Picking Up Where I Left Off in the Lone Star State

  Hello again. I finally have strong wifi and can continue where I left off. That was Space Center Houston. Mission Control is totally intact and looks as it did when the last Apollo mission was launched in 1975 and is now a historic landmark.

The next stop on the tram tour was the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. This is a working building for assembling pods for the International Space Station by multinational teams and also the Mars project, "Orion".

Next stop on the tram tour was the Saturn V rocket building.

The Saturn V is what powered the astronauts to the moon for the Apollo project and is the largest object to ever leave earth's gravity.

The last stop on the tram was rocket park.

The Mercury Redstone rocket that took Gus Grissom out of earth's atmosphere and put John Glenn, the first American in orbit.

  Back in the visitor's center is a wealth of space exploration history and future projects including the Mars project, Orion. 

Gemini V capsule in which Pete Conrad and Gordo Cooper broke the record at the time, for days in space at just shy of eight days and circling the earth 120 times.

The original Boeing NASA 905 shuttle carrier aircraft.

Here is a link if you would like learn more about the space center: https://spacecenter.org/attractions

  After touring the space center we stopped off in Houston to go to the Hard Rock Cafe. Doreen collects Hard Rock city pins and we stop at every Hard Rock on our path.

We had a delicious dinner and went back to the campground.

  Our next stop was Colorado River RV Park in Columbus Texas on the banks of the Colorado River.

Shade provided by a nice pecan tree which are plentiful in the park

There was extensive damage from Hurricane Harvey last year:

The flood waters must have been high as this sign beside the restroom shows:

The restroom sits on higher ground from where the photos above were taken and you can get a perspective here, taken from the road where the damage above is seen. To the left of the bath house is where I took the photo above:

  From Columbus we took a day trip to Austin, about an hour away. First we stopped for lunch in La Grange. I kept thinking of the ZZ Top song when I saw the signs so I had to stop to see what the "Little ol' band from Texas" was singing about.  Not much really but I had an excellent catfish sandwich at Bistro 108.

Once in Austin we visited the state capitol and toured the visitors center and capitol building.

The building and grounds are quite impressive. 

Inside the rotunda and view of the dome:

Stephen Austin, Doreen,  and Sam Houston:

House and Senate chambers:

Alamo and Confederate monuments:

After civics class it was off to E. 6'th Street. for a cold beverage. E. Sixth is lined with dive bars, cafe's and restaurants. It tries to be like Bourbon St. in New Orleans, Beale St. in Memphis, or Broadway in Nashville but to me it is just a bunch of bars and a lot of drug addled street people.

We had a few beers, ordered a pizza to go and got out of there after a completely stoned and incoherent doper slapped Doreen as they each other passed on the sidewalk. She was stunned but unscathed. This was early evening so I am sure it is quite worse as night falls. 

  From Colorado River we went to Medina Lake RV Resort in Lakehills Texas about 45 minutes outside San Antonio.

I suppose this could have passed for a resort many years ago but now it is little outdated. The bath houses were in bad shape and some of the structures are falling apart. 

Our site was decent though; we had plenty of shade from the Juniper trees which aren't too tall so I was able to get a good satellite signal.

The big draw is the deer that come right to your campsite looking to be fed. Bags of corn are sold in the store to feed them. I personally don't agree with feeding wild life but to each his own.

During the day they can be seen relaxing under the shade of Junipers or walking about grazing as they should off the land.

Here they might want to play putt-putt:

  Okay, enough of the deer, it was time to go to San Antonio and see The Alamo and the riverwalk.

Probably one of the most recognizable buildings in the U.S. if not the world as the Alamo is a UNESCO world heritage site with the entire series of five missions in Texas.

The structure above, which served as the fortress' church, is one of two buildings that remain of San Antonio de Valero, aka the Alamo constructed in 1718 by Spanish Missionaries. The other is called the long barracks, on the left, which is now a museum:

Interesting fact: the bell shaped facade' was added by the US army when the church was used as a supply depot in the 1800's.

Beautiful gardens surround the landmark as well as a gift shop, arbor with a 17 minute film, and fountain.

  Just about everyone knows the story of the Alamo so I won't go into it here. Even though the battle was won by the Mexican Army, the Texians (as they were known then) would go on to defeat Santa Ana with his 1600 men versus 800 Texians in the battle of San Jacinto in April 1836 thus securing independence from Mexico and paving the way for U.S. statehood nine years later.

