More adventures from Texas

The weather was so bad last week, with ice everywhere, they cancelled Wed. night services.   By Friday, temperatures were creeping above freezing and the snow and ice began to melt.  We got about 4-5" of snow in Waxahachie on Tuesday.  It covered the sheet of ice that was still on the roads.  Another front came in bringing freezing rain and snow on  Sunday night and then another on Wednesday of this week.

On Sunday we got up at 5:30 a.m.   Ron hooked up the trailer to the RV and moved it (and the RV) to the back parking lot of the church in Waxahachie. 

We left by car at 7 a.m. to drive to Palestine, two hours southeast.  We had a wonderful day with the people at this fine congregation.  We went to lunch with the preacher and his wife and then left for the two hour drive to Mesquite (southeast part of Dallas).  Many people at Palestine were interested in the work but more people at Mesquite were eager to leave to get home to watch part of the Super Bowl.  We got back to Waxahachie about 8 p.m. and quickly changed into our work clothes and began hooking up the car.  It was beginning to rain and the wind was strong and cold.

With the new trailer we have to use for the car we brought from Atlanta, we are both learning how to do it.  It's more complicated than the other system of pulling the car.  Ron has to drive the front wheels of the car onto this dolly.  He was not centered completely Sunday night, as we discovered after strapping one tire.  I am the watchdog helping him drive onto the trailer, but I can't see both sides of the car at once because I can't go far enough back.  Ron has not been doing the strapping correctly so he could not get that tire "unstrapped" to relocate the car.  He left it and strapped the other tire on anyway.   With the car not centered properly, a dent was put in the front of the car when he turned corners.

Ron worked on the electrical getting signals and brake lights to work earlier in the week so we thought we were all set.  It was about 9 p.m. by the time we pulled away.  We had not driven very far until he noticed black smoke coming from the trailer.  We pulled off and he discovered the brake on the trailer was staying on.  He disconnected it and we drove on to Austin without brake lights working on the trailer.  When we arrived at the church where we park in Austin, a police car was sitting in the drive, hiding to stop speeders.  He didn't offer to move for us to pull in, so Ron must have run over the curb with one of the tires on the RV or the trailer.  Cabinet doors flew open and we had crashing dishes flying everywhere.  I thought I had everything really secured properly but it wasn't enough this time.  I have broken about half of my glasswear so the next purchase will be melomine (I hate using paper plates all the time).  We got to Austin about midnight and to sleep by 1 a.m. after I cleaned up the broken glass.

The next day we were really tired but we needed to drive on to San Antonio to get away before the next weather front moved in.  We got gas at WalMart and headed to San Antonio, arriving at the Iron Horse RV repair place about noon.  The workers were going to lunch so we sat in the parking lot for two hours before they moved us to a lower lot and hooked us up to power.  We stayed there overnight.

I was in the shower when the guy arrived to start work so I quickly dressed and dried my hair.  It wasn't long until he decided they did not have the equipment to test the speedometer problem so he made arrangements for us to relocate to Freightliner on the other side of San Antonio.  Freightliner makes the RV we own, so they should be able to correct it.

Iron Horse RV repaired the trailer electrical system, but it cost $275.   They had a meeting while the clock was running on our repair work.  It should not have taken nearly that long to repair, but they charge $125 per hour. 
Men will not ask for direction and they won't ask for help if they can avoid it either.  I would have gotten the men at Iron Horse RV to show me how to strap the tires, but Ron went to the internet and studied the pictures again.  Nothing came with the trailer - no book, no directions on how to do anything. 

Ron suggested I just drive the car and not hook it up but I did not want to do that.  If I got separated from him at a traffic light, I would have to wing my way without him.  I am not adventurous, as you all know, and I've never been in San Antonio before.  I want things to go smoothly (it seldom does).  Traffic was horrendous and I was really glad I did not try to drive separately.   Anyway, I told Ron he needed practice hooking up (strapping) the car on. This time Ron got the strapping done correctly because it was easy when we got ready to take the car off.  If the strap goes in wrong, it's difficult to get the pressure released to take it off, as we found out Sunday night.

The man at Iron Horse RV gave us "general" directions to Freightliner. I went to Google and printed out what I thought was the best route. The two GPS's  (one for "trucks") came up with two more routes.  That makes a total of four different ways to get to this place.  I looked at the blown up map of San Antonio in the Road Atlas to see where we were and where we were going and chose a route from that.  The GPS went crazy for a while because we were going a different way, but finally it picked up on the route and helped us get here safely.

