Packing the personal items and stuff that we use until the last minute - like this computer. Today is Rolling North Day. See you down the road
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I had my doubts that everything we were hauling to the coach this time was going to fit in the Equinox. Joan said, "It all fit fine last time we left home." I reminded her that we had the e-bikes on the back of the car on a rack - this time, my e-bike is riding inside the Equinox (she left hers home). The stuff...
Yep, she made it all fit... and still room for the 3 of us. It wouldn't be normal if we got off the island without getting caught by the bridge being out...
You can see the tug pushing a couple barges in the background.
Rufus rode fine in the car. He likes the motorhome better, because he can move around, get himself a snack. It was the first "home" he knew with us, so he feels safe and content in the coach. He generally rides on the console between us in the Equinox. He's a good boy. :-)
Out to the motorhome. We put away the stuff we hauled out. Unplugged the coach and backed it into our storage unit so we could hook up the cargo trailer. Pulled out, closed up the storage unit, and... we're off!
About an hour into the drive, we come to the Border Patrol Inspection Station; a lot more traffic than we have experienced in the past...
"Are you a US citizen?"
"Yes, sir."
"Anyone else in there with you?"
"Just me and the cat. My wife is behind us in the Equinox."
"Have a good day," he said as he waved me on.
The obligatory stop at the only rest area between Brownsville and Corpus Christi... not for the peeing, but to do a walk-around and check that everything is riding OK in the cargo trailer. All good. Joan made sandwiches for us, I fed Ruf, and we rolled again.
We had a mostly tailwind as we rolled north. Around Kingsville, we turn slight northeast, making it a direct crosswind, with the southeast wind. At Corpus, we get on I-37 and drive mostly northwest - back to a tailwind again.
We are down for 2 nights in our regular RV park just south of San Antonio. This will give us the opportunity to dump and flush tanks once more, then put on 2/3 of a tank of fresh water. Tomorrow, we'll hit up a big H.E.B. store... after we sleep in. We try to get to a minimum of groceries in the house before we leave for a while.
We stop at this RV park because they take Passport America. When I went in to pay and get escorted to our site, the price the lady gave me sounded high... I asked, "Did you give me the Passport America discount?"
"We've been having a lot of trouble with people saying they have Passport when they don't."
I said, "I would not be one of those people," as I showed her the card.
"Why isn't there an expiration date on this card?" she asked.
"See right there across the bottom, where it says 'Lifetime Member'? It doesn't expire until I die."
It cut the significantly over-priced cost to just moderately over-priced. ;-)
We got to our site and I started getting the rig's utilities set up while Joan got things ready inside. Yep, it is hot here. About 10º hotter than at home, but less humidity... so the "Misery Index" is about the same. I got my exercise by going in and out of the coach a bunch of times to get the tanks flushed, dumped, rinse and repeat.
This park has "new owners" (same owners for the past year and a half), so that's how the lady at the office explained the Passport America situation, and the fact that you get a receipt by e-mail instead of paper. Not a big deal; it's a place to stay where we know our way around this end of town (San Antonio is a big city - 7th largest city in the US. (Yes, Phoenix is bigger, but it isn't a contest.)
I don't know if I'll get Rufus out for a walk - maybe tomorrow first thing in the morning, if it cools off enough. The boy is furry. Plus, he's a good boy. (That's two drinks for Earl if you're keeping track.)
It's good to finally be on the road again. Hope it cools down as we head north.
4 comments:
Earl *IS* keeping track. Two drinks down, and now Friday afternoon is looking up. Alice is in Boston at a flute gathering again, so I’m solo taking care of 2.5 cats. (The feral black cat has been hungry of late). Safe travels!
Glad to hear you are keeping track, Earl! It's important for Rufus to be told he's a good boy. (drink) You surprised me with that "2.5 cats" comment - I thought maybe you got a "tie breaker" kitten. But, looking after a feral cat... you're a good boy. (Rufus just took a drink) ;-)
Doing our best at that safe travels thing; still brutally hot, so we aren't pushing it. We'll take a local day tomorrow, now that we got some miles in. Lots of cars on the road today, especially in the southbound lanes out of San Antonio - I'm guessing a lot of people are heading to the coast for the weekend.
Let me know if I need to do a "welfare check" on you, since you are a solo cat wrangler again. Best wishes!
A black cat - obviously feral - showed up last year. We cleverly called him Blackie. He was in rough shape so we put out food and water, and set up a cat igloo with an old heating pad on the back porch. We still cannot get within 5-6 feet of him, but he comes around regularly for food and only retreats a few feet. He spends a lot of time in our shop. I put in a cat flap years ago so our kitties could take shelter from the weather and any stray dogs. The shop is unheated, but dry and out of the wind. This is a tough climate for feral cats, and we helped him through the winter. We can’t rescue them all, but we can help one or two.
I’ll be ok without a welfare check. Duke is keeping an eye on me, and Lucy too. And Alice checks in daily too.
We can certainly make a difference in a furry one's life. Good for you on helping Blackie. It has to be a tough life for a feral cat.
When we first met Molly (the subject of the book Cat On A Leash), it was because she came around - she didn't want food, she was craving some attention. Perhaps the opposite of feral; she adopted us before we knew she already had a home. I think there's a story in there somewhere. ;-)
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