  The Alamo is an amazing shrine to unflagging fight and determination of people yearning for freedom.

  Next we were off for the Riverwalk, a collection of restaurants along the San Antonio River.

I love to catch her before she has a chance to pose!

Of course a visit to the Hard Rock was in order:

Me and the Man in Black:

  So, here it goes. Are you wondering if we have had any problems or issues like last year? Of course!! Just so happens nothing has been trailer or vehicle related. I had to file a police report when my truck got burgled while parked in downtown San Antonio. The scoundrels stole a spare wallet where I kept backup credit cards and all my membership and rewards type cards. I didn't even realize this until I started getting fraud alerts on my phone while at dinner at the Hard Rock. Two of the three credit card companies denied the transactions but the third did not. The vagabonds ran up $2900 worth of charges at various retailers like Footlocker and Lidz, places where the urban demographic prefer to shop I guess. I have to wait for all transactions to clear and my credit union will dispute the charges and then I will not be held responsible for the charges.

  That is it for Texas other than a quick stopover in Fort Stockton (where I am now) for two nights. The heat is brutal, check out the seven day forecast:

The landscape is starting to resemble those of old cowboy movies: 

  Tomorrow we are off for two stops in New Mexico and then to the Grand Canyon. I will likely post after those stops. Until then have a safe Memorial Day.

First Post on 2018 Road Trip

  Our 2018 road trip has begun and so far it has proceeded without incident. We left Lakeland last Thursday, May 10 and our first stop was an overnight stay at Falling Waters State Park in Chipley, FL.

  The campground is small with about 26 sites but luckily it was not filled. We had a concrete ADA site that was quite cozy.

  As the park's name suggests there is a waterfall in the park; the highest in the state of Florida at 76 feet. To get to the waterfall a fifteen minute hike is required, first over a rugged trail that leads to a quaint beach and then through the forest along a very winding boardwalk.

  The waterfall tumbles into a cylindrical sink hole.

  Florida state parks are very well maintained and updated to provide access for all. Our site had a path the led directly to companion restrooms.

  Our stay was for only one night and we were out the next day for Tickfaw State Park in Springfield Louisiana.

  Once again another fabulous state park. This was a large park with two camping loops: one for tent campers and the other for RV's. We had a nice shaded site with an accompanying deck.

Here you can see how spaced out the sites are:

  The park had a small nature center with exhibits portraying the local flora and fauna and a boardwalk circling through the bayou.

  As you may have noticed I have not even unhitched the truck from the trailer. Decided we weren't going anywhere and didn't need the truck. I just biked around the parks.

  Next stop was Lake Conroe RV Resort in Conroe Texas. Now I would unhitch as we were here for four days.

  As far as Thousand Trails are concerned this is probably the most resort like next to Thousand Trails Orlando.  All new facilities and sections of vacation homes along with a gorgeous pool and cabanas.

  Lake Conroe is very convenient to Interstate 45 which leads directly to Houston to the south. We wanted to visit Houston but we wanted to go to Space Center Houston as well which is about 45 minutes southeast of Houston.

  Space Center Houston is part of the campus of the Johnson Space Center. A tram tour is the best way to see the the working areas of NASA. The tour lasts 90 minutes and is well worth the time (the tram is included in the entrance fee). A half hour tour is offered also. 

  First stop on the tour is the Apollo Mission Control Center.

Here is the actual control room from where the Apollo missions were controlled.

Unfortunatley I am going to have to close this post as I keep loosing connection to the wifi and pics will not upload. I will continue this post when I have better wifi.

What Else Can Go Wrong? and The End

  Let's recap the trials and tribulations of a four month camping trip through 17 states and 23 campgrounds:

"TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER" INCIDENT

  5/31/17- day one, stop one. Twin Oaks Campground, Elko, GA (see June 1 post)

Roof damage that delayed the rest of the trip 22 days.

"THEM!" THE GREAT ANT INVASION

  6/29/2017- third stop Hidden Cove RV Resort Arley, AL. We picked up a batch of ants. We arrived at Downtown Riverside RV Park at North Little Rock, AR and opened the trailer and saw them marching in lines across the ceiling and walls, across the counters and in the pantry. A trip to Lowe's was in order to pick up ant killer.

