A Tour of Our Van

 Mom realized that we didn't give you a tour of our van.  Dad bought our van back in September.  It is a cargo van.

The van getting ready to become our camper van.

Mom's bed is on the right, I am in the middle (my bed extends) and Dad's is on the left. Mom's clothes are in the bins at the end of the bed.

We put our food above the chairs. The chairs swivel around so the folks can watch TV when we are parked.

We still haven't figured out this space yet. The microwave is on the bottom.  Dad's clothes are on the shelf above it. The pet cam can see the temperature in the van. The door next to the microwave pulls out and that is my bed extender.  

Our sink pulls out.

The sink is under the mirror.  Our fridge/refigerator is in the cooler under the sink.

One side is a fridge and the other is a freezer.  It works quite well.

The fridge runs on a battery when we are not plugged in.

This is the bathroom.  It is quite small.  The shower curtain pulls around it.  There is a shower in it. You can see the pet cam on the wall. We hang back packs above Mom's bed when we are traveling. They contain my items as well as Mom's items for showering.

That is basically the tour.  It is quite small especially when all three of us are in it at the same time. Most people have the beds pushed together and facing to the right instead of back to front.  Dad didn't want to have to crawl over Mom to get out of bed, so that is why he made it the way he did.  The carpet and paint are from our condo.  My bed is made from our old comforter.  It looks like home to me and I really like sleeping in it.  We have a butane stove that Mom can use inside.  We can grill outside, of course. Mom does find cooking in the van to be a real challenge, so she is concerned about the long trip we are planning for the fall. 

We may eventually get a bigger van but Mom wanted something that we could park anywhere and we can definitely do that with this van. 

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Likes Van Life

Two Week Vacation - Part 4

 We left Grandma's house around 8 a.m. on Friday morning.  It was a rainy morning.  We thought we were going to be able to avoid it, but the system kept moving down on us.  We were finally out of the rain when we reached Lebanon, MO.  We drove through the Ozark Mountains and through Arkanas again. The views are nice but the roads are very hilly and there are not any rest areas. It was a pretty uneventful day, but it was a long day.  We didn't reach our campground at Atlanta State Park in Atlanta, TX until 7 p.m.  Oh, one funny thing did happen.  We were just a few miles from our campground when Mom decided to follow Google's shortcut.  We ended up on some back roads that were almost too small for the van.  Mom thought it was funny.  Dad did not.  

The Atlanta State Park is nice with a big lake. The campground loop we stayed in was very small and the sites were not very spacious.  We were really only there to sleep and the folks took showers.  Mom said every time she went into the bath house, there were more bugs. It was hot outside, but the van was nice and cool.

Our site at Altanta State Park

We left the park around 9 a.m.  The drive home was uneventful.  We made a few stops for gas and one for lunch.  We finally arrived home around 3:30 p.m. due to traffic slowdowns.

It is nice to be home, but we are all a little bored now.  We have a bigger trip planned in the fall.  We are attending two greyhound events and visiting several national parks on that trip. 

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Misses Grandma's House

Two Week Vacation - Part 3

 We left Bennett Springs State Park on Wednesday morning around 10 a.m.  Our next stop was about 2.5 hours away, GRANDMA'S HOUSE!  I had never been to Grandma's House but I was excited to see it.  Let me tell you, her house is HUGE!  I am used to living small.  I live in a tiny condo and now I am traveling in a tiny van.  Grandma's house has an upstairs and a downstairs.  We stayed in her basement because it had more room for me.  We didn't take pictures, but you should have seen our king sized bed.  It was the most comfortable bed.  

We spent nine days at Grandma's house.  We seemed to always be doing something. They have a SUV and I fit just fine in the back with my bed.  We drove all over the countryside.  I saw where Mom and Dad lived with Jack, Scout and Joey.  We ate a lot of good food.  I didn't get much rest because I had to keep an eye on my folks and also Grandma and Grandpa.  Those people just didn't sit still for long.

Getting ready to go somewhere.

Resting in a sunbeam.

Taking a much needed nap.

Another nap.

Earning my kibble by delivering the paper to Grandma.

There are some scary noises at Grandma's house.  The first night we were there I saw a red truck making a noise.  It was a mosquito sprayer.  It scared me good.  On the last night there, Mom and I were out walking and we saw the mosquito sprayer coming down the street.  We tried to run but Mom is slow.  It was chasing us!  We made it to the house just before it got us though.  It was close. Another scary thing was Grandma's blinds. They go up and down on their own.  Spooky!

I met several nice people on my walks.  There is a beagle who lives next door.  She was nice. We went to a neat trail and we also went to a park.  

Walking around the park.  There were ducks and geese.

I went to my "uncle's house" and met his dog which I guess is my cousin.  His name is Jake and he is a golden.  He is a country boy.  He let me use his bed while I was visiting, so that was nice.  He loves to play frisbee.

