Rip off attempt unsuccessful

Whew!  What wind we have today.  The whole week was a bit windy and kept blowing thru my fur but today it feels like it not only wants to make the door impossible to open, it wants to pick me off my feet.  You should hear Dad complaining about his fuel mileage dropping lower and lower.  But then the reading on the DEF gauge took his mind off his MPG.  Dad knew it was time to refill with DEF so he planned to stop at the truck stop and tank up.  About 20 miles from our destination the warning blared across his screen....DEF warning.  Okay, just a warning.  At 10 miles out, another warning.....DEF see dealer.....  THEN at 4 miles out, the engine light lit up.  Oh no, can this be serious?

Two miles down the road Momma spotted a LOVE'S truck stop sign.  That was 2 miles closer than the Flying J they had planned to stop at.  

Whew!!  I'm not sure how close a call it was, but we motored/blew into Hilltop RV in Fort Stockton, Texas on full power without incident.

This silhouette sits across I-10 from the entrance to the campground.  

Check out my outdoor leash/rope.
Dad has it tied to our slide going up and over the topper that was flapping like crazy in all this wind.  

With our MPG looking pretty poor today, we had stopped at an EXON truck stop to top off.  The sign said 10 cents off for cash so Momma went inside to give them some cash.  She gave him too much cash, so she had to get some cash back.  When she looked at the receipt, it showed $2.49 instead of the $2.39 cash price.  When she questioned the attendant, he didn't even blink. He said the computer doesn't always calculate right. So he dug out his calculator and tried to dazzle Momma with a big show of calculating the difference.  He came up with 80 cents.  Now Momma can be pretty adept with numbers and she knew just by estimating that he was way off.  She asked him how many gallons we used.  He said 19.  Having been charged 10 cents a gallon too much, it wasn't too difficult to calculate 19 times 10 cents but it took several attempts for the attendant to agree.  I'm sure they rip people off daily....but not my Momma today!

Hickory
.....on the road again

Travel Day ...the Rally is over

Today was travel day.  I already knew because Momma had told me last night so I wasn't surprised to see the TV being strapped/belted, the chairs being turned so the slides could pass by, the shower door being locked and my water dish emptied.  I was READY.

I must say I was VERY surprised when they went out the door and told me to I had to stay.  At that point, the slides had been pulled in and the truck was hooked up.  'Hey, what's with this?  What do you mean you'll be back?  I always ride in the back seat...the WHOLE back seat to myself!  I'm ready to leave this rig and hop in my seat.'

I have to admit, I was pretty nervous.  This was not standard procedure.  We usually leave as soon as the truck is hooked up. Now where could they have gone?  I suppose they are off giving hugs and goodbyes to all the other Open Range Owners.  After all, we are at a rally.  They are probably even enjoying coffee and donuts.  I think I read something about that on the program sheet.

Well, I must say, I did some pacing on what was left of the open floor space and I kept passing by the bread basket sitting on the floor.  Momma always puts things on the floor when traveling rather than having them slide off and onto the floor during the trip.  

What is that?  Something is permeating through the plastic bag.  It smells like those banana nut muffins Momma made yesterday so they would have a mid trip snack when we stop for coffee break. Now go figure.  They are on the floor.....and not far from my food dish.  Do you suppose Momma left them for me?  Maybe if I have one it will settle my nerves a bit. After all, there are 3 muffins.  Do you think I"ll be in trouble with just one?  It's like eating mine early...before coffee break stop....as if they would give me my own muffin....

Okay, so I got a bit carried away.  If they didn't want me to eat 3 muffins, they should have returned sooner.  I wonder if I should hide all this leftover plastic?  I am rather neat....as I cleaned up every crumb!

Well, I know I'll be riding on a FULL belly today as we head further west on I-10 to Fort Stockton.

Hickory
.....on the road again

Where's Waldo?

Can you find Momma and Dad?  If you click on the pic it should get larger.

After a Texas morning start of breakfast burritos, everyone gathered by the flag poles for a group shot.

Just one more rally day left.

Hickory

.....on the road again

PS:  Hint: Look on the right side of the pic.  You can see Dad in his  cap.

Deja vu

Yep, that really is a poodle skirt sported by one of the Pink Ladies.

The Open Range Ambassador was surrounded by the ladies in their 50's attire ) but the Pink Ladies also brought some husbands along. The wagon masters went all out in their attire for the evening.

