June 30

I swear Texas is trying to keep me here. First, the fridge doesn’t work (but the freezer does). Take it to Camping World to look at on a Friday, don’t get the trailer back for 8 days. Go to pick up the trailer (June 29) and stop at a flea market on the way. 110 degrees in San Antonio. A/C works fine. Hook up the trailer to take it back to Irene’s for the night and we have no a/c. Over an hour later, get to Irene’s and we all take showers because we are soaked with sweat.

Cool off then go check the truck, no fuses are blown. Get refrigerant and discover the low level is fine. Take it to Pep Boys. Im told the low pressure is fine, High pressure is too high and low in oil. Put in oil a/c is ice cold. Told either this will fix the problem or the compressor will freeze which could be catastrophic. Get back to Irene’s and hook up trailer and leave (June 30).

Don’t get far and a/c stops working. Roll down windows (outside temp is 72 for a while) by the time we get to San Angelo its 92 degrees. Unhook while the kids are inside cooling off. Take the kids and go to Walmart where there is food and its cool. Go to leave and see a belt lying under the engine. Sit in heat wondering what else will go wrong. Start up engine (wondering if it will). Miracle happens and it starts.

Monday morning (July 1) call Rudy’s automotive and they are nice enough to look at it first thing. Compressor has frozen and it will be $900 to fix it. Catch a ride with the owner back to the campground (can’t leave the kids for 5 hours by themselves). 12:15 Tornado siren goes off. Kids freak and we walk to the office to see whats going on. Turns out KOA do a siren test on the first of each month (would have been nice to know).Get back to the trailer and deal with an angry teenager and an upset Sean who takes 20 min to stop crying. Waiting for the call that the truck is done and a ride back to pick it up.

Get a call at 4:30 that the truck is ready (place closes at 5). Get a cab and the kids and I race to get it. At this point we are thinking we might actually get to leave Tuesday to continue our trip. Everything checks out and we leave at 5. Get 3 miles down the road and I hear a soft pop (mind you this was over the diesel engine noise, so not so soft). All of a sudden I’m not able to accelerate like I should. I pull over and fluid is dripping down the right wheel wheel. Call Rudy’s and since its after 5, they don’t answer. I get it towed to a transmission place, turns out its the turbo. A tube has popped off and leaked coolant everywhere. Mechanic place 2 doors down looks at it. They clean it up and see there was a small leak. Claim it will be ready by 9 am July 2.

Still hoping to get to Carlsbad, NM and get out of TX. I think there is a black hole here that doesn’t want us to leave. On a positive note. I did finish tinting the windows. True its a different color than what I originally used, but since we are headed to the desert, I don’t think I will care. I just want to move it, move it.

June 23-28

Well, we have learned that our fridge is broken, although the freezer isn’t which is totally weird.  We are waiting to hear back from the warranty people so it can get fixed or replaced so we can be on our way.  During this time we went bowling at Main Event, Mini-golf at Monster Golf, and a drive-thru safari.

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June 23

I am finally admitting that I am not going to get my kids to participate in this blog as I planned.  As much as I feel it would be good to learn a few new computer skills and keep their writing skills sharp, I would rather get some sleep.  I am way too tired to have to get on them about writing down their thoughts.  Today is a rest day for all of us.

Sean’s new school ID

Brian!

We all decided to go see the new Monsters University movie.  It was a major hit for all of us.  I have learned that I need to always bring a blanket or jackets with me.  Both boys were freezing about 1/3 of the way through the movie.

My college roommate lives here with her husband (military) and her two kids.  They recommended the Alamo Drafthouse.  I have to admit it was a great choice.  The seats are wider and more comfortable.  Best of all, they serve real food.  You can still get nacho’s and popcorn, but you can also get a burger and a huge soda.  Best of all, the prices were totally reasonable.  I don’t know if thats just in the TX locations or if the prices are reasonable all over.

Minnie!

After the movie, we scooted over to visit my roommate and her family.  They are currently helping to watch a rescue dog being fostered.  The actual foster family had a trip scheduled so she stepped in to help out.  Minnie is an adorable 6 month dog with the worse case of mange I have ever seen.  She is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met.  Good thing I am forbidden from having another dog (not to mention 6 weeks of traveling left).

In the pics you will see Brian feeding the wild deer some corn.  The previous home owners used to feed the deer a few nights a week.