We got to Freightliner about 4:00 p.m.  Since they do repairs for large trucks, this place looks like a truck stop with trucks everywhere.   But no food!   We are packed in the back parking lot where they have hookups for about six RV's.   I think we were alone here last night although there are two RV's beside us waiting for repairs. 

It has been over a week since we've been to the grocery.  The weather was so horrible last week, we just didn't want to get out and try it.  We had a lot of staples on hand so I cooked black beans one day and made soup another day.
With a small fridge and freezer, we were running short of a lot of things.   After we hooked up last night at Freightliner, we headed to the nearest Sam's Club.  We had little to eat for lunch, so we stopped and ate at a seafood restaurant.  I told Ron we would buy less at the store if we ate first.  At Sam's, we can only buy the big size of things we use regularly.  We store the extra in the bins on the outside of the RV.  There is a lot of storage space in these things.

I still refer to the RV as a "thing."  Sometimes my term is not that kind.  I think Iron Horse is a good name for a repair place.  Sometimes, I refer to it as a "piece of metal" or "piece of junk."   I sat without power for an hour or two yesterday and watched the RV's coming in for repair.   Mostly, they were the luxury-liners, very expensive and big!   No matter which one you have, there will always be expensive repairs.  Sitting inside are the poor women, like me, that trail around after husbands that love doing this stuff.  Most of them are old (guess they are the only ones that can afford them).  The luxury-liner models are nice inside and they cost anywhere from $125,000 to $250,000.   Ron overhead one owner say he had owned his for less than a year but might trade it sometime this year.  If I had that much money to spend, it would not be for an RV, no matter how nice it is inside.  I'd go for a condo on the beach!!

I keep telling Ron that I am out of my league in this RV world.  He won't let me buy a cowgirl hat, boots and rhinestone belt, which is my image of a Texas RV babe.   Instead, we are parked at Freightliner with big trucks all around.  I guess my jeans and Old Navy hooded jacket will do just fine.  I have not taken up with the other truck driver traits.

We have a good hook up with 50 amp power, water and sewage connection.  I am doing several loads of laundry today since we have these good facilities.  I can't complain too much.   My little washer/dryer combination has been a great blessing.  I guess that was my Christmas present.  I call the new trailer for the car, Ron's present.   When he bought it he said,  "this can be our Christmas present."   My reaction?   "No way, it's not my present; it's a boy toy and nothing I ever wanted."   He said he always wanted a dolly for Christmas so he finally got it.   I got a washing machine instead.

I cannot help but marvel at this lifestyle - not necessarily from a good viewpoint.  It is not easy to do all the work associated with an RV and travel extensively like we do, never knowing where we will be parked the next week. 
If we were young "whippersnappers" it might be a truly fun way to live but with old backs and bodies, we are often very tired after a day's travel.  It is a lot of stress even when everything goes well. 


I love to crochet while we travel because it helps keep my hands busy and my mind occupied so I don't stress out so much.  Traveling at night is the worst because I can't do anything except watch the road and the traffic. 

Am I blessed?  Absolutely!  I thank HIM every day for a roof over my head, warm bed, shower and good food.  I have all the clothing and material things I can possibly use (even more than I can use).  I have no need of anything.  I am blessed with a simpler life style.  We aren't busy all the time now.  We don't have a lot of other things we have to do.  It takes about a hour to clean the RV and only about 10 minutes to wash dishes.  Is this simply life style the reason people buy RV's and travel?   I haven't seen anything worth driving to see but I'm sure others go sightseeing to more beautiful locations than we do.

However, we go to the best places on earth each time we meet with the saints.  We feel like family wherever we go.  We never feel like we are with strangers.  God is blessing us with good contacts and some additional good supporters.  We are indeed very blessed! 

Never take my whining and complaining as a sign that I do not count my blessings.  I do, daily.  I just never viewed myself with this lifestyle and it's taken some acceptance and adjustments.  I'm doing great so no one should worry about me.  I am also blessed with a good husband that loves me.  I get more hugs because you can hardly pass each other in the hallway, bath or bedroom without taking turns so we hug each other often.  You have to be very good friends to live in an RV.

We are also blessed because our children are doing well and we get to talk to them every day (via computer).  Ronald is resting while they celebrate Chinese New Year holidays in China.  He has had several cold, difficult months with some hard work so he deserves his break.  Leigh Ann is learning Quick Books so she can take over our accounting work when Judy returns to China in March.  We are grateful for our children's involvement in the work and for their tender hearts for the orphaned children.

"We all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid 'stinkin' thinkin' which ultimately leads to hardening of the attitudes."