Day 33 - Tuesday, December 31 - Happy New Years Eve

 Not much activity here today. I spent a good part of the day working on the outside of the coach. I worked on cleaning the sides of the slides, which included cleaning and lubricating the the seals on the sides of the slides. Kathy spent a lot of the day in the puzzle room.

In the afternoon I went back to T-Mobile, trying again to get Kathy's phone transferred from Puretalk to T-Mobile. Yesterday Kathy went along with me and was not asked one question. Today I just took her phone and she didn't bother going. When the T-Mobile people got the Puretalk people on the phone, to get her phone number ported over, the Puretalk people wouldn't let her number be ported over without talking to her on the phone. AARGH!!! The Puretalk people suggested that I drive back home and in a half hour they would call Kathy. I left the store at 5:15, its now 9:15 and still no call. Our Puretalk plan runs from the 1st of the month to the last of the month. I have no doubt that they will now try and bill us for January..

Weather was nice today, a breezy, mostly sunny 77 degrees for a high. 

Part of my daily devotional reading today was Mark 8:22-26, the story of Jesus healing the blind man. After Jesus touched the man the first time he was only partially healed it took a 2nd touch before he could see clearly. I thought about 2 Cor 12:7-9 where Paul asked Jesus three times to remove the "thorn in his flesh". Jesus did not. I then thought about Philippians 4:11-13. While Jesus did not "heal" the thorn in Paul's flesh He did "heal" Paul. What greater healing could there be than the ability to be content "in any and every circumstance". I wrestle with reconciling this with the "prayer of faith" in James 5:14-15.

Day 32 - Monday, December 30 - Odds and Ends

 Last nights low was a humid 57 degrees. By early morning fog had rolled in. When I washed the front of the coach a few days ago the water was hard enough that that it left lots of spots on the glass. The humid morning was a perfect time to clean the spots off the windshield.

Kathy went over to the clubhouse and worked on a puzzle, and visited. I read awhile and then headed out. I stopped at Walgreens and continued trying to get my prescriptions straightened out. Only time will tell if I've made any progress. Then it was on to Planet Fitness for a 75 minute workout. 

Back at the coach we had lunch and then I started the process of getting Kathy's phone switched over to our new T-Mobile account. After multiple tries Kathy and I headed for the T-Mobile store. After maybe a 20 minute wait a guy started the process all over again. I had all the information he needed written on a piece of paper. An hour later we finally realized that he when he put the information into the system he entered an 8 instead 1 as part of our old account number. My penmanship was totally at fault. We now have to wait 24 hours for things to "reset" and then we start a do over.

Then it was on to buy groceries at HEB. It was CROWDED. There were so many carts running up and down the aisles that everyone was constantly making choices about who had "the right away." The good thing was that they had lots of people checking out. There was only one lady in line in front of us and she had almost all her groceries on the belt when we got in line behind her. Also, they were "bag boys" bagging the groceries so that things moved right along.

Once back at the coach Kathy put the groceries away and got supper around while I sat outside and read. Today's high was 91 degrees but by evening it had cooled down enough that it was comfortable out. At 9PM the temperature is 68 degrees but the humidity is still 88%. The warm spell looks like it may be over. There is only one day in the 10 day forecast with a high forecast in the 80's.

All in all I guess it was a boring day, but I don't mind being bored.

God is good. I pray that He bless you any yours. He has blessed me.

Days 30 & 31 - Saturday & Sunday, December 28 & 29 - Cowboy Church Day

 Saturday - Kathy did some coach cleaning and I washed and waxed the front of the coach. I figure by the time we leave I might make it all the way around. It was mostly sunny with a high in the low 80's. There was enough of a breeze that it felt good.

Sunday - It was cool when we got up this morning, the overnight low was in the low 50's and today's high was in mid 80's. Mid morning it was off to Cowboy Church. I'd guess attendance was 150+, with not many empty seats. 

Pastor Chris

Today's message was on faith. His object lesson was about animals who go out an open gate, or through a hole in the fence. Once that animal is out of the pen it is also out of the shepherds care. When we choose to leave the Lord's "pen", move away from His area of influence, we tend to lose our faith that He is in control. Often fear and worry intrude on our thought processes. My synopsis is pretty poor, Chris's message was much better.