The music for the dance after the scrumptious BBQ was provided by Little Beverly and The Shades.  

 All those 50's and 60's songs were a trip down memory lane for Momma and Dad as well as most of the attendees at the 'Kickin' it in Texas' Open Range Owners Rally in Kerrville, Texas.

Dad says those Texans really know how to cook up a piece of red meat.  The BBQ dinner was cooked by the campground on their smoker/grills.  It was fork tender and tasty....too tasty for a doggie bag I guess.

They even gave away door prizes and Momma's number was the first one pulled.  Her prize looks like work to me...........

That brush comes with a LONG handle.

Everyone at our table won something.  Janice and Robin won a string of lights, Debbie and Charlie won Yeti mugs, and Phyllis and her husband won a Keurig Coffee Maker.  Not a bad haul!! 

Too  bad they didn't win a dog canopy, folding bed.  Oh well.  I can still dream while I'm laying on the ground....

Hickory
.....on the road again

A dog's life on the road

I visited with Lily and Lola today to see if they knew if their resting bed came in a larger size.  It sure looked comfy!!

These two dachshunds are just the right size to share this canopied bed from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  And it even folds up for travel. 

Did you know they even travel with their own 'kiddie'  pool?  All I travel with are poop bags.  


Hickory
.....on the road again

Where are the blue bonnets?

Momma told me that I would be able to sniff lots of blue bonnets.  We are at an Open Range Owners Rally in Kerrville, Tx.  All the flyers said we would see beautiful Texas blue bonnets so be sure to come to the April rally.  Well, these Texans must be colorblind.  The only thing I have spotted are prickly cactus with yellow blooms and some yellow wild flowers along the highways.

Now tell me, do you see any blue????  The excuse is ...you're too late this year. Because of all the early warm weather, the blooming is over already this year.

Tuesday morning Dad said we had a choice.  He likes to travel after everyone has gotten to work or school and the traffic congestion slows down BUT we really got plastered with love bugs going around Houston and he does NOT want a repeat performance heading to Kerrville.  The bugs usually sleep in in the morning so.....the choice is travel later and avoid congested traffic or travel early and avoid bugs.  Mmmm...bugs or traffic.  Guess who won out.

We were on the road before 8 am and only had 80 miles to travel.  The next question was whether the campground would receive us at 9:30 am.  

I just love a story with a happy ending, don't you.  The traffic was a tad thick around San Antonio but it never came to a dead stop. The bugs were sound asleep and the nose looked shiny and clean.  The site reserved for us at the campground was available and the campground was very gracious and welcoming.  I call that a WIN!

The only thing missing are the blue bonnets at this rally but Momma found a package of blue bonnet seeds in her welcome package.  

Hickory
.....on the road again

Buckhorn Saloon and Texas Ranger Museum

It seems that you used to be able to drink Lone Star Beer and liquor if you had some horns or antlers or maybe even rattles from a snake.  And if you were the saloon owner who had taken in all these horns and antlers, you needed to do something beneficial with them such as:

Chairs, stools and even a custom chair just for Teddy Roosevelt as well as flasks and powder horns.

And there is always an arch....decoration???  How do you dust that mess?

The rattles were turned into art:

The museum had an abundance of animals...well, mostly heads but a few full bodied.  No food budget needed for these critters.

These are just a sample of the rooms full of animals....some interesting racks.  We had never seen a barnacle rack before.  Did you guess the first skull was a hippo?

The Texas Ranger section was loaded with memorabilia.  Everything from spurs, guns, stars, chaps, boots, hats....

We even found a jail cell...notice Dad didn't close the door.  He didn't want to look out thru the bars.

Found this poster interesting:

After perusing the upstairs rooms, we decided we had worked up an appetite so we took advantage of the cafe/saloon offerings.

Interesting day for sure.  On our prior trip to San Antonio we had visited the Alamo and River Walk so we were looking for something new for this summer's adventure and we sure found it!

Hickory said she wasn't sure how she felt about all those 'stuffed' animals so she told me I had better do the blog if it was going to be shared.