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Sea World

Life was much easier before we visited Jellystone Park in Tyler, TX.  After Sean’s scare in their pool, he has been reluctant to go near water.  Add in Brian being able to go on roller coasters (unless you want to be covered in puke) and you learn you have limits as to where both kids would be happy.  I decided to take the kids to Sea World in San Antonio (June 22).

One of the many reasons I chose it is the ability to get special tours.  We decided on a Behind the Scenes tour and a Penguin tour.  I was hoping to eat with Shamu but its books waaaaaaay in advance.  Just a hint for the behind the scenes tour, don’t go on 100+ degree days.  It was awful.  One of the many things we learned is that the employees have areas with even less shade than is available in the main park.

Stingrays

We all got a little cranky from the heat.  I was the only one willing to feed a stingray although Brian kept trying to pet them.  Sean was too worried about falling into the water.  We moved onto touching a shark and by this time, I was the only one willing to touch it.  We all enjoyed seeing the dolphins and got to see the trainers do a bit of training (not part of the tour, just good timing).

Penguins!

What we all really enjoyed was the Penguin tour.  It was a bit difficult to hear the tour guide on this one.  Sean was drooping at this point and we were all tired of walking.  The highlight was being able to touch a penguin and get our picture with them.

Next up, visiting a college friend and a movie.

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Today(June 21) was all about getting wet to escape the Texas heat.  Schlitterbahn is well known as one of the best water parks in the US.  I have been a bit hesitant about going as Sean had a fearful experience at the Jellystone Park pool up in Tyler, TX.  He went from 3ft of water to 4ft and realized it too late.  Luckily Brian was right next to him and pulled him back to the 3ft area.  Since then, he has expressed a fear of drowning.

We arrived at the park about 10:30 am and paid $10 for a locker ($2 gets returned when you turn your key back in when your done for the day).  Don’t forget to bring your own towel (we did and had to buy new ones).  You can bring your own food which is handy for picky eaters.  Since our trailer fridge was in the shop, we opted to eat at the park.  We were in West Schlitterbahn (yes, its so huge they split it into two areas). I spent most of the day worrying about Camping World calling me while I was away from my phone (they are supposed to fix our fridge).

I love Schlitterbahn.  The majority of the water is from the river except for the heated pool and a few smaller pools (like the wave pool).  I could have easily spent the entire day there.  We forgot to pack our water shoes and towels so we ended up buying them there.  Unfortunately, I left my waterproof camera at the hotel so we don’t have pictures.

The Alamo

I do have pictures of the rest of our evening though.  After the waterpark, we cleaned up and headed over to the Alamo.  I actually remember seeing the Alamo when I visited as a teenager with my Mom, younger Brother and Grandparents. I was very prepared for how small it is and how we wouldn’t need much time to visit.

We spent some time checking out the awesome trees that are growing here.  Brian loved them!  We also struck a few poses with the canons and checked out some basic information about the Alamo.

Daniel Boone wannabe.

We then hit the gift shop and came away with a few gifts and some cool hats.  Brian enjoyed seeing the Texas Rangers that were patrolling.  We spent the rest of the time outside and just briefly entered the Mission.  I know my kids and having to not talk while in the Mission wasn’t going to happen.  We were in long enough that we could say we did it, then walked out.

We also were getting a bit hungry.  We settled on The Rainforest Cafe with a wait of over an hour. Since we had time to kill, we decided to go for a riverboat ride.  Sean was a bit tentative (still worried about drowning).  We only got to go for half the ride before I got a message that the table was ready so we told the captain and hopped off.

Both boys love the Cafe so it was nice to have something familiar to eat.  Although, there was a 5 yr old girl who was screaming near the entrance.  She did not like the jungle storms.  I remember, when the kids were younger, watching the dining room from the gift shop so the kids could see how the storms are.  No one wants to have to listen to a kid going crazy during dinner.

Here are some pics.  Tomorrow we check into a much cheaper hotel while we continue to wait on the fridge in the trailer to be fixed.

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June 20th – Left today for New Braunfels, TX to drop off the trailer at Camping World.  I am hoping the fridge will have a quick fix that I am unaware of.  We decided to splurge for two nights to stay at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk.  Pat decided that instead of an interior room, we should splurge for one with a view of the Alamo.