After church we had lunch at the Golden Corral. The one here in Harlingen quite good, during the week they have a great senior special. Then it was off to HEB to pick up a few groceries.

Back home we rested awhile and then walked over to the clubhouse for the Sunday afternoon Ice Cream Social. It's a good time to visit with others. 

God is good. I pray that He bless you  and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 28 & 29 - Thursday & Friday, December 26 & 27 - Not Much Happening

 Thursday: 

Kathy is still not 100%. She is still experiencing the negative effects of the infected tooth and having it extracted. I ran some errands. I checked online and it looked like the most practical course for me to get in some exercise was to join a local Planet Fitness. There is one 5 miles, 14 minutes, from the campground. I have memberships at the YMCA in Jefferson City and nationwide at Anytime Fitness. There is no local YMCA and the closest Anytime Fitness is 34 miles, 36 minutes, away. I am amazed that my Medicare Advantage plan is apparently willing to cover the cost of multiple  "gym" memberships. Planet Fitness signed me up at no cost. I'm certain the insurance company doesn't do it out of the goodness in their hearts. They have to think that they recoup the membership costs by not paying as much out in claims for those who exercise regularly.

Next I stopped at Walgreens to try and straighten out some prescriptions. Kathy always seems to have problems when she asks her Doctor to renew one. It almost always requires multiple calls from Kathy to get the Doctor to finally get the script to the drug store. No different this time. They are still waiting on the Doctor. I asked Walgreens to refill one of my very expensive prescriptions over a week ago and they can't seem to get the drug shipped to the store.

As I walked out of Walgreens I realized I was just across the parking lot from T-Mobile. When I got my new "free" phone (thanks Doug & Anthony) recently I opted to not buy a screen protector. I did get an accidental damage plan on the phone. If you buy the first screen protector the accidental damage plan will pay for any future ones I need. I walked across the lot and the young lady installed a screen protector. How she works with her very long fingernails is a mystery.

The campground does have a basic fitness center. There are a couple of strength machines, a bike, and a treadmill. It was really windy all day. Late in the afternoon I gave up on a bike ride and did 40 minutes on the treadmill. 

Friday:

This morning I spent a little over an hour at Planet Fitness. WOW do they have a lot of equipment. I thought the YMCA in Jeff was well equipped. This Planet Fitness seem to have twice as many of everything the YMCA has. 

Kathy finally felt go enough to go out for lunch. We went down the street to a Cheddar's we like. It's close and I really like their fish. They were out of fish. I ordered a sirloin steak and it was good. When we got back we relevelled the coach, again. The ground has finally dried out but the concrete blocks I had put under the jacks were tipped at crazy angles, because of the holes the jacks had punched through the sod when we first came. Before I went to PF I stopped by the office and asked if the Maintenance folks would drop off another 5 gallon bucket of clayey sand. It took awhile but I think I got the holes filled enough to keep the concrete blocks relatively level. I may still need to relevel in a few days, once everything is packed down, but I think its pretty  well done.

Today's high was a mostly sunny, humid 84 degrees. It was hot getting the levelling done. After that I went back inside and was going to read, but couldn't resist a nice nap in the AC.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 26 & 27 - December 24 & 25 - Merry Christmas, A Savior has been Born, Luke 2:11

 About the only thing I accomplished Tuesday was a trip to the Walmart in San Benito, to have 4 tires installed on the Flex. The store was much less crowded than the one in Harlingen was a few days ago. I was a little surprised that I was able to make an appointment to get tires installed on Christmas Eve.

We did make it to the Christmas Eve service at the campground.

Today was the campground Christmas Dinner. 100-125 people attended. Kathy didn't feel up to going, she still hasn't recovered from the infected tooth she had extracted. I think the campground provided the meat (ham) and the rest was potluck/pitch in. 

I sat next to this couple. They are in a 5th wheel down a couple of campsites from us. They lived in the Carolinas for the past 30 years, before deciding to become full time RV'ers. After selling their house they went to Florida and spent time next next to one their children. They are now Florida residents (no personal income tax in FL). Texas, Florida & South Dakota are the 3 most popular states full time RV'ers use as their domicile states.

Tuesday Kathy signed us up for Netflix so that she could watch the Chiefs play today. She watched the Chiefs and I represented us at the dinner. I was back in time to see them win.

