283 miles. Our destination was Pine Crest RV Resort. The park was fairly old, but did have pull-thru sites. We were assigned site #10. We managed to get into the site, but it was a tight fit. Part of the park backs up to Lake Pontchartrain and part of the park has a pond with signs posted like this one!
The office knew that we were not unhooking our truck. They suggested a nifty service called waitr.com. I loaded the app on my phone. It is like an Uber for food. We ordered two dinners from the Copeland's of New Orleans Restaurant and it was delivered within 30 minutes. The service costs an additional $4.95. The pastas were delicious!
It was here at this park that Tom and I both realized that the damage from the Texaco station in Baytown, Texas, may involve the tire axle. One of the tires is cocked.
Tom and I knew that this issue needed to be addressed. We took the rig to a local automotive repair shop. They said that this was a more complicated matter and they could not handle it. The owner was kind enough to make a number of phone calls. His best recommendation was to go to Anfield Trailers, about 18 miles to the west. So, we drove to Anfield Trailers. There, we asked for Michael Carr --- the owner. Michael and his father-in-law Charlie took a look.
It was determined that the tire and axle were damaged when I was driving and the trailer hit the gas station post. The mechanic, Bud, also got involved. Michael began to call various places to find a replacement axle. There were none to be found. The axle is an odd size. Even the manufacturer had none! I called my insurance company to begin the claim process. Serious problem-solving action took place. Michael had an axle that could replace the damaged one, but it was a different size and modifications would need to be made. A matching axle was ordered and it was coming overnight.
Michael and Bud suggested that Tom and I take the trailer and spend the night at a local state park --- Fountainebleau. We were "walk-in" campers, but the park had a nice pull-thru site available.
The state park is beautiful. It used to be a plantation. The dogs and I enjoyed some long walks that afternoon. The next-day check-out time was 1:00 pm. So, the next morning, the dogs and I walked to the pier and beach area of Lake Pontchartrain.
Tom and I dropped the trailer off at Anfield Trailers Thursday morning. We decided to spend the night in Slidell at the La Quinta Inn. Dogs are not an extra charge. Dinner was Panda Express take-out. Tom has never eaten there. Richard and I used to go to the Flagstaff location about once a week.
A late check-out was requested for Friday. First thing in the morning, Tom and I picked up the bad trailer tire and a new (!) flat tire --- from the other side of the trailer. We dropped the two tires off at Advantage Tire. We still had hours to kill before our trailer was fixed. We went back to the Fountainebleau State Park and I showed Tom the pier and beach area.
After that visit, we drove further east on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. At about 4:00 pm, we checked in at Anfield Trailer.
Bud was working feverishly to fix the axle issue. He felt comfortable that it would be completed that day. Bud was an amazing fabrication specialist. He was able to do all the repair without using welding tools. The work was completed after the sun went down. I made reservations that night at Sun Roamers RV Resort --- up the road 30 miles --- in Picayune, Mississippi. We arrived there at 8:30 pm.
Welcome, Fall! Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations adorned the Sun Roamers RV Resort office building.
Because of the two extra days in the Slidell area, we had to make up mileage. So, we drove over 350 miles on Saturday --- to Attalla, Alabama. There, we stayed in a quiet RV park with no amenities.
The next morning, we only had 220 miles of driving to get us to the Knoxville, Tennessee area. We had a four night reservation at Whispering River RV Resort in Walland. The RV park was located on a gentle river called Little River.
We arrived at the park, set up, and went to the town of Alcoa --- about 20 minutes away --- to visit Tom's oldest son, Josh, and his wife, Stephanie. We planned to see them each day while we were in the area.
No comments:
Post a Comment