Day 6: The sun came out and so did BIG Name Stars at Bentsen Grove!

It hit 68 degrees and Karen was out for a long bike ride.  The entire park came alive with activity.

The Betty Rydell Show was sponsored by the park.  She is a big name at the RV parks down here.

 

She and her husband are from Minnesota.  He is a retired trial judge who grew up near Williamson MI.  It was a two-person show.

Betty played eight different instruments during the show.  She was way past her prime but still was pretty talented with guitar, mandolin, violin, trumpet, keyboard, etc.

It cost Bill $5.00 to attend the show and he thinks he almost got his money's worth.

(almost)

Temps so high now we are running the RV fan.

 

 

 

 

Day 5: Unpacking and Getting Setteled Into The Rio Grande Valley

Here is the resort into which we booked our first week.  It is an older well-established resort with a 5-star rating and 850 sites.  They put out a huge weekly schedule of social events that include everything from clogging classes, aerobics, Mah Jongg, poker,Yoga, pickleball,quilting, to Swedish weaving,etc.etc.  They have two swimming pools - one of which is indoors.

Karen picks her grapefruit from the tree behind the RV.  We were delighted that all systems in the trailer are working as designed except the smoke detector that would not shut up. Bill cut its throat so we could sleep.  We will replace it soon.

 The park has a very large library with CDs as well as books and magazines.  The library works entirely under the honor system.

We had not seen a garden like this since last summer in Michigan.  It even had large green tomatoes.

For today- a high of 68 looks better down here than that 12 in upper Michigan!

Day Four: Through Houston and Victoria Texas - We Have Arrived!

We left Nacogdoches with the temp at only 18 degrees but the roads were dry and the sun was out.  Highway 59 was a smooth wide road and with the wind from the north we made great time.  By the time we hit Houston it was a balmy 34 degrees!  After lunch in Victoria we kept on trucking to make another long day on the road.  We usually would do some sight-seeing, and at least stop at a few State Parks, but with the weather so cold we rambled on toward warmer digs.

Karen cleaning windows in Cleveland Texas

The Houston Skyline and Minute Maid Stadium

At least we are finding healthy places to eat on the road

Anyone know what this brand new vehicle is designed to do?

Southbound Bus reads:  "WE HIRING DRIVERS"

Cattle still roam down here.  Where is Gus and Woodrow?

 

 

We arrived at our RV park near McAllen, TX Monday evening just after dark.  It took us 1983 miles and four days but we made it with Edgewater still attached.  Temp in Mission was 38 degrees but the forecast is for warmer weather on the way!

 

 



Day 3: Jonesboro Arkansas to Nacogdoches Texas (finally a thaw)

We awoke on Sunday in Jonesboro Arkansas to a temperature above freezing and rain coming down.  We hurried out as temperatures were predicted to drop all day and snow was in the forecast.  The fields in central Arkansas were flooded and muddy. We made it to Little Rock before noon and our truck and trailer, Edgewater, were thawed out finally and washed for the first time in months with the heavy rain.  There was a very strong wind out of the north that made driving with the trailer a white-knuckle experience pretty much all day.  We entered Texas at 3 PM on Sunday at Texarkana.  The temps often were below freezing but the roads were dry and we put another 430 miles on the truck. We grabbed a motel in Nacogdoches that Lucinda Williams will tell you "is in east Texas not far from the border."

Gas in southern states is cheaper than Michigan

Wet fields west of Jonesboro

Many flocks of birds seemed to appreciate the wet conditions.

Day Two: Four States and over 550 miles.

We put the petal to the metal to get on south before the oncoming storms.  We crossed into Kentucky at Louisville and headed west on the Western Kentucky Parkway toward Memphis.  A truck driver we met at a Subway gave us shortcut directions to get to Little Rock and we almost made it but settled in at a motel in Jonesboro Arkansas.  We started in Indiana and went through Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.  Highest temp we saw all day was 28 degrees.  It is cold everywhere so far.

 

Crossing the Mississippi north of Memphis

 

Racing the oncoming cold front into Arkansas

Starting our Trip to Texas in 2014



Thursday January 2, 2014 was a day to dig out the trailer as the temp was negative 10 degrees near Frederic

Proud Grandparents with Andrew, Nolan, and baby Eli

 

Friday was bitter cold but we got on the road early.  We stopped in Lansing to see our new grandson, Eli William Hollenbeck as well as his older brothers - Andrew and Nolan.  We put 430 miles on the truck and trailer and made it just past Indianapolis.  The highest temp we saw all day was 18 degrees.  We are getting 150 miles per tank of gas.  Snow on the ground the entire trip so far.

 

 

Heading to Texas in January 2014!

Pee Wee Herman in Texas video from YouTube