Going back to Houston... Houston...Houston!

(See song reference link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fhroMutidg)

With an early start of 8am, it was anticipated to be a 3pm arrival at the target for the day Houston, TX.

The days drive would backtrack slightly on I10 and take I12 around Lake Pontchartrain to the north of New Orleans. This brought back memories of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and how it flooded and left so many homeless.

The scenery was unveiled this time(last year this sections was rainy and foggy) to reveal the beauty of the bayou as I10 hovered over the river on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge .

There was some unusual roadkill in LA including a peacock, pig and coyote mixed with the usual possum and fox or two. There were no Mardi Gras beads placed on them as is the RAGBRAI custom, and the speed we were going did not allow for this tradition to be fulfilled.

After Batton Rouge it was Theresa's turn at the helm. She had not driven the RV since her memorable driving test in May where she was only passed after Kevin got a lecture from Bruce about everything she had forgotten during the test. The next 120 miles would be a good retraining ground. However the winds were gusting from the southwest causing the RV to be a bit tougher to keep centered in the lane. Her grip tightend as each 18 wheeler passed and sucked the RV into their draft. Theresa was exhausted after 2 hours of fighting the wheel so she gladly turned over the controls to Kevin to continue thru the Houston gauntlet. Drivers were notably aggressive, dodging in and out between cars and cutting right in front of the RV from the right lane causing few expletives shouted from Kevin. One driver even deserved a might blow of the horn to let them know their move was not appreciated. The horn was seldom engaged and to Kevin's surprise it stuck making the unappreciation continue until he frantically got it to stop!

The roads were bumpy and full of potholes, which left one to wander what LA/TX tax money was spent on... surely not road repair!

Finally the turn was made off I10 to the WestLake RV Resort where the Smitanic will call home until Thursday AM. The 'resort' was really an RV parking lot with a small pond in the center. It had Full hook up and the designated site was next to the 'lake' and park gazzebo.

Tomorrow will be a well deserved 'chill' day! Supplies need to be restocked as well as bikes removed from the Jeep so it is unencumbered for trips into Theresa's meetings on Tuesday-Wed. It was unanimously noted that daily mileage should be kept to no more than 250 miles in order to not wear on the two drivers!

Black Friday

There was a 5K scheduled for 9:30 am so guess what time the Smitanic was ready to exit the beach side site? The rig was extracted from the tight squeeze with precision and grace (right). The toad was attached as runners/walkers counted each minus calorie from the previous days consumption. The GPS desination of Biloxi, MS was set so that the voice would guide Kevin to route to 110. Later in the day it was decided to go a bit further (50 miles) to decrease the next days mileage. The new destination would be New Orleans, yeah! Party down!

Theresa called ahead to the east New Orleans RV camp and they did have some pull thru sites available. This turned out to be a rustic site, but a diamond in the ruff! The Smitanic found a portage and quickly hooked up to just the electric for a quick departure in the AM.  The campground wifi existed but was not strong enough to support much picture uploading so on came the Verizon Mifi... as we are burning thru the GBs.

Kevin was feeling the need for some local color, so Theresa did a quick urban spoon search to find a desirable eating establishment and there was one that had some good reviews.

Kevin was making note of places as we were in transit and noted the Nola Bar and Grill on the return trip (plan B). The original destination was to our surprise closed so Plan B would be back to Nola Bar and Grill! This turned out to be just the ticket for local color! Joey was our server and quickly Kevin became his best buddy. The house specials and New Orleans favorites were selected.  The Shrimp and Jambalaya were delivered as well a taste of other scrumptious options. WOW this was exactly the best treat for a one stop thru New Orleans. We even scored some special spices and sauce thanks to Joey. We will be sure to stop on our return trip.

Theresa called to the Houston stop, WestLake in Houston, TX, to see if they had any Sat and Sunday availability, and they confirmed! So the Saturday and sunday mileage will be combined making the destination for Saturday 380 miles.  It will be a long day! Good night to all!  Hopefully there will be better internet connections in Houston!

Thanksgiving

 Lots to celebrate and be thankful for today! Lasting marriage, loving and expanding families, health, security and all of the many friends to share in life's moments.

Today there is a 1pm dinner at the activity center where guests bring a side dish and the turkey will be provided! Theresa prepared her low cal. green bean casserole (no mushroom soup in this one, jut all veggies) in an attempt to reduce the anticipated caloric consumption that was sure to be offered at the mid-day feast.