I have to say the view at night made the extra money worth spending.  I can’t say anything bad about this hotel.  It was stellar in many ways.  Bed were extremely comfortable (coming from someone who has a hard time sleeping somewhere other than her own bed).  Shower were fantastic with plenty of counter space to spread out and get ready in the morning.  Sean gives the shower two thumbs up for being relaxing.  Part of the river has been diverted into the lower level and you can sit in the lobby and listen to the water.  The kids loved getting ice cream from a store on the river level. Of course they served Blue Bell ice cream which both boys devoured.

Since we were tired from the drive, we decided to just eat at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Any time you want to eat on the Riverwalk, expect a long wait throughout the day and even more of a wait on Friday and Saturday night.  But wait, it’s Thursday night you say?  Well on a Thursday night when the Spurs are playing means the restaurants are even more crowded than usual.

The hotel was also a bit noisy due to the open air atrium and the Spurs playing the final game.  I think the noise was pretty acceptable, but then again, the Spurs lost.  I would hate to think of all the noise from the partying that would probably happen if they had won.

Tomorrow we head to Schlitterbahn!

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We didn’t stay in Arkansas long as we need to get to Camping World to get our messed up fridge checked out.  We did have a nice drive to Texas (June 18th) and the boys where whooping it up as we crossed the line. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that we would be in TX for a while.  Partly to get the fridge fixed and party because the state is huge.  It wasn’t long before we got to Jellystone Park in Tyler, Tx.

This was our first visit to a Jellystone Park.  It has recently become part of the Jellystone family.  I have to say that this location is excellent with only 2 negatives.  One is that the entrance sign wasn’t visible until I was right on it.  I had to go down until I found a place to u-turn.  Second is that there are 2 pools and that the family/kid friendly area was mainly 3 ft with a small area that went to 4 ft.   So the area really wasn’t meant for swimming, more like splashing.

The boys loved the jumping pillow.  Pretty much an extra large outdoor moon bounce.  I thought it was great except where they had sand surrounding it.  When the boys got all sweaty the sand stuck all over them.

The laundry room was fantastic.  It had brand new washers and dryers and had large enough areas to fold up your belonging.  The store has very little stock of items you may have forgotten on your trip, but they do have lots of Yogi bear merchandise.  The showers were great except they don’t have a bench to pur your stuff on.  Instead they had a plastic chair that blocked your way in and out of the shower.

Next up is San Antonio.

Jellystone Park, Tyler, TX

Ya know as much as Brian pushes my buttons he can really be sweet and helpful.  All day today he has been very helpful.  I think the trailering life agrees with him.  Today (June 27) we headed to Arkansas and to Catherine’s Landing.  I tried to get everyone out up to get ready as I wanted to leave early as I knew it was going to pour at some point on our journey.

I think todays highlight was when both kids actually put down their ipads when we were crossing the Mississippi River.  I don’t think they expected it to be as large as it is.  Right after we crossed into Arkansas, the skies opened up and it kept pouring on and off for the next hour.

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Catherine’s was fairly easy to get to although it would benefit from some additional signs beyond the one on the highway.  I had already checked some park reviews so I was aware of the lack of shade (its a new campground).  They have planted trees but its going to take a long time until they grow enough for shade.  We have an awning so I figure we will be fine.  Provided it doesn’t keep raining.  We went out to eat as the fridge is broken and I had to throw out all perishables.  On the way back to the trailer it started to rain. I spent most of our time searching for a place that had time to look at our fridge.  Nothing was available until mid-july.  So we decided to go to Texas a bit early and decided to leave the next day after visiting the Alligator farm.

Brian loves goats, until they jump up at him.

I have to say that I wish we hadn’t gone here.  It was pretty sad and smelled horribly.  I felt bad for the two wolves and two mountain lions.  You could tell they were totally bored in their small enclosures.  It was pretty obvious that people were questioning the care of the animals as there was a large sign at the exit stating how the animals are loved and cared for by a veterinary team when needed.  I am hoping our trip to Jellystone Park in Tyler, TX makes up for the farm.

We didn’t know that spring training for baseball started here.

I was the only one brave enough to hold an alligator

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The boys and I decided we were a bit tired of all the hustling we did Friday, so we decided to relax a bit more today.  Today (Sun, June 16) was all about horses.  The boys are totally different when it comes to animals.  Brian is hands on when he realizes that there isn’t anything to be afraid of and Sean prefers to look with his eyes not his hands.

