The Sage in Bloom!

One of the many joys of traveling in Contessa across this great land is the changing topology, especially as spring is emerging! The multitude of shades of green across the hillsides of West Texas are amazing – and the scent of spring and wildflowers are so calming.

Our first night in Texas was in Ft. Stockton – where we had spent a delightful afternoon and evening in November, 2018. We were thankful we had toured the fort and visited a bar (imagine that!) that had recently opened – as nothing was open this time.

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We took a nice walk around the campground – greeted (from an appropriate social distance) many folks including two that had been at Las Cruses NM with us the night before. In a “normal world”, we would most certainly shaken hands and perhaps shared some time together. Not this time!

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Another indication of spring is the plethora of bees & bugs – that seem to attack our large front window and “bow” of the coach while underway. In an effort to alleviate some of “big yellow splats”, Captain Bill used the windshield washer & wipers. Unfortunately, just as he did that – a speeding semi passes us and the bow current from his rig whipped the driver side wiper clean off the windshield and behind the rear-view mirror. Bill pulled over as soon as he could and we were able to prevent it being ripped off the rig.

So, a plan developed to contact a truck or RV repair facility in San Antonio the following day – and say a prayer for no rain during our travels. And, if it did rain, we discussed we would simply have to pull over until the rain passed.

Even though we have “lost” an hour each day for the last two days, we were up and out early this morning – which is our normal mode of travel. The sun was brilliant, which we were thankful for, even if it makes heading east a bit irritating. It didn’t take long, however, to have all that sunshine disappear behind dark storm clouds and signs of rain all around us. The roadway was wet – it had clearly rained just minutes ahead of us. We had about 2 minutes of a light mist that dried almost as soon as it hit the windshield. And then, all signs of rain dissipated and we spent the rest of the day with overcast but dry weather! There He goes again – taking care of us!

During the drive, calls were made to SouthWest Mobile RV Repair, who agreed to meet us upon our arrival at the Alamo KOA Campground mid afternoon and to Carlos to get Contessa washed on Tuesday. We also confirmed all our Dr & MRI appointments for next week. Providers are aware we are driving in – so if anything changes, they will advise, but for now, we are all systems go!

Traffic was eerily almost non-existent! There were miles and miles of I-10 where we didn’t see a vehicle either head or behind us – both in our lane and in the opposing direction.

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The last few miles were the worst of the trip so far, with the confluence of multiple interstates in the center of San Antonio and construction/concrete barriers. Captain Bill, as always, did a marvelous job and we arrived safe & sound at the Alamo KOA Campground at 2:15p. After “settling in”, he just couldn’t help himself but HAD to start working on the windshield wiper before Levy arrived (we knew he was on his way). Sure enough, he had the diagnosis done before Levy arrived – and together they were able to “save” the wiper arm!

So, here we are for TWO DAYS! It is our first stop for more than an overnight, which many of you know is not our standard 3-3-3. This travel is, of course, quite different and we are doing OK with the rate of travel – even while we are looking forward to a “gentle day” tomorrow.