Tomorrow the plan is to make way after the mornings scheduled Turkey Trot 5K inside the park. The parks roadways are very tight and most are one-way only, so not much room to get the RV thru let alone a gaggle of runners/walkers. Theresa may just partake in the event to get some steps in before being stationary on the drive.

The current plan is to go about 200 miles to a park somewhere in Mississippi so it should be a short day of driving.

Camp Gulf (aka Grenada)

It has been dreary and cold on the beach. Theresa started singing the camp granada song about how she new there would fun if it stopped raining! Low and behold the rain gave way to sunny skies and people emerged from the confines of their RVs and started walking on the beach and throwing frisbees and building sand castles.

Kevin and Theresa took Zin for a long walk on the beach and were able to eat lunch in the sunshine by the RV. Ahhhh time to relax a bit, this is the life! Even the grill was brought out to prepare steak and cowboy potatoes for the evening's meal. Nice.

It cooled off towards evening and the wind got stronger during the night, making all sorts of noise as it flapped or slide-out awnings. Kevin could not sleep thinking the awnings would be ripped to shreds so the slides were brought in and there was quiet the remainder of the night!

Let the Sojourn Begin!

Rain and thunderstorms were forecast for Sunday at the destination for the first day near Pensacola, FL, so the executive decision was made to postpone our exit until Monday. The Southern Oaks RV park, conveniently located next door to Camping World, was very accommodating in the plan change and also had a very discounted Passport America rate for the 3 day stay! This will again be a destination for the return trip.

The Toad was hooked up, signals checked, break off and dog pottied before an exit could be made.

Kevin did not want to make the GPS suggested U-turn so instead a right turn was made down a very narrow country road with low branches that scraped the roof of the RV and a tight right turn to get back on a major highway again. After all GPS turns are just a suggestion right?

The morning's weather examination revealed a small line of T-showers intersected the route to Pensacola, so the plan was to stay on the freeways rather than take the scenic route. As Tallahassee was in reach the showers hit, luckily the downpour was not that severe nor did it last long. The rain let up as Central time zone was entered and the destination was a bit south off the I10.

Reservations were made for Camp Gulf RVResort 3^rd row from the beach in Miramar Beach, FL. The beach traffic was hopping as the rig was pulled into the resort and escorted to a site with a prime view of the beach and sounds of the lapping waves. Full hook up for the next 4 days means walks in the sand and views of sunsets over the water. Well at least for the first night.

A cold front moved in over night with lows in the 40's and highs expected only in the high 50's as well as rain, rain and more rain! So much for the sand play.

The internet has been spotty with everyone hunkered down out of the rain browsing the internet and downloading movies. So we hooked up the Mifi so we could get some work done while we wait for the temp to reach the high for day and the rain to let up so a beach walk is possible.

Tomorrow promises sunshine with a high in the 60's.

Remarkable Recovery

Also during this time, Theresa was keeping tabs on her mother's progress on her stroke recovery. Before the exit from Cary in late October, Theresa received the call from her sister that their mom (93 years old) had a bad stroke on her left side that affected her motor movement on the right side as well as her speech. Within 2 days it was not looking good so Theresa took three planes to Hemet, CA to be with her mom and family. All siblings were able to be at their Mom's side. Theresa's mom was not making very much progress in the hospital so the Dr wanted to get her into a rehab facility ASAP to see if that would be any better. It was like a miracle! She immediately make huge improvements every day! By the time Theresa left after a week, her mom was saying more words and moving more of her right side.

Dorothy, Theresa's nurse sister, and Carol, another local sister, stayed with thier mom, making sure mom was able to partake in all Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapies. Dorothy would send daily videos and pics of her amazing progress. Now, 1 month after the stroke, Theresa's Mom is able to walk on her own with a walker, move her right hand and speak in small sentences! She has truly set the bar high and continues to be a roll model and inspiration for all.

Theresa and Kevin are anxious to see her in late December and hopefully relieve Dorothy and Carol a bit from their daily care-taking :) Christmas will be extra special!