After the game we sat outside for awhile and then I went for a 5 mile bike ride around the campground. Today's high was a mostly sunny 83 degrees.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and your. He has blessed me.

Day 25 - Monday, December 23 - 3rd Dentist

 This morning was Kathy's appointment with a 3rd dentist. When I was a kid I can remember having a terrible tooth ache, on a weekend. The dentists office was in part of his home. Dad took me. The dentist pulled the tooth and we went home. By the way, you can't just go straight to the 3rd dentist. He won't see you without  a referral. 

We arrived a few minutes early for her 10AM appointment. The 2nd dentist had not given her the referral paperwork so the receptionist had to call and confirm that a set would be sent over. (We paid for everything. Kathy had told them that she didn't think our Medicare Advantage plan would cover much of the cost and that we would fight with them. Why was a referral even necessary?) Kathy went back by 10:15. Around 11:30 a guy came out to get me and I thought, "Wow, done already." WRONG! They had not even started. He called me to the back to show me how to fold a square of gauze and stick it in Kathy's mouth. It took maybe another hour before she was ready to leave.

I'm still working on getting a set of tires. I really want to buy a set from a nationwide company, so that when I have a problem I can go to someone who bears some level of responsibility to resolve the issue. How did Sears/Wards management destroy those companies. I went to Walmart, IT WAS A ZOO! The wait was ridiculous. The lady at the counter looked TIRED. When I got up to her I asked if they had a set of a specific tire in stock. She checked the computer and said they were supposed to have 4, but she said she didn't believe the computer. She was gone for maybe 5 minutes and came back to tell me that she could only find 3 tires. I thanked her and asked how soon they could get another one. She suggested that another Walmart, only 5 miles away, might have them. She called and found that they had 12 of them. She was very nice. I may go to the other store tomorrow morning, or I may wait until after Christmas.

It was cloudy and very windy today, with a high in the low 80's.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you an yours. He has blessed me.

Day 24 - Sunday, December 22 - Cowboy Church Day

Today I got to go to the Cowboy Church of the Valley for the first time this trip. Kathy was looking forward to going but her bad tooth caused her to stay home.

https://www.westernoutreach.org/index.html

If we go the back way to church we go by a grapefruit orchard. Driving by makes you want to stop and grab a few grapefruit, even if its picking up the ones on the ground. Usually by now we have been to the Don Wes flea market and have a $4 bag of fresh grapefruit in the refrigerator. 

Pastor Chris discussed the meaning of the three gifts the "Wise Men" gave to Jesus. Below is a photo of folks leaving after the service, probably a quarter of the folks had already left.

If you are interested you can find more pictures of the church facility at:

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/day-21-sunday-december-24-cowboy-church.html

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/02/day-67-wednesday-february-8-work-day.html

Today was a special day, about an hour after the service ended area kids competed in the arena across the road. Not all the kids attend the church. Age brackets for each of the events was : 6 and under, 7-10, 11-14 & 15-18. There were 2 kids in the 6 & under, 7 in the 7-10 bracket, 5 in the 11-14 bracket and 4 in the 15-18 bracket.

In the first competition riders had to weave their horses through the poles. If a pole was knocked over the rider incurred a 5 second penalty. If the rider didn't follow the correct weaving pattern they were disqualified.

One of the Pastor's daughters, in the 15-18 bracket, is in the photo below. She rode 2 different horses in each of the competitions.

This little girl was in the 6 and under bracket. I didn't get a picture of her and her Dad during the Poles event. The 2nd event was barrel racing. There are 3 barrels and the rider must go around all three in a specific pattern. Dad ran while leading her horse through the competitions. He did great. I think his time beat the times of those in the 7-10 age bracket. He looked a little winded after the run through the barrels.

This is the Pastor's son.

Definitely not helicopter parents. This little girl climbed up the pipes that made up the walls of this horse trailer so that she would have a better view. The one on the right, at the end of the trailer, was soon up there beside her.

