Um... you've got something "shiny" in your tire...

Today was a decent day... just seemed to take extra time to get anything done.

Packing last minute stuff and getting the house closed down.  The scoots are strapped down in their cargo trailer, and we are ready to roll.

We went out for lunch - nothing fancy... I wanted left over pizza to have with us on the road.  Pizza Hut wasn't busy, but it took a long time to get our meal.  I wanted to try their "pizza cookie," essentially a small pizza-size chocolate chip cookie.  Yeah, it took a long time to come out.

We went to the grocery store.  I could hear the radios (in my head), sending "blockers" out to get their carts in front of us.  When it came time to check out, I picked the shortest line - only one guy in front of us.  That guy moved in extra-slow-motion, getting the stuff out of his cart.  Then, after the young lady at the cash register had everything rung up, he decided to pull out his wallet.  He ran his card... nothing.  Ran it again... nothing.  "There must be something wrong with your machine," he said, "I have plenty of money on this card."  Ran it again... more nothing.  The young lady tried his card on her maching... "There you go," she said... then, nothing.  He just stood there and stared at the credit card machine.

Yes, all the lines that were longer than this one had moved faster.  The young lady finally called over the manager.  He looked at the card and said, "This is a Wal-Mart gift card - you are at HEB."

"Oh," the old guy said, "They look the same."  He pulled out another card; didn't look anything remotely close to the same.  The girl finally got his few items bagged up.

I said to her, "Is it OK if I use my gas card to charge this stuff?"

It was a joke.  She didn't get it.  She rang up our few items and we went to the truck.  The same "blockers" who had their carts clogging the aisles in the stores had now moved to the parking lot.

On to Wal-Mart.  No, the guy wasn't there trying to use his HEB gift card.  ;-)

Back home.  Getting the last few things done around the house, Mike and MJ came by to say goodbye.  We were outside visiting, when Mike said, "You probably don't want to hear this... (that is generally true when people say that), but you have something shiny in your tire."

A close look showed that there was a nail in the tire.  At 5:30 in the afternoon on a holiday Monday.  We did our hugs goodbye, and I called Wal-Mart to see how late their tire center is open.  No answer.  I hopped in the truck and headed there.  Yep, our bridge was out.  While waiting for the bridge, I took this sunset photo...

What else do you have to do while waiting for the bridge to come back in?  I called Wally World again while waiting... no answer.  I tried once more - an answer!  The woman transferred me to Auto & Tire.  Well, she tried.  Six times.  Seventh time was a charm... I asked how late I could get a tire looked at... "We do tire work until 7:00."

"I'm on my way."

The young lady (I'm beginning to notice that all the people working in stores are young these days) in Tire & Auto, filled out a work order.  I visited with the tire guy.  Apparently, they have a rule that they can't pull something out of your tire.  I pulled out some pliers and pulled out the nail... no "hiss."

"How do you fix a tire without pulling out the offending nail?  Um, nevermind.  I'd still like to have you pull that tire off and check to make sure there is no leak."

They did.  It wasn't.  The nail went in at an angle.  I paid, and there were no "blockers" in the parking lot.  Back home, put the hurricane shutters down, and positioned the cargo trailer for an "easy out" in the morning.

We be ready.

Big packin'...

Not about packin' heat.

Monday or Tuesday will be departure day.  My itchy feet are dancing at the thought of some new scenery.  Today is haulin' day: where the bulk of what we are taking will go into the coach.  A lot of things have to wait until just before departure... in case you need 'em in the house, of course.

So, there will be multiple trips to and from the truck, and into the Love Shack.  Previous trips out there have been the prep work.

Little Izzy knows something is up - she is skittering around the house, watching all the activity.  Her "travel condo" (the carrier) has been out for a couple days.  Unlike many cats, she loves her carrier... like a security blanket.

Of all the traveling we've done, I like RVing best: pack once.  Everything is with you when you arrive.

Time to get these "piles" into the truck.

I have never heard of such a thing...

Another day of getting ready to leave.

Truth be told, this is probably our busiest prep day: putting outside stuff away at the house, getting the cargo trailer ready to roll, checking and topping off the fluids in the truck.  In between, we took the scooters out for lunch... a reasonably warm(ish) day, with a high around 70º or so... plenty of sunshine.

This evening, the bulk of our clothes will get paired down for what goes to the 5th wheel.  Tomorrow, another trip to the HitchHiker and putting everything away.  The next trip to the storage unit will be heading out.

We had one last winter lunch at our local Italian restaurant.  We had a waitress we haven't seen before.  I asked for something not on the menu - something I always get there: a stromboli burger.  It is a burger, baked into the middle of a stromboli... with ham, pepperoni, cheese.  It is a tasty meal they used to have on their menu.

Our waitress said she'd check with the kitchen to see if they could make it.  When she returned: "Yes, how do you want the burger part done?"  Joan and I visited; had some fresh made crispy-bread... and when the waitress brought our meals, she said, "I've never had a burger, but this one looks really good!"

"You've never had a burger?" I asked; "You mean you've never had a stromboli burger?"

"No, I've never had any kind of burger."

"Are you a vegetarian?"

"No.  I just don't like how a burger looks.  Never cared to try one.  But, this might make me change my mind."