See her trek here Helen Blaisdell's recovery

The Villages Visitation

During the time at Alliance, Kevin and Theresa made daily trips to The Villages to partake in activities with Kevin's mom & sister. These included a 4 day garage sale that started at 7 each day and did not concluded until mid afternoon. The garage sale went well. By the third day Kevin's mom was giving items away at prices much lower than if she had priced them more fairly to begin with. It seemed the bickering game and conversations were more interesting than making a sale. Lots of items were sold and most of the remainder found new homes elsewhere. Other unsold items were reboxed and put back on the shelf for the next event. Plans are underway for Kevin's mom and sister to relocate to an Assisted Living Facility in Cary, NC. Until that happens Kevin has arranged for some in-home care services to come in to help out with his mother's needs (cleaning, meds, organizing, meals, …). This is a big change for Kevin's mom, but she soon took advantage of having an able body to do some of the chores and tasks around the house :)

Annual RV Service at Alliance in Wildwood, FL

All that was slated for the Smitanic at Alliance was a “routine” chassis greased & oil change. During this maintenance the mechanic found that tie rods were bad and needed replaced. Also a mysterious 'c' clamp also fell off. Alliance did not perform that type of repairs, so a place in Orlando was recommended as well as a Truck Repair center place right down the street. To avoid a trip to Orlando the latter would be the first choice. Upon examining the tie rods the mechanic at the new place agreed they needed replace and began the search for the replacement parts. One was in Tennessee and the other was … no where … and would need to be manufactured which could take up to 60 days. This was disappointing and would surely upset all plans to get westward. Including the fact that Theresa needed to be in Houston the first week of Dec for a business meeting.

Meanwhile back at Alliance on Friday after our Monday arrival, Kevin checked the dipstick to validate the oil change indeed did happen correctly. It was significantly over the full mark. Theresa did a bit of research on how bad that could be. Turns out it could cause a run-away diesel and some other less catastrophic events, none of which sounded appealing. On Saturday the mechanic validated that indeed some of the oil needed removed, but he could not do that until Monday. The Smitanic was now there for the weekend for sure.

On Monday, the excess oil was removed, while Kevin made arrangements with Angel(yes that is his name) from Josams in Orlando to get the tie rod parts and initiate a insurance claim to the extended warranty company. Normally when claims are involved the Service provider will need to get clearance from the Insurance Co prior to ordering any parts. To shorten this process Kevin gave a credit card # to Josams so parts could be ordered even prior to our arrival. On Monday afternoon, Kevin was guided into the repair bay so that the mechanics can validate parts and investigate the replacement of the mysterious 'c' clamp. As he moved the Smitanic over the open bay the RV was on platform that rocked it from side to side like an earthquake. Kevin held on until the motion stopped and was guided further into the bay.

All diagnosis were made and the mysterious 'c' clamp was assumed to be part of the ball joint. All parts were ordered and expected to arrive by Friday with an estimated repair to take place on the next Monday. Relief! The trip was no longer at risk!

Josams proceeded to process the insurance claim only to get the response that the policy was never activated... WHAT! Kevin had all the paperwork including policy number and proof of payment for 4 years! Upon calling the insurance dealer who sold the policy it was discovered that the paperwork in August was never submitted to the Insurance company! Oops! The dealer gave his assurance that the paperwork would be overnighted to the insurance co so the claim could be submitted by the following afternoon. Josams was nice enough to let the Smitanic dock behind their building until all the parts arrive and the repair was completed.

During the waiting day on Tuesday Kevin & Theresa were able to visit with Theresa's Aunt Jean and cousin. On Wed & Thursday they returned to visit with Kevin's mom and sister.

Finally on Friday all parts arrived and the repair was underway, ahead of schedule. Ousted from the RV, Kevin and Theresa took Zin for a walk only to find 'Heaven' (office building). Then returned and Angel said we were all done! A very blessed feeling.

With the Smitanic safe to drive again, the weekend would be spent at the Southern Oaks RV park near Summerfield, FL so Kevin and Theresa could spend just a little more time with Kevin's mom and sister and celebrate their 39^th anniversary!

Savannah, GA side trip with Ron and Tracy Clanton

With last years packing list as a guide, getting the RV loaded and supplied was accomplished in 1 weekend! This year the toad would be the Jeep to hopefully avoid extra miles on the CRV as well as what was believed to be a problematic install of the Toad connection on the CRV that caused it to lock up on 3 occasions that resulted in 3 new tires. This year the Cary house would not be empty as a Family friend, Jack Spain, would take up weekday residence while working in the area. He also agreed to pack up or mail weekly and send it to where ever the Smitanic docks. This eliminated the need to set up a mail service online.

A prearranged rendezvous with the Clantons in Savannah, GA was made for a KOA just south of town off I95. This was the same first stop as last year, but this year a 3 night stay was planned to enjoy some of the nearby sights. Since Saturday was also the running of a Marathon in Savannah, a visit to Myrtle Beach was the target. On Sunday the Downtown Savannah tour had a Food theme that included a cookie shop, Paula Dean store, Ice cream. The walking did not counteract the consumed calories.

Next stop was again with the Clantons at the Alliance RV Service center.