The last competition used 3 barrels and a table with a big red basket on it. The first barrel, on the left had an apron on it, the one in the  middle had a Christmas stocking on it and the far barrel had a medium size bag on it. The kids had to ride up to the 1st barrel, grab the apron and loop it over their head; then to the 2nd barrel, grab the stocking and put it over their saddle horn. At the 3rd barrel they had to pick up the bag. After they had everything they rode over to the table and put everything in the red basket. I was impressed by their riding skills, especially one of the girls. Her horse shied violently when the wind made the apron flutter. She sat like she was glued to the saddle.

Back home we watched a little of a football game then Kathy went over and worked on a puzzle for a couple of hours. I did a 4 mile bike ride around the campground.

It was cloudy all day. The high temperature was in the low 70's. At 10PM its a humid (80%) 66 degrees.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 23 - Saturday, December 21 - Tire Shopping

 I spent 4-5 hours online today, tire shopping. When we started driving the Flex around after arriving it felt like one of the tires had a bump on it. When I washed the car I happened to see what looked like a bad spot in one of the front tires. Today I took the time to do some tire shopping.

We like the Flex but it has been HARD on tires. It had good tires on it when we bought it. The Flex had about 56,000 miles on it when we bought it. At about 58,000, when in Traverse City, MI, we noticed a low tire. A tire shop told us the tire had a hole in it and since the hole was near the sidewall they wouldn't patch it. Also, because the Flex is an AWD vehicle, you are supposed to replace all 4 tires at the same time, so that they all are the same diameter. The tires are 235/55R19, not a common tire size. We had to wait around a couple of days waiting for tires to be delivered.

About a year later another low tire with the hole near the sidewall. That time I bought a pair and had them put on the same axle. I think that the damage to the tire will mean it has to be replaced. Because of the AWD at least the other tire on the same axle needs to be replace, and since the tires on the other axle now have 15-20,000 miles on them all 4 need to be replaced because of the different diameter issues. The current tires are Nokians (?) something that doesn't seem to be available in stock here.

We are excited about getting back to the Cowboy Church tomorrow. Its about 11 miles from us, but seems further. I was hoping to get the new tires on today. The other issue is that I want to buy tires from a national chain so that if/when we have problems again I can find the same type of tires. Online I was that the local Walmart had a set of Goodyears in stock. About 1 PM I bought them, online, and made an appointment to have them installed at 6 PM today. I arrived at Walmart at 5:30 and let them know I was there. I stood out by the car until a little after 6 before a guy came out to tell me that they didn't have time to put a set of tires on today. I showed him the email confirming my appointment. He did some checking and told me that they didn't even have the 4 tires I had already paid for. AAARGH!! What's that scripture about patience and endurance. More tire shopping next week.

I did get in a 3 mile bike ride between tire ordering and tires not being installed.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

PS. Forgive any typos, nonsense. I'm watching the Tennessee vs Ohio State football game.

Day 22 - Friday, December 20 - More Dentist Stuff

 Kathy had a 9:30 appointment with an Endodontist this morning. The appointment was so that he could tell her whether or not he would do a root canal. He told her the tooth root was cracked and the chances of a successful root canal were slim. The tooth needs to be extracted. She got another prescription for a different antibiotic. After a stop at Walgreens to pick up the antibiotic it was around 1 PM when we got back home. She now has a Monday (I think) appointment with yet a 3rd "dentist" to have the tooth extracted.

In the afternoon I spent an hour arguing with my insurance company questioning the way drug charges were posted against my policy. It's to confusing to even try to describe to anyone who isn't familiar with the Medicare drug "donut hole". After that I spent almost another hour arguing with the insurance companies dental group trying to find out why I had not yet been reimbursed for part of the cost of a Nov 5th dental checkup. 

In the late afternoon I got to go to the Johnny's True Value hardware to pick up some things for projects around the coach. I was in 3 different departments, hardware, paint & lawn & garden. I could have found what I needed in each place but before I did a sales person was there asking if I needed help. 

As I came out of the coach to head to the hardware store this trike was turning the corner onto our street. I gave the guy a thumbs up and he stopped to visit. He was just out looking at other campgrounds where he might want to stay. The trike was powered by a small block V8. I kicked myself for not thinking to take a couple of photos while I was standing next to it.

It was a mostly sunny day here with a high of 72. 