We had to empty the entire trailer, wipe everything down with a solution of vinegar, Windex, and dish soap. The key is breaking the trail that the scouts leave. The solution accomplishes this as well as killing them. The process went on for days. The ants kept coming and we had no idea where they were coming from. After researching the issue on the Internet Doreen learned the habits and patterns of Monomorium minimum, little black ants, we discovered a nest they built. It was under the refrigerator which I got to by removing the panel outside where the back of the fridge is accessed. I cleared out their nasty mud huts and sprayed them to kingdom come. We were victorious at last. Maybe.

TIRES AND BODY

  6/29/2017 On the trip to North Little Rock I almost lost a piece of the trailer body and saw it flapping in the wind. Pulled over, climbed into the bed of the truck to dig out a screwdriver and reattached it. 

Just for good measure I noticed during a fuel/bathroom stop a bulge on the inside sidewall of the right rear trailer tire.

7/5/2017 Had to stop after leaving North Little Rock to get a new tire. Pouring down rain of course:

  7/5/2017 With a new tire mounted we were on our way to Texas, and guess what? That body piece came off again so this time I dug the power drill out and tapped new holes to hold the piece in place.

 7/14/2017 Needed to get an oil change for the truck in Oklahoma City.

THE HITCH SAGA PART 1 

 8/14/2017 An entire month without any issues. Pulled into Steel Wheel Campground in Deadwood, SD and noticed my hitch clip had shifted a half inch or so. I didn't give it much thought at that point.

DEAD IN THE "WATERLOO"

  8/23/2017 Two Rivers State Recreation Area, Waterloo, NE. I am settled in with a cold beer and listening to the Pirates playing the Dodgers on the truck's SiriusXM radio. Rich Hill of the Dodgers is pitching a perfect game when about the seventh inning the radio goes silent. I have killed the battery.

 8/24/2017 I enlist the help of my camping neighbor to give me jump. No luck. Now I call Allstate Roadside Assistance. 

  The local towing company sends a truck but the battery jumper does not have enough juice and he has to call for backup. The next truck shows up and it takes half-an-hour to get me started. I miss Josh Harrison's homer in the 10'th and Hill looses the no-no and the game.

THE HITCH SAGA PART 2

8/25/2017 Arrive at Sandy Beach Camp in Solon, IA and notice the a fore mentioned hitch clip has bent. I find a metal shop in Cedar Rapids and have it bent back to the correct angle. 

The bolt should be vertical in this pic. 

"IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?" THE DEAD ANTENNA

  9/5/2017 Bear Cave Camping Resort, Buchanan, MI. This a resort in name only. We have to take a site near the river as there are no full hook up sites available.

It is a nice woodsy site making satellite reception impossible. I try the new King Jack HDTV antenna that I had installed at Camping World Tampa. This is supposed to pull in over the air signals that other antenna cannot. The antenna can be rotated to achieve the strongest reception based on the LED lights on the meter:

The more blue lights lit the better the signal. Unfortunately the red light should be green and the only time the blue lights come on is when a cell phone is near it. I am out in the middle of nowhere and can't haul in a single station. I now strongly suspect that Camping World in Macon did not reconnect it when they repaired the roof. I make an appointment for October 16 to stop there when we will be returning to Florida.

THE HITCH SAGA PART 3

  9/9/2017  The bend job lasts three trips until Mercer, PA. It has bent again. Luckily there is a trailer shop nearby and I get a brand new one for $45. Also I notice I have lost a lens cover for the side marker light on the trailer.

THE HITCH SAGA PART 4 AND NEPA DRAMA

  9/15/2017  We arrive at my mother-in-laws house in Jessup, PA and the new part has bent. The photo above is actually the new one that I bought in Mercer. I am now officially fed up and I forget about it for the two weeks we are there.

  While parked in Tootsies drive way I decide to hook the water up to the trailer using her garden hose. The hose is old and the dry green rubber cracks and leaks so now I attach my hose. A few days later that springs a leak. Now I need a new hose. I go to the closest RV store, about half-an-hour away in Pittston. I get one of those kink free hoses and a new lens cover. Did I also get a new hitch clip? Nope, I forgot. Did I get the correct size lens cover? Nope.