I went to a winery with the folks but I had to stay in the van with the AC running as no dogs were allowed.  I am fine staying in the van on my own.  It is the only time I can get peace and quiet and I know that Mom is watching me on the pet cam, so no worries.  It was a big get together with Dad's Mom, stepdad, Dad, brother and sister. They haven't all been together since 2017. Mom took lots of photos there.

We left on Friday, the 25th, to head back to Galveston.  We were sad to leave but Mom said we will be back soon.  

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Loves Grandma's House

Two Week Vacation - Part 2

 The second day of our vacation began in Washington, Arkansas at Coulter Farmstead. We had spent the previous night there.  We left around 8 a.m. and made our way through Arkansas and into Missouri.  We drove for about 6.5 hours.  We made our way to Bennett Springs State Park.  This is a park that Jack, Scout and Joey loved to visit.  It is one of my folks' favorite places to stay.  I have to say that I agree that is a great place to stay.  I had a wonderful time.

Let's Go Mom!

Where are the waves?

Mom loves this spot of the park.

That's my Dad fishing.

When we arrived at the park, we went to our site.  It was in a wooded section because we couldn't get the section that Mom wanted.  It wasn't bad but it was way too far for us to walk to the areas that Mom wanted to walk plus ticks were an issue.  Dad had brought his electric bike and planned on riding it to the fishing spots.  However, he forgot the key, so he couldn't use the battery on the bike.  We were located at the top of a hill and there was no way he could ride it up the hill.  Mom said she would drive him to the fishing spots. This was fine except that she was nervous about backing up the van into our spot each time.  If you have ever camped, you know that everyone likes to watch each other.  😁We were the entertainment for the night as Mom practiced backing into the spot.  There was only one tree that she needed to avoid and she did that but she still had trouble getting into the spot.  I thought we would never get done practicing.  The next morning, we took Dad to his fishing spot and we headed home.  She avoided hitting the tree and was able to get into the spot in two tries. 😀 We then picked Dad up and she backed in perfectly.😅  She was happy but she still wanted to move to the loop that was closer to fishing.  She found out that there was an opening, so off we went to claim it.  The new site was nice but not shaded at all.  It was a very hot stay but our AC kept us cool.  Mom and I still chauvered Dad around but our site was a pull-thru so very easy for Mom.  Mom and I were able to walk to all her favorite spots and I was excited to get up at 5:30 a.m. and start the day.  Can you believe that?  I normally don't get up until 8 a.m. at home.

We drove into Lebanon on Tuesday.  The folks visited the Russell Stovers Outlet. Mom says it is a tradition. They bought chocolates to take to Grandma's house.  They also ate at Bandana's.  We do not have locations here and Mom loves their garlic bread as well as their BBQ.  I stayed in the van with the generator running the AC.  The folks have installed a pet cam, so they were able to watch me while they ate. We drove back to the campground after lunch and Dad fished again in the evening.

We were sad to leave on Wednesday morning.  It was so much fun.  The folks promised we would return soon. More to come in Part 3.

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Loves Camping

Two Week Vacation - Part 1

We left for our two week vacation on June 12th.  I planned to update you along the way, but that didn't work out.

We left Galveston at 8 a.m. and stopped around 3:30 p.m. for our first night.  We only had once incident where Dad missed a turn that Mom and Google told him to take and he didn't and then refused to make the U-turn that Mom and Google told him to take.  We ended up in Louisiana which was not part of our plan. 😀 Dad blamed Google but Mom blamed him for not making the U-turn.  We don't think it really added too much time to the trip.  Mom said we are getting a GPS that Dad can control because she is tired of hearing him complain about Google. 😂

We joined a program called Harvest Hosts. It allows campers to stay at wineries, farms, breweries, museums and attractions that participate in the program.  We decided to stay at Coulter Farmstead for our first night.  It is located in Washington, Arkansas.  The farm is beautiful and they are also a bed and breakfast.  They have goats and pigs.  I was fascinated by both.  There are also a few cats running around.  I was beyond excited even though it was really hot the night we stayed.  I think the feels like temperature was over 100.  When you use Harvest Hosts you are basically boondocking which means that you do not have electric.  Our host said it was okay to use our generator, so we were able to have AC. It is a pretty isolated place and our TV could not get TV stations and we did not have cell phone service. 

This is the old mercantile store. Mom bought jam and pecan brittle.

Cute log cabin that can be rented.

Our parking spot for the night.

I really liked this goat.

More goats.

Goats are interesting.

The top floor of the barn is available to spend the night.

One more of me watching the goats.

Another picture of the mercantile.

The owner's house.

The silly goat.

Our first stay at a Harvest Host was really nice and we plan to stay at more locations. We left the next morning around 8 a.m. and drove another 6.5 hours. We drove through a lot of hills.  We don't have hills where I live.  Part 2 of our vacation in the next post.

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Met Goats and Pigs