God is good. I pray that he blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 21 - Thursday, December 19 - Stayed Home

 First I need to correct yesterday's post about Kathy's dental appointment. We were at the dentists 2 1/2 hours, as I said, but all they did was diagnose that they thought she needed a root canal. They didn't actually do anything other than X-rays and prescribe an antibiotic. Tomorrow we go see another dentist to see what that one says about a root canal, or possibly an extraction. She was still in a fair amount of pain overnight but the pain level is coming down, slowly. 

I finally washed the car and cleaned out the interior. It really needed a bath after being towed behind the coach for many miles while it was misting rain. I also sprayed the grass around the coach for bugs (ants). I'm paranoid about the ants down here. Last year when I crawled under one of the slides to get into the basement my legs felt like I was crawling over nettles. When I stood back up I realized it wasn't nettles, it was little ants that were biting the heck out of me. https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/02/day-78-79-monday-tuesday-february-19-20.html

The guy across the street from us was under one of the slides on their trailer, installing a jack. I went over to see if I could lend a hand but he was almost done. He and his wife are recently retired and are exploring living in a 27' travel trailer, with 2 slides. They still have a home in Albuquerque, NM. He is leaning towards selling the home and living in an RV. He gave me the impression that is wife is not ready to give up a sticks and bricks home. They have 4 kids, 1 down here in TX, I think 2 in the Albuquerque area and i don't remember about the 4th one. He Pastored a small church and sold real estate for a living.

I did a 4 mile bike ride tonight, basically 4 laps around all the streets in the campground. I saw license plates from Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma & Ontario. One couple with South Dakota plates are recent retirees from Pennsylvania. They are now full timers and chose South Dakota as their domicile. South Dakota has no income tax, its easy to establish residency and there are mail forwarding services.

Today's high was a mostly sunny 73. I wore jeans and a tee shirt while washing the car but when I sat down for a break I soon pulled on a long sleeve flannel shirt. Right now, 7:15, its 64 degrees. Tonights low is forecast to be 59.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 20 - Wednesday, December 18 - Dentist

 A lady here recommended a dentist to Kathy. Kathy called early this morning. She told them that she was in a lot of pain and that made an appointment for 3PM today.

This morning was HUMID, very warm (high 70's) and buggy (mosquitos and gnats). I drug more stuff out from under the coach and out of the back of the Flex. This is about as "homelike" as its going to get. 

In the afternoon we spent over 2 1/2 hours at the dentist. The office must do a lot of work with  kids. This is the room where you enter. Off to the left were two arcade games for older kids. Off to the right was a door marked "Adults Only". It went to a nice waiting room for adults. Kathy ended up getting her third root canal on the same tooth. I think Dr. Lutz in California, MO did the second one. Whoever did it said a second root canal should never be needed. We stopped at Walgreens on our way  home and picked up prescription antibiotic. A nice thing about here is that there is a lot of stuff close. The entire home, dentist, Walgreens, home again loop was only 6 miles, 20 minutes driving time.

A couple of golf cars full of Christmas Carolers went by around 6:30. I can't wrap my head around the fact that Christmas is one week from today. I'm kind of bah humbug when it comes to Christmas. I don't any good excuse. I lose focus that the birth of my Savior is a reason to celebrate and be joyous. I need to do a better job of ignoring the commercialism around me.

Today's high was 83. Weather is entering a cool down. At 8PM its still 74 degrees with 88% humidity, but by 6AM the temperature is supposed to drop to 57. Tomorrow's high is forecast to be a mostly sunny 70.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 19 - Tuesday, December 17 - To McAllen for Hearing Test

 This morning we drove over to McAllen, TX so that I could have my hearing checked and find out options concerning replacing my old Phonak hearing aid that quit working, 33 miles, 40 minutes. The test results indicated my hearing was still about the same as it was during my last test, over 3 years ago. The great news was that they fixed my old hearing aid. The hearing test and repairing my old hearing aid only cost $60. Prices for a new good/better/best hearing aid were $599/$829/1,249. If I wanted to quit using my BAHA device an aid for my deaf ear (actually just a microphone that bluetoothed a signal to my good ear) would double the cost. This was my "co-pay" prince with insurance. As long as my old one continues to work I think I will stick with  it.

After we got back to the coach I adjusted on of the "basement" bay doors, which took me at least an hour.