Sean in Action

Since we visited the horses the night before and gave them some treats, Sean was willing to give riding one a try.  This completely shocked me as he rarely even touches the dog at home.  It might have something to do with the fact that the dog likes to lick and the horses don’t.  Susan, the trail boss for our ride, patiently explained to both boys about how horses are part of the food chain and that they know we are meat eaters and how if we are scared of the horses they will think there is an even bigger predator out there and they will be scared.  Sean soaked it all in and then listened carefully as they explained how to guide the horses.  Brian was listening very closely.  He was all excited over a mule.

Brian and Hank

Brian got to ride a mule called Hank.  When we were feeding them carrots Friday, Brian asked about the “horse” with the long ears.  I explained about mules and how they are cross breeding of a donkey and a horse.  All Brian talked about for the remainder of the night was hoping to get to ride him.  Needless to say, when Susan said he would ride him, Brian was ecstatic.  Brian had so much fun that he was complaining that the one hour ride was too short.

We left promising to come back later with treats for the horses.  When we did pop back in I mentioned how much Brian loved it and how he wanted to do a 2 hour ride but that Sean was happy with his one ride.  They offered to take him (on Hank of course) and Brian was pleading. So while Brian was galavanting around,  Sean and I were at the trailer.  He enjoyed his Ipad time and I got the never-ending pile of laundry to take care of.

Needless to say Brian thoroughly enjoyed his day of riding.  Susan mentioned how Brian has a good seat and that we should check into lessons.  Brian was beaming ear to ear.  He gave Hank a few carrots and all he talked about was how we should move here so when he is 16 he can work on the ranch and do trail rides. (We just bought him a western hat since he is going to be a cowboy)

Sean loves marshmallows

Just before dusk, I had the boys gather some wood.  Apparently this campground doesn’t require you to buy their wood unlike many others (due to preventing diseases and insects from being transported).  Once we got everything together it was time for a small fire.  I explained to the boys how we need just the right fire for s’mores as we need the coals more than the flame.  Brian was a bit disappointed as he prefers the flames.  Unfortunately, my graham crackers didn’t make the trip so we just toasted marshmallows instead.  They were still yummy, but it’s not quite the same.

Tomorrow we are off to Arkansas and we are hoping we can find a grocery store and we can try to make s’mores again.

Here are the pictures from the ranch.  Click on any of them to open it in a slideshow.

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Saturday, June 15th we stayed at Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch and Campground.  The boys were thrilled to arrive as we had a 6 hour drive to get here and we had a 10 mile backup that took forever to get through.  We all needed to stretch our legs when we arrived and unfortunately it took a few hours before we would be able to relax.

The campground is wooded and hilly and we all loved the feel of the place.  However, there are several wooden split rail style fences around the area.  Now, in a place that is big rig friendly (think RV movie) you would think they would realize what a hazard the fences are.  The fences give some ambiance, however, I prefer my trailer to not have to go through an obstacle course. I ended up hitting the back of the trailer on the fence and boy are they sturdy.  It pulled off the corner piece and twisted the right rear stabilizer.

We had several helpful “neighbors” stop by to offer advice on what to do next as we were still in the middle of the road.  We ended up unhooking the trailer from the truck and repositioning the truck so I could pull away from the fence without further damage.  For some reason while we were unhooking none of us thought to put chocks on the trailer, well it slid back 3 feet and stopped.  Thankfully no one was hurt (other than pride).  We finally moved down to another spot (much easier to get in) and started to settle in.

The kids and I discussed horse back riding for the next day.  We decided to bike down to the horses so Sean could become familiar with them and I could judge whether I thought he would be too fearful of them.  The ride down was great and both boys greeted the horses (and a mule).  I helped them feed them some carrots and we told them we would be back the following day.  Did I mention the campground was in a hilly location?  Let me tell you that riding a tandem bike up 2 very steep hills was hard.  I finally gave up and walked the bike up the hills.  Sean even got off the tandem and helped me push.  You must be wondering about Brian.  Well, he was cruising on his ELECTRIC bike.  He didn’t even break a sweat.  He was nice enough to carry our water for us.

Tomorrow is a day of horses, laundry and marshmallows. How’s that for a combo!