Sharon

....on the road again

Question for the day

So the question of the day is:  When does cozy become cramped?  Our expert escort at Braunig Lake RV Resort, Elmendorf, Tx led us to our site and settled us on our pad positioned perfectly so our jacks are on the pad and our slides will glide past the power pedestal.  A nice long site that left us with a choice of parking our Dodge behind or in front of our rig.
Our neighbors had a two chairs and a matching table set out on their paved patio.  They had been here for two days and I'm sure they felt their set up went from spacious to cozy when we pulled in.  And then we deployed our bedroom slide.....which hung over their patio.  I'm sure at that point cozy began to feel cramped.

They had folded up their table and chairs due to rain clouds so you really can't appreciate the cute table and chair set they had.  It had Ohio stamped all over it.  They also had an Ohio lawn flag and Ohio license plate frame.  No, we didn't check their underwear for more Ohio gear.  I'll bet you can't guess where they are headed for the summer months. 😉💥😉

Dad said they must be immune to the constant yip, bark, yip of their ankle biter.  At this point, it must just blend in with the background noise to them.  It drove Dad nuts!!  He really smiled this morning with they pulled out to hit the road.  It wasn't even a deep throaty bark like I can produce.🌞

The love bugs were a real challenge to get off our rig.  The black wings were easily removed but the 'guts' were a whole different story.  We scrubbed upon arrival, trying to be sure our water didn't spray onto our neighbors.  Thankfully, the next morning brought cooler, cloudy weather so Dad could once again tackle the nose.  After all that scrubbing and cleaning, it was time to take advantage of the cooperating weather and wax the nose again.  I'm sure he had removed all that had been there.

Momma said he deserved to give his shoulders a rest from all that polishing and scrubbing so she took him to Sandy Oaks Olive Orchard for lunch.  

Check out the cute table settings:

 They even serve olive oil gelato....delicious!!  Momma said it was much better than the garlic ice cream she had tried a couple of years ago.

The orchard produces olives and the gift shop sells the olive oil products.  Everything from food related to health and beauty products.  Items to pamper yourself....olive oil soaps, shampoos, hand cream and lotions. Olive leaf tea and olive leaf jelly.  Yes, they even had honey.  

Now in case you are curious about whether or not our awning can be deployed in our cozy/cramped setting, the answer is yes...just.

  So does that fall under the cozy or cramped description?   You decide.

Hickory
......on the road again

Dilemma

Oh my, what will the outcome be?  It all began this morning when Momma cooked some apple cinnamon sausage patties that they had picked up somewhere along the way.  They sounded so delicious.  And then there was the reality.  Dad said he wasn't really impressed and he definitely wasn't up for any leftovers.  Kind of a polite way of saying, 'These sure are yucky!' I think we had better save these for Hickory. "Yeah.....OH yeah!!" ......

And then Momma reminded him of yesterday...in the truck.....traveling west on I-10.  Dad said, "I wonder if there is an Army Navy Store close by where we can pick up a couple of gas masks."  His polite way of saying the back seat is stinking...or more accurately, the 4 legged in the back seat is letting off gas bombs.  Who me??   I think it must be the cat that we don't have.   Momma wanted to know if Dad thought that apple cinnamon sausage patties may have the same effect....gas bombs. 

Well, as of right now, the sausage patties made it to the refrigerator and not the garbage ....but.....will I be allowed to cast my judgement on those savory sounding patties or will they hang out in the frig until it is time to take out the trash.  A real dilemma...what to do with those leftover patties.  I'm voting for a taste test and I think I'll just have to insert my nose inside the door the next time the refrigerator opens.

You know, if they had just turned their backs for 10 seconds, the dilemma would have been taken care of.  I know how to make a quick steal.  I've been fine tuning my technique. 

Hickory

....on the road again

A bust

Momma and Dad had made a reservation for an Historical Tour of Galveston.  There were two tour companies to choose from but one was 'closed for the season'.  It was called 'The Train' but it was really a cart towed by a jeep.  The second was promoted as an electric cart that looked like a large, multi-seat golf cart.  

I kept wondering why Momma never shared any pictures with me of the tour.  I finally found out why.  It seems that there are great tours, average tours and then...the tour that never should have been.  The tour vehicle turned out to be a multi-seat van.  The only positive things were the air conditioning worked and the speaker/mic system was used.  Now see if you can picture sardines, stuffed in a can and the lid slammed shut.  Now substitute 14 people for the sardines stuffed in a van with short seats (knees into the back of the seat in front of you) and sitting cheek to cheek so that the door will close.  Then look to your left and find a wide wall ....try to lean forward or back to see out one of the windows.  Then look to your right across the other passengers and you can see curb high because being stopped at the side of the road, the road slopes so the van slants.  Don't even think about trying to take a picture...of what?...the van wall or the other people blocking your view?  Thankfully, the 'tour' only lasted 50 minutes before the door opened and everyone exploded, similar to opening a can of Pillsbury biscuits,  out into the parking lot like where we took turns standing on everyone's legs to get them unfolded and straightened out once again.  