Just as I was finishing up with the door adjustment my new phone arrived. Doug and Anthony (our son and son-in-law) have a T-Mobile cell plan for veterans, Anthony served in the Air Force. Through their plan T-Mobile offered a free Pixel 9 Pro XL if they added a new line. They added me and I got the new phone. I wanted to keep my old number, by "porting" my number from my old carrier. I went to a local T-Mobile store and they did all the work. My old carrier gave the T-Mobile guy the code to allow porting the number but when he tried using it the old carrier just seemed to ignore the request. After over an hour he got someone higher up the T-Mobile food chain on a 3 way call with my old carrier and that person got some results.

Kathy suffered from a toothache during the night and on and off all day. She did ride over to McAllen with me but her tooth was acting up and we didn't stop for lunch. Once back home it calmed down enough that she went over and spent a couple of more hours sorting through old puzzles, determining which ones to throw away. She asked some folks to recommend a local dentist but hasn't made an appointment yet.

The day seemed to go by so fast, and I got so little accomplished. Today's high was a comfortable 81 degrees. The day was mostly cloudy.

God is good. I pray that He bless you  and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 18 - Monday, December 16 - Busy Day

 After breakfast we went over to the clubhouse for the 9:30 Monday morning Activity Meeting. Everyone has access to a handout that outlines each days activities during the month but during the meeting additional details are shared. We saw quite a few familiar faces from last year but only visited with a few. 

I went to the office and got all our "paperwork" for our stay taken care of. I also talked to Karen about our problems with levelling jacks sinking into the soft wet grass. I asked her to have the Maintenance folks bring me over some fill dirt and some concrete pads. In less than an hour one of the Maintenance ladies showed up in a golf cart. She had a 5 gallon pail of sand and some 4" think solid concrete blocks. It took me at least an hour but I got the jack holes mostly filled and the coach levelled. I expect that the coach will settle some more and tomorrow or the next day I will need to get another 5 gallon bucket of dirt/sand and do some more hole filling.

There are dozens and dozens of puzzles in the clubhouse puzzle room. Kathy volunteered to help go through them and get rid of some of them. She spent several hours over there. (See my December 23, 2024 post for a picture of the puzzle room)

I manually regened our water softener and took one of the side panels off the basement so that I could clean the spray head that rinses the black tank. I needed a part for one of our light fixtures so I went to the local RV store in search of it. They didn't have what I needed so it was on to the hardware store (I love going to Johnny's True Value Hardware. See my post for January 2 &3, 2024 for some photos of Johnny's). I didn't get the part that was missing but I got something that would work.

About dusk I did some laps around the campground streets and got in a 3 mile bike ride. The days here are significantly longer, which is nice. Today sunrise/sunset here was 7:11AM/5:42PM, in Centertown it was 7:21AM/4:49PM. Last nights low was a humid 70 degrees. Todays high was a somewhat humid 83.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 17 - Sunday, December 15 - WE HAVE ARRIVED!

 Today we travelled 207 miles from Victoria, TX to Encore Lakewood RV Park in Harlingen, TX. Lots of road construction but none that slowed traffic down much. A fair amount of 75 mph speed limit, which we don't do but traffic sure moves along. It rained on and off all day.

We haven't looked at the "lake" since we arrived. There may  be water in it with  the rain. When we left this spring it was just a big mud flat, with a small mud puddle here and there. It is not part of the campground. Lakewood is on the left side of the photo below.

We are parked in Site 121, which is between Poplar Lane and Sycamore Lane. The white squares are concrete pads. It appears that each pad used to be for a campsite. Now there are only 6 or 7 pull thru sites between Poplar and Sycamore. Most of the places around the perimeter are park model, semi-permanent units.

Everyone I've talked to down here goes to Progreso, 34 min, 22 miles, if they want to go to Mexico. I went two years ago. Almost everyone parks in a lot on the US side of the border and walks across the International Bridge. Kathy thought she wanted to go at least once last winter but we never made it.

With the rain here the ground is soft. The sites are grass, our levelling jacks just punched down into the ground. I put 3 - 2x4'x15" long, under one of the jacks and the jack broke them in half. Something for the campground staff to work on tomorrow.

