We Are Still In Texas

We are supposed to be in Arizona in the sunshine, but where are we?  We are near Dallas. We arrived in Dallas on Thursday and since then we have encountered, snow, ice, cold and now rain.  This is not the vacation we had planned.


The view from the RV Friday morning.

Okay, so what happened?  Well, our plan was to visit Livingston, TX for a few days and take care of business.  Dad needed to update his driver license for driving the RV.  In Texas, you have to have a Class B license if your RV is over 26,0001 pounds.  Ours is not when it is empty, but when it is full it is.  Dad wanted to make sure he was legal, plus we are hoping to get an even bigger RV, but we will tell you about that later.  We arrived in Livingston and Dad took his written test and then he had to schedule a driving test.  They will not let you schedule it until you pass your written test.  Texas has a waiting list for driving tests.  Dad was able to schedule his test for two weeks later.  That meant we had to cancel the Good Sam's Rally in AZ.  The folks drove from license office to license office trying to get an earlier appointment.  The offices do not answer the phone, so that is what you have to do.  Unfortunately, you have to wait in line just to ask a question at the offices. The folks waited in line for 2.5 hours at one office.  Mom felt it was hopeless.  She found a number for customer service and the website said the best time to call was between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.  Mom started calling at 7 a.m.  She finally was put on hold at 7:40 a.m. and was able to speak to an operator at 8 a.m.  She was told there was an appointment available on February 23rd in Austin.  We took that appointment.  Since Dad was pretty sick with a cold, we kept putting off leaving Livingston.  We ended up leaving on the 22nd.  The weather in Austin was cold and ice was predicted.  The folks were nervous that the appointment would be canceled.  We followed Dad to the license office in the Jeep because it was too cold to stay at the campground without the RV.  We arrived an hour early and the test started 15 minutes late.  Dad passed!!!  We figured he would except we had heard he might have to parallel park.  Who parallel parks a 40' RV?  All appointments after Dad's were canceled, so we lucked out.  We were told most appointments are three to four weeks out and that will only get worse due to more budget cuts. 

The 23rd was Mom's birthday.  She hit the big 5-0.  It wasn't exciting because everyone was pretty worried about the driving test.  She did end up getting two birthday dinners out of Dad.
 

Steak dinner at Texas Land and Cattle

Chips and Salsa at Trudy's in Austin

Steak fajita chimi

Blackened Red Fish

 The folks really liked Trudy's.  The menu had a lot of different things.

Scout sleeping...yes, she is sleeping.  I think the flash made her open her eys.

The folks did do a few fun things in Austin.  We will tell you about that next time and then explain to you why we are near Dallas and not in Arizona. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Not Enjoying The Texas Weather

Come With Us On A Tour Of Rainbow's End

We are currently staying at the Escapee's park in Livingston, TX.  It is the headquarters of Escapees and is called Rainbow's End. Today, Mom took a tour of the place.  It took two hours.  She didn't expect it to take that long, but she said it was fun. Dad stayed home with us and coughed and moaned.  He has a cold.

Mom was excited to tour the mail facility because that is where our mail come to stays until we ask for it to be forwarded to us.  They do not allow any photos to be taken due to privacy of the customers.  She said the place is huge.  One room is just hanging files in bins and that is where the mail is stored for each person.  The next room has the sorting machine. The mail is sorted three times by the machine.  The settings are changed for each sort.  Mom said it was impressive.

Our mailing address is Rainbow Dr.

This is the club house.

Time capsule.

Ice Cream shop. This used to be the office.

Trolley that Mom took the tour on.

The required photo at the sign.

This is our site. The weigh station for RVs is on the left of us.  The laundry room is the building on the far left.

The C.A.R.E. Center.  We mentioned it in our last blog post.

This is the headquarters and the mail facility.

The library which is in the club house.

The tour also included driving past the two homes that the founders of our club lived in while here.

We definitely like Rainbow Plantation in Alabama better than here.  Mom says this is a nice place to visit, but she doesn't want to stay here long term. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Helped His Mom Pick Up The Mail Today

We Are In Texas!

We left Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL yesterday morning.  I think it might have been our favorite place so far. The sites are large, the dog park is great and we could walk for hours if we wanted to do so. Yep, it is a great place to stay. We received several hugs from our friends before we left and Mom shed a few tears as we drove away.  We will return one day. 

Our drive to Livingston, TX went fairly well. We had some high winds and wind gusts.  We thought we might be in rain all day, but it really didn't occur until in the late afternoon.  It was good we didn't have rain all day because our windshield wipers started acting up.  The passenger windshield wiper started going to the driver's side.  We used them sparingly, but then the passenger wiper got stuck on the driver's wiper.  That was not good.  Luckily, there was a spot to pull off the road and Mom jumped out and put the wiper back in the correct position.  Dad tried it and it got stuck again.  Mom put it back in it's proper place again and got back in the rig.  Dad said they would be able to use it once, so we had to wait until it was absolutely necessary.  Luckily, the rain stopped and we were able to reach our campground.  We arrived as the office was closing, but they checked us in.