And wouldn't you know, Momma used a Groupon coupon.  Groupon wanted to know what she thought of the tour.  Do you think there was any way she was giving it any stars?  She decided to give an honest review...as a word of warning to other potential tourists looking for a fun activity.  The tour guide was knowledgeable but every time he said " you'll see on your left or on your right".  Nope, missed seeing that POI.  Too busy playing sardine....well, not in those exact words but......it wasn't a positive review.

Now Dad knew that Momma felt let down and that she loves all the Victorian architecture so he drove around the area so Momma could oooh and aaahhh and snap a few shots.

Then he took her down by the beach passing by O street, O 1/2 street; P Street, P 1/2 street.  Who thought up this street labeling system?  According to a nice gentleman who they chatted with, the lot sizing was changed after the original street labeling took place...thus the 1/2 street names were added.  Well, it is systematic.

With the morning fiasco behind them, they decided to pursue one of Dad's interests and headed for the Flight Museum out by the airport.  Okay, so this honestly rated better than the morning tour, but with the way the roped off path was laid, it was a do not touch...don't even get too close museum.  Dad was rather disappointed when he compared it to other flight museums we have visited.

Did you notice the pilot's name on the nose art?  'Waddy' Walter Young.  Momma's maiden name was Young.  Could it be possible?  Relation?  No, not according to the family tree.

There was also a jeep that had been in the flood when the ocean waters came ashore due to a hurricane and then refurbished for display once again.  The sign by it said that although it is not confirmed, there is a possibility that the name jeep came from the slurring of GP which stands for Government Purposes or General Purposes.  Now isn't that an interesting tidbit?

The grand winning experience of the day was securing a serpentine belt for the truck.  Dad got looking at the odometer and calculating how many more miles we might get out of our current belt and he decided that 'if you can locate the part, repairs can occur'.  So knowing that we are headed into Alaska and knowing that even the local part stores had to secure the part as it was not on their shelf, he decided to have a 'belt in the hand'  so to speak.  I guess it goes along with that boy scout motto, "Be Prepared".  

Hickory
....on the road again

Did you say Gumbo in Texas?

It appears that you can find delicious Gumbo in Texas as well as Louisiana...and here's the proof.  While staying in LaMaque, Texas, (near Galveston) Momma did a Google search and came up with Johnny's Seafood Cafe.
The setting is serviceable with table and chairs and a few booths.  Food is ordered at the counter but the staff go out of their way to be sure all your needs are met as you enjoy the savory, scrumptious fare that the superior cook has served up.  Would you believe that Momma and Dad ate there twice to be sure that WE ALL had leftovers to enjoy today after a day of travel?  Mmmm shrimp, catfish, red beans with rice, gumbo, hush puppies, and Dad even enjoyed REAL mashed potatoes...no instant shortcuts at this cafe!!

Actually, the travel was the easy part of the day.  Trying to rid the nose and truck of the COLLECTION of love bugs was the most challenging.....and Dad is still trying to complete that task.  Momma and Dad sprayed and scrubbed the nose for an hour and then Dad headed for the car wash with the truck.  He took a couple of pockets full of quarters.  He expects it to be a challenge, even with a power wand to assist him.  Are you getting the idea that we were overloaded....black....with bugs?

When we arrived today, the gal at the office as well as our escort enthusiastically shared that it was Friday and pork chop dinner was being served tonight in the building right next to the registration office.  A full dinner including drink for $8.  Momma wasn't sure if everyone so excited about sharing the dinner info because they were so looking forward to dinner themselves or if they just wanted to encourage us to attend.  As it turns out, we'll never know. (unless our neighbors on the next site who are from Ocala, Fl give us a full report after their pork chop dinner).   Rather than waiting until 5 pm, Dad and Momma decided to go with a sure thing....delicious leftovers...at an earlier hour.  They needed to fortify themselves for 'debugging detail'.

Hickory
.....on the road again