It was quite warm here today. The high was a very humid 79 degrees. PTL for AC! It supposed to cool off, with highs of 68-73 Thursday thru next Tuesday. No one down here complains about rain. It has been abnormally dry here for several years.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 16 - Saturday, December 14 - Enjoying Victoria

 Last nights low was 66. We ran the AC all night because the humidity was near 100%. The day was mostly cloudy with high near 80. 

A little after 11 we headed to Mumford's for some BBQ. We found Mumford's when we were here in the  spring. The food was so good that we wanted to be sure to go back when we were in the area.

The decor may not be impressive but the food more than makes up for it.

Kathy got a brisket plate and I got a rib plate. 

You stand in line and order and pay at the counter. Drink options are sweet tea, unsweet tea and probably water. You get your drinks, find a table and someone brings you your  food. When we were here in the spring the line was long enough that we could barely close the door behind us. Today we were early enough that there were only two people in front of us. That was the shortest line while we were there.

There are no Aldi's around Harlingen but there is one here in Victoria. After lunch we went to Aldi's so Kathy could stock up. Then it was back to the campground. Kathy put away groceries and did a couple of loads of laundry. I took a couple of bike rides. Kathy took a picture of me as I biked past the RV on the other side of the stream. I did 7.2 miles after we returned from grocery shopping and later did another 3.4 miles before I went to pick up pizza for supper. Riding here is so nice. Concrete or asphalt pathways to ride on and no steep grades.

In between bike rides we did some alligator watching. We were sitting outside and noticed some folks who were walking down the path stop and look at the stream. Once they left curiosity got the better of Kathy and she walked over to look. I took this photo while sitting in a lawn chair at the RV. The tall grass is on the banks of the stream.

The alligator on the far stream bank is at least 6' long. I will be sure to have a 9mm in my  hand when I step out of the coach in the morning, in case he decided to sleep under the coach.

We decided on pizza for supper. Kathy found a super deal (the Belly Buster) at Double Dave's, a place only a few miles from the campground. The pizza is great, the pepperoni rolls are okay, I didn't eat any of the "desert" pizza but Kathy said it was good. We have enough leftovers to feed us for another 2 days.

Just after dark, as we were sitting eating our pizza. Some type of parade when down the street. The first vehicle was pulling a float that reminded us of an arcade at the state fair. It was playing loud music. Behind it were multiple vehicles that looked like jacked up, souped up gas powered golf carts. They had lights all over them. There was one car and one truck that I don't think you could have placed your hand on the body without touching a light. Several of the cars sounded good. They would stop, let the others get ahead so that there was a gap and then hit the gas hard to catch up. We have no idea what it was all about.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 15 - Friday, December 13 - White Oak Park near Lake Charles, LA to Victoria RV Park in Victoria, TX

 The low last night was in the high 40's, it great to finally get far enough south for warmer weather. We left White Oak Park at 10 AM and headed to Victoria, TX. We topped off our fuel before getting on I10, $2.99/gallon. We had seen the station on the into the park and knew it was an easy in and out for the RV. I knew there were stations where we could buy fuel for $2.80/gallon, or less, once we got into Texas but didn't think it was worth the hassle of trying to find one we could get in and out of. The "name brand" truck stop stations are always 30-50 cents a gallon more than the discount stations. When it takes 74.6 gallons to top off our 150 gallon tank its worth searching for a discount station we can get in and out of.

Light rain fell a few times, but never enough to leave the wipers on full time. Traffic was heavy most of the 278 miles and HEAVY for a few of them, especially the 50 miles through Houston. Still lots of construction on 59/Future I69 south of Houston. Traffic actually runs on the frontage roads that parallel the highway while they completely rebuild long sections of US59, which was a divided highway but not limited access.

We stopped at a rest area between Beaumont and Houston for lunch.

It was around 3:30 when we finally pulled into Victoria RV Park and got set up. It was a challenge getting the tow bar unhooked. For some reason the pins connecting the tow bar to the car were in a bind. No matter what I did I could not get them loose. I ended up having to drive them out of the connections. I grabbed my table and a beer and took a break after all that work. Kathy, who did all the driving today, was in taking a nap.

This is a great little park, only 18 spaces, $12/night for a full hook up. The RV parking section is along the edge of Victoria's 660 acre Riverside Park. Four and a half miles of the Guadalupe River run through the park. We spent several days here in early March of this year, on our way back north. We are only staying 2 nights this time. I hope to spend maybe a week on our way  back north in the spring. There are several museums within 50 miles that I would like to check out.

