Dec 9 – The Gauntlet

Aware that an early exit in the AM would only put the duo in the thick of Monday rush hour traffic, in Lake Charles followed by Noon Traffic in Houston, they took there time and enjoyed some free donut treats in the Camp-store. There was minimal prep as they only hooked up to the electric last night. They dialed in the day's destination of San Antonio, TX into the Magellan GPS. With Theresa in the Captains seat Kevin validated the turn signals and brake lights worked on the RV and Toad. He then guided Theresa as she slowly gently coxed the 18 ton Smitanic off its concrete pad and through a tight right then left turn, positioning the vessel perfectly into the middle of the exit route from the evenings port were they made there exit. The I-10 route would have them thru Houston around noon... The plan was to turn the controls over to Kevin before then as she did not have much 'big city' experience yet. Drizzle started about 30 min after the start as Theresa navigated thru the Lake Charles rough roads and heavier traffic than she has ever had to deal with in the rig.

Expletives were mumbled each time a truck or car would pull around and then jump in front of the rig forcing her to slow her course.
Kevin kept a keen eye and 'guided' her thru the tense situations until finally the smooth road and Texas prairies calmed the seas. She was anxious to turn over the helm to Kevin prior to Houston, but the planned exit did not pan out. As it became obvious that there was no good place to transition the helm from her to Kevin he announced “you get to take us though Houston”. No argument was provided as she focused on the safety cushion she was so delicately managing. With a firm grip on the wheel she continued thru winding 7 lane freeways with 18 wheelers on all sides as these machines worked to maintain an unrealistic 75MPH in the rain! Theresa elected to keep the more sane and agreed upon 65 mph for the Smitanic. She would rather have navigated more tunnels and bridges vs the intensity of this major city. Finally the 7 lanes went down to 6 , then 5 then 4 and finally back to 3 and the prairie land with horse ranches meant she had survived the gauntlet.

Kevin found an appropriate exit to refuel and change the guard. Theresa had accumulated 170 miles of the 350 total for the day... a new PR for her. Kevin commanded the RV back to I-10W thru a continual rain all the way into San Antonio. Theresa called the planned campground to reserve a spot for 4 days! The Traveler's World Carefree RV resort promised wifi, full hook ups and a Good Sams Club discount. The reservation representative also instructed the team in the Smitanic not to follow the GPS into the campground but to be sure to follow the directions from the RV campground website. Those directions took them past lots of shopping malls and then into some rather run down areas and over the River to see the legendary River walk and one of the Historical Missions. The crew of the Smitanic were pleasantly surprised to find a very well kept and fully equipt park with streets named after makers of Rvs. Names like Allegro Circle, Winnabago Drive, Airstream Drive and Good Sam Highway. The attendant who check them in listed so many fun things to do here it will be a challenge to get some of the attractions incorporated into the teams work schedule... but how often do they get to San Antonio?

After getting the Full hook up connected including Cable TV, Theresa began to prepare some erky-lerky with Shrimp, pasta and some veggies … Yum!. Kevin and Theresa will be here thru Friday, working and planning for the rest of their westerly trek.