"Never had a burger??  Pull up a chair and I'll cut you off a bite!  This is too good to pass up!"

She politely declined, and ground some fresh cheese for our pasta.

Never had a burger.  She looked to be early 20s.  How does someone make it that many years without trying a burger??  Never had a burger?  Never a burger at a beach bar.  No bacon cheeseburger.  No chili burger.  But, not a vegetarian.  That ain't right.

I have never heard of such a thing.

RV mode...

We took another load to the 5th wheel.  Checked out things, topped off the tires.  Some food and personal items, and we will be ready to roll next week.  Well, after shutting down the house.

The best part of the day: sunshine!  The day started out overcast and cool, but by afternoon, I was walking around outside... without a coat.  It got all the way up to 64º... only 6º cooler than normal.  Tomorrow is supposed to be... normal.  Seems like it has been weeks.

The other thing we did today, after messing with the HitchHiker and lunch out: the annual Rio Grande Valley RV Show.  Yesterday, I told Mike about the RV show.  He asked if it was worth taking in... "Well, it is the only one in the Valley.  What is the last RV show you went to?"

"The one in Tampa."

"You mean the Tampa RV Super-Show?  One of the biggest in the country?  Yeah... this isn't like that.  Well, take the Tampa show and eliminate 90% of that.  Then, divide what you have left by 2.  Subtract 4.  That's pretty close."  ;-)

It took us about an hour and a half to go through the whole thing.  Having been to this a dozen or so times, we knew how to do it: don't go first thing in the morning when it opens - that's when all the Winter Texans are there.  By noon, the crowd heads to the three or 4 food places, with long lines.  By 1:00, they start heading out and you can easily go in and out of any RV you want and there are no crowds around the booths.  Hit it up on Friday, 'cause all the Valley people with kids come to this on Saturday and Sunday.

We rolled in just after 1:00.  Perfect timing.  We walked to the far end, checking out the booths...

Many of the booths are for RV parks, but there are plenty of them that are not RV specific...

Tupperware.  In fun fruit shapes.  And who doesn't need a banana holder?  I am a bit of a rebel - I might put green grapes in the red grape container... yeah, I like to live on the edge.

And, who doesn't need a lighted palm tree on their RV site...

On to the RVs.  Lots of travel trailers.  Some 5th wheels.  A grand total of 4 Class A motorhomes, and a few Class Cs...

Lots of non-carpeted floors.  Practical.  The image above was from a travel trailer... interior styling more like a 5th wheel.  Lightly built, though.

There was a young boy in the cab over bed in this Class C when I first went in...

"This is awesome!  Dad, can we get this?  This is where I will stay!"

The mom asked, "Did you bring your credit card?"

The kid (about 7 or 8) replied, "I don't have a credit card.  I wish I had a credit card - I would SO buy this!"

Way to teach the kid about using credit.  ;-)

We walked through some more units.  Well, not a lot more units, 'cause there weren't a lot more units.  Then I saw this...

Yeah, I had to try it on.  Surprisingly roomy in an oddly small kinda way.  Joan thinks they are ridiculous.  I am thinking: enclosed scooter!  ;-)

Oh - a couple more RVs tucked in the back.  This one was a 23A model, or something like that.  You would think it should be 23' long, right?  Nope 28'.  Makes perfect sense.  Lots of liveability in that size.

And on the way home: ice cream.  In the sunshine.  Not a bad day.  :-)

Finally, something smart from a weather weasel...

Heard this on the local news/weather this evening...

"I don't want to go outside unless the temperature is a bigger number than my age."  

Works for me.

She wants to be like me...

No, not really.

Joan is a few days behind me on the cold.  The weather is still crappy, but I am stir-crazy.  I'm gonna need to get out today.

Joan was talking to her sister in the frozen northland this morning... Joan told her how "it is freezing down here - it is only 49º!"  It is well below freezing in Sioux City... no sympathy.

We did go out for lunch today.  Looking out the windows at Pirates' Landing, you can't see the island across the causeway; the water is brown and all frothed up.  It ain't pretty.

After lunch, we took a drive.  Yesterday, we could see a drilling rig coming into the Port Isabel Turning Basin.  This is not typical - usually these big drilling rigs are heading in or out of the Port of Brownsville, 15 miles down the ship channel.  This is the first time I've seen one of them in our turning basin...

For some perspective, those are big-ass ocean tugs on the left side of the photo.  In this photo...

... you can see the drilling ship behind the platform.  It is dwarfed by this platform.  No idea for sure, but my guess is this rig may be going into Brownsville for refurbishing and is waiting for a spot.

We took a drive past the beach...

Yeah, the only person out there was walking a dog.  With the howling north wind (21, gusting to about a million), no one really wants to be out there.  We drove by plenty of RVs in the park on the south end of SPI, at the beach.  They may have escaped the truly freezing weather, but this isn't why the Winter Texans come here.  Typically, it would be sunny, 70º, and there would be groups of snowbird types gathered on the beach.  Not today.

The sun'll come out tomorrow...

It was a cold, dreary day yesterday.

It didn't make the sadness in the house any easier.  I haven't been outside in several days.  I seem to be on the back side of this lousy cold.  Today...

It's a start.