This campground is the Escapees Club headquarters.  Rainbow Plantation is also an Escapee's campground.  We were told Rainbow Plantation is the nicest park in the system.  It is definitely nicer than here.  It is not bad here, but the sites are close together.  Our site is on the end, so we have a bigger yard than most.  We are located near the laundry room which is convenient.  They ask that people not use their own machines because the septic system is old.  Mom did all the laundry last night.  Dad brought home all of his dirty clothes, so she had a lot to do.  We are also near the dumpsters which we like because we don't have to walk with the trash bag as long.  We hate doing trash duty.

There are a lot of activities here.  Mom hopes to take one of the tours that they offer of the place. Mom wants to see the mail facility.  Our mail comes here and then is forwarded to wherever we are.  There is also the C.A.R.E. Center.  This is where Escapee members can get help if they are having trouble due to illness or injury.  We love our Escapee club for all that they offer.

We haven't really seen much of the place yet since it was late when we got in last night. We will take photos later today and show you around our new place.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Snuggling Under Blankets This Morning

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday, Dad came home!  Grandma and Grandpa also came by for a visit.  The day should have been very happy, but a dark cloud was over us.  Beckett, our greyhound buddy from Canada, left for the Rainbow Bridge.  Mama cried and cried when she read his goodbye to everyone and then she heard he was gone, she cried some more.  She said that Beckett reminded her so much of Jack.  We know he is happy and pain-free now, but it is still sad that he had to leave.  Our thoughts are with his Mom, Dad and sisters.  Beckett, we will never forget you!

It is Mardi Gras weekend! Did you know that Mobile is where Mardi Gras actually began?  It's true!  Mardi Gras is huge in this area.  There have been parades going on for at least two weeks.  The celebrations here are family friendly.  They throw beads, stuffed animals and Moon Pies at you on the parade routes. We are going to miss the parade in the campground.  I was looking forward to it.  I love a parade!  We leave tomorrow morning before the parade and are headed to Texas for a week!  Dad is on vacation for a whole month!

The folks went to dinner last night with Grandma and Grandpa. They had swamp soup again.  Mom brought us some gator bites.  YUM!

We have really enjoyed our time here, but glad that Dad is back with us.  We have made a lot of friends and handed out our business card to several people, so we may have a few new readers.  I hope they are not disappointed in our blog. Mom says my writing hasn't been that good lately.  I just gave her a look.  I don't think she gets it.  Anyway, we hope we have some fun adventures to post in the near future.

This is my "Mom, what are your talking about?" look.

Scout laying under a tree enjoying the warm weather.

I will miss digging in the sand.

Pine cones are all over, but this one is large.  Look at it compared to Scout's leg. 

These are items Mom bought at a pecan store.  We are going to have Butter Rum Pecan Syrup on pancakes when we get to Texas.

We hope to come back here again.  Mom says this place has spoiled all of us.  I can't imagine a nicer place for us to walk and run.  The grass is starting to grow under our feet though and it is time to move on and explore more of America.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Dusting Off His Cowboy Hat For His Next Adventure

Washed And Waxed

Saturday, two men came here and washed and waxed our rig.  One of the guys used to work at the greyhound race track in Mobile.  He was surprised at how mellow we were.  He was used to seeing greyhounds who were all excited about chasing the lure. 

The rig was really dirty, but these pictures don't seem to show that.

Maybe you can see the dirt on the tire.  The sand has really made it dirty.

Before they arrived, Mom took the tire covers and the window coverings off and washed them in the shower.  That was a sight to see.  She washed each one separately and then dried them on the counter and then added 303 spray to them.  The spray helps protect them.

We were a little scared when they started washing the rig because one of the men was on our roof.  He didn't walk as softly as Dad does on the roof.  Mom was anxious for him to get off the roof.

Mom, someone is on our roof!

Yikes!

The men washed the rig by hand.  The guy on the roof said the roof was really dirty.  Dad had never washed it because all the campgrounds we have stayed in haven't allowed us to wash our rig.   The guy washed the roof twice.  After the rig was washed, they left while it dried.  They then came back and waxed it.

Mom spent most of the time at the neighbors watching the washing and waxing.  The neighbors were so impressed with the work that they hired the men to do theirs.

Wow!  It really shines now!

This tire cover is stained and will not come clean.  Dad had put a gutter up to keep water from draining down, but the gutter fell off.  Mom scrubbed it and this is as good as it got.

This is the first time we have hired anyone to wash and wax our rig because normally it is too expensive.  This man only charges $125.  Dad said it was definitely worth it.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is No Longer Embarrassed By A Dirty Rig