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Saturday, February 18, 2012

1626 Miles to Go

Friday Feb 17th marked the beginning of our 1600+ mile journey to the east coast. This was going to be a busy day. Carol spent the afternoon on Thursday brushing and grooming Qianna. This morning she (Qianna) and Cody had a bath appointment in Corpus Christi early in the morning at the Dog House. We dropped them off after they agreed to have the fur babies ready for pick up at 10:30.

Next stop was breakfast. We had been going to Town and Country Cafe for years so we thought it was fitting to stop by one last time for a hearty breakfast. After breakfast, I stopped at Home Depot to pick up a couple of blades for my circular saw. Next stop was Advanced Hearing Solutions to pick up Carol's hearing aid that had been sent back to factory for repair. Finally back to the Dog House to pick up the fur babies. Corpus Christi tasks are completed.

We headed back to Taft to hitch up our house. As we got closer to the Corpus Christi ship channel, we ran into fog and misty dew. Crossed the channel and ran into light but steady rain in Portland. By the time we got to Taft about 11:00AM, the rain stopped. God gave us a window of no rain to get hitched up. I had already packed away things outside on Thursday so today, I helped Carol inside with moving the recliners and some boxes of photos. By noon, we were done with everything and hitched. The church chimes rang at noon as we pulled out.

The first half of the trip to South Forty RV Park in Giddings was uneventful. As we headed North on Highway 77, it felt a little weird to know we are not returning South in a few days. It was like a trip down memory lane. In Refugio, we turn off on Highway 77A headed for Goliad, Cuerro, Yoakum and Hallettsville. Stopped for a quick lunch in Cuerro. Light sprinkles started just as we headed back to the truck. Doggies got a potty break as well.

Second half of the trip was a different story. By the time we got to Yoakum, the rain was pretty steady. Rejoined Highway 77 in Hallettsville and the rain was heavier. As we were approaching Schulenburg, I commented to Carol about the rain run off filling the many ponds that were bone dry. I saw a sign on the side of the highway warning of a low bridge ahead. Sign said 13' 8". (Not to self - measure height of RV.) About 2 blocks from this low bridge, I turned off the main highway, drove past a school, crossed over (not under) the R/R tracks and stopped for a potty break at Besetsney's Kountry Bakery. Of course I purchased a few pastries for Saturday's breakfast. The rain was still coming down in buckets.
The closer we got to La Grange, I remembered the comment Carol made to me in May 2007 while returning home from a family reunion in Giddings. She said, “You do know, dear, when we retire, I do not want to stay in Corpus Christi, I would like to live closer to family.” I wrote about that conversation on The Plan. Here we are almost 5 years later. Another sign on the highway reminded us of a steep twisty down grade on the final approach to La Grange. Due to the wet road conditions, we opted to take an alternate route. Of course we did not know that Country Club Drive would be under construction and we would drive on wet, very rough caliche. About a mile after I turned off Highway 77, the road transitioned from black top to caliche. I was traveling about 35 mph and realized very quickly that we had to slow down quickly since we did not need the RV to shake, rattle, and roll down the road. Twenty mph was almost too fast. SHEESH, that was a slow 2.5 mile trip.

We left La Grange, headed for Giddings. Thirty miles to go and it is still raining. Now it is time for a serious prayer. "GOD, Thank you for bringing moisture to this dry state of Texas.  However, we could use a sort period of no rain so we can set up. Thank You for understanding." So for the next few minutes, it continued to rain. As we pulled into the South Forty RV Park, it is still raining. As we pulled into our site, it was still raining. About 5 minutes later, the rain slowed to a light sprinkle. Yea God. He is so good.

After we unhitched, we met Harold Dean from Palestine, TX and Ray Sagar from Sevierville, TN. These are two of the founders of the Cedar Creek RV Owners Club. I've chatted with these guys on the internet for the past several months so it was good to put a face to their names. They are here at South Forty for the month of February. Shortly after we got settled in Ray came over and gave us a patch that his wife made and a couple of Cedar Creek coffee mugs they give to new members as they meet them. Thanks fellas.

We drove to Winchester for an amazing meal at Murphy's Steakhouse. I normally do not order Ribeye steak because I have not found many places that cook up a Ribeye as good as me. Not bragging here just the facts. Ask my family. The drive through more rain to get there was certainly worth it. When we got back to our home, we walked the fur babies, raised the bat wing (TV Antenna) and settled in for the rest of the evening.  Carol nested in bed with a book. I was waiting for the weather report but decided to turn in early. The weather will be what it will be.
Murphy's Steakhouise

Saturday we are expecting company as my brother and S-I-L make the trip from their home in Burton and our eldest daughter and youngest grandson make the trip from Houston for an afternoon visit.

Thanks for stopping by. We will keep you up to date as we travel on to our next stop on our retirement adventure.

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