One of the cool things about staying here is watching the deer stroll through in the early evening. At 4:30 I had seen 4 of them further down the park. Four more came out of the woods and walked down an asphalt walking/biking path around 5:15.

Photo blown up.

The crossed the little stream a little further down the way and then actually walked part way back up towards the campers. 

Kathy was out after her nap. She said that it seemed like they were looking to be fed.

Friday's high here was 74. It is misting rain, on and off, and very humid. Tonight's low is forecast to be in the mid/high 60's. 

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 14 - Thursday, December 12 - Lake Charles, LA

 The biggest excitement for the past 24 hours was the overnight low being 38 degrees and finding out that our front furnace won't turn on with new thermostat. Our front AC/heat pump is OLD. It doesn't put out much heat when the temperature drops below 40. The rear AC/heat pump was new last year and seems to be much more efficient. Even when temperatures drop into the mid 30's it still puts out a reasonable amount of heat. When the front furnace doesn't work we don't have much for heating the front of the coach. Kathy wants it cool/cold in the bedroom. All of the rear furnace heat goes to the back as does most of the heat from the rear AC/heat pump. The only significant heat source for the front half of the coach is a small, portable electric space heater. The front half of the coach was down in the low 50's.

When the guys at Lakeshore installed the new thermostat Monday afternoon (it didn't arrive until midday Monday) they had to remove part of a kitchen cabinet to get access to the wires behind the thermostat. They didn't finish the installation until near quitting time. 

I sent them a couple of texts this morning and they replied with a couple of things for me to try. None of them worked, looks like I'm going to have to remove the cabinet to check the wires. They are supposed to get me information on how I do the cabinet removal.

Today was sunny with a high in the high 50's. There was a breeze, if you were in the sun and out of the breeze it was nice. If you were in the breeze it was cool even in the direct sunlight.

We went to Tia Juanita's Fish Camp for lunch. We previously went to one when we were in Beaumont last spring. Kathy loved her fish tacos. My food was OK.

After lunch we took a circuitous route back to the campground, just to look around a little. Once we got back we walked down to the river. It's a pretty place. We sat and enjoyed the view but it didn't take long to get cold, because of the breeze.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 13 - Wednesday, December 11 - Brookhaven, MS to Lake Charles, LA

 It rained some last night and we had 30 mph winds, Today the weather was beautiful. The early morning temperature was in the low 40's. During the day it warmed up to a sunny 59 degrees. 

We only travelled 230 miles today, from Brookhaven, MS to the White Oak RV Park near Lake Charles, LA. We stayed here before and wanted to stay here again. The sites have water and 50 amp but no sewers. There is a conveniently located dump station. It is a great deal for only $12/night. We plan on staying two nights. We are 485 miles from our final destination, Lakewood RV Resort, Harlingen, TX.

Traffic was heavy but it seemed to be far worse in the eastbound lanes. We only had one significant slow down in the west bound lanes. An old school bus, with West Virginia plates, was holding a steady 50 mph. It looked like it was packed full of household belongings. A car, also with West Virginia plates, was following behind it. All the west bound traffic had only one lane to use. 

Crossing the Mississippi in Baton Rouge.

Note the ship being loaded.

I would love to have been able to check out the gantry crane and conveyors that were being used to load the ship.

When we saw these domes last year, located on the west side of the river, I assumed they were some type of grain storage structures. They store wood pellets for overseas shipment. They are 117' tall and 202' in diameter. Each dome has a storage capacity of 40,000 tons. They are part of some "green energy" biomass project. Burning wood pellets is greener than burning coal because trees can be grown.

 Every time I goI10 through the Atchafalaya Basin. Every time I go through this area I am amazed at the people who managed to build I10 through this area. We came through here on December 9th last year. You can see more photos of the campground and a link to information on the Basin at:

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/day-6-saturday-december-9th-brookhaven.html

Parked at White Oak Park. Kathy visited with the lady in the camper on the left. She and her husband live about 15 miles from here. They come a camp so that he can fish for catfish. The campground has a boat launch. I didn't see the anyone around the blue tent.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.