  

  9/29/2017 Now we are hooking up to leave Tootsies and realize the hitch clip is bent. I give it a try and it bends beyond the point of usefulness. Now I have to drive back to Pittston. Luckily they have a new improved replacement part. There have been many reported failures of the REESE CORP HITCH CLIP they nice lady tells me and they have ceased selling them. She sells me a reinforced version that should not be a problem.  I also get the correct lens cover.

New:

Notice the reinforcement around the entire clip.

 Old:

  9/23/2017 The lost cell phone episode at Oktoberfest in Scranton. (see prior post). 

NO PLUMBERS NEEDED

  10/4/2017 PA Dutch Country Camping Resort, Manheim, PA.  Doreen discovers a water leak under the kitchen sink. After further investigation I see the under the sink water filter is leaking at the fittings. The fittings are quick connect fittings and are simple pieces of plastic inserted into the brass:

  After a few hours of futile attempts to correct the leak I gave up. So of course I was off to Lowe's the next morning. The associate was very helpful and I switched all the fittings to brass. Problem solved.

"EXHAUSTING" THE DEF

  10/6/2017 We leave Manheim 

and are on the road to Lynchburg RV Resort in Gladys, VA. 

We stop to refuel at a Pilot Truck stop in Mt. Jackson, VA and I knew I was getting low on diesel exhaust fluid so I decided to use the dispenser right at the pump. I put in 2.5 gallons which is the normal amount when i use a jug from the store. I started the truck but the DEF warning did not reset as it normally does. From there the countdown was on. The warning comes on when there is less than 1,000 miles from empty, and I was already down to about 100 miles. We were about 45 minutes from our destination when the real warning comes on: In 400 miles engine speed will be limited to 65mph. REFILL NOW. I pull over and break out a spare jug of DEF to fill it but it is not empty. I call the nearest GMC dealer (according to Google Maps) It is now about 5 PM on a Friday so I know my options are limited. Can you say Roadside Assistance?  The service guy I spoke to on the phone was friendly and he recommended that I continue to my destination and seek service there since he was 30 miles in the opposite direction over the mountain. (we were driving in the Shenandoah Valley near the Blue Ridge Mountains). He recommended Pinkerton Chevrolet in Lynchburg.

  We got settled in at our campsite made some more phone calls. First to Pinkerton where no one answered the phone. We left voice mails. The next day we finally got in touch with someone at a different dealer in Altavista, VA. George the service manager told me to come in Monday at 10:30 AM. He stated mine was a common problem with the DEF systems in the diesels. Just a matter of installing a new kit. Margaret the service advisor got me in and out by 1 PM on Monday and everything was covered under warranty. What a relief! 

"THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN GEORGIA VIRGINIA"

  Our last night in Virginia was spent in a power failure. About 8 PM the power went out in our loop and we decided to stay put. There was power in a different loop of the campground but I saw n reason to pack everything up for one night since we were leaving in the morning for South Carolina. We left about 11 AM and the power was still not restored.

"THEM!" THE SEQUEL

  So here we are back where the whole thing started; the Peach State, or more like the bug state. As I stated earlier we have an appointment at Camping World here in Georgia and we pulled into Interstate RV campground on October 14. This is the closest CG near Camping World, directly across the road. We can leave here at 8:50 AM and be there for our 9 AM appointment. This morning I went for a walk and when I returned to the trailer the floor was soaking wet. Doreen had been cleaning ants! We got them again but not nearly as bad as the first incident. We had everything cleaned sufficiently to be able to watch the Steeler game at 4:30 but what a hassle.

ONE LAST LOSS

  I almost forgot to mention  my missing LP tank cover lid lost somewhere on the highway between Georgia and Lakeland  

"A DAY OF BROKEN DRAWERS"

  October 16 and we are finally home. Two days of unloading and cleaning the trailer and I believe I am done with the trailer until next year. Oops, Doreen was putting clothes away in her drawer when her knee gave out and she fell onto the open wardrobe drawer breaking it into several pieces and breaking the slides. I can only shake my head and pick up the pieces. I put the pieces away and tell myself that this is a project for the spring. 

  Stay tuned for next year because the planning has already begun. Thinking California and the Pacific Northwest.