November 2018

We stayed in San Antonio for 5 nights to spent time with Michelle and Peyton .
Another hurricane approached Mexico and pushed a cold front up into Texas. We had an overnight drop of 40 degrees. That morning Tony stepped out of the coach wearing the usual, tank top and shorts, and came right back in. I thought he was exaggerating, so I went outside. Wowza, it was freezing cold! We had no Winter clothes packed, because they were all stored away in Temple, TX.
We timed it just right, headed out that morning and made the 3 hour drive to Belton.
We reserved a spot on the Army Corp of Engineers campground for a week. We had to go thru all our boxes , find our Winter clothes and take care of our 27 ft. Travel trailer.
It rained a week straight with temperatures around 40. Not suitable to go thru a storage unit , because we had to move boxes outside to inspect and then restack. Finally, on day 7 the sun came out and temperatures climbed. We spent hours organizing our stuff. I was getting overwhelmed and realized that I couldn't care less about the majority of crap in there. Even though we sold all our furniture in June, we still had a ton of boxes. We made sure to take tools needed for the RV. Space heaters, our North Face boots, Mermot Jacket, extra Coralle plates and cups and kitchen supplies. We had to be very careful which items to choose, only the must haves were picked. We noticed that less is more. Pick the most important items that are of great quality and call it good. You will always go back to the same few items when you travel. They work and it makes life easier. Don't get lost in stuff and fill every inch. Most of the time you have no idea what is stored in the back on a shelf, if you don't use it on a regular basis.
We took care of the storage issue, next was...what to do with our old little gutted travel trailer???
Originally we planned on gutting and remodeling our 27 ft Grand Surveyor, but parking her out in the elements was costing us and wasn't good for the camper either.
It needed a good home!
I asked my friend Jennifer if she was interested in a big project and she did not hesitate. Happily she picked it up and towed her away.
We were excited to help out a Family that loved the outdoors as much as we do.
With all our errands done in Belton, it was time to start our new Journey!

After 2 nights in Kemah we packed up and hit the road around 10 AM. Landon was busy with his online classes, and I bounced between teaching him and helping to navigate for Tony. We were excited to see our daughter Michelle and her husband Peyton in San Antonio. They are stationed in Lackland and we wanted to celebrate her 20th birthday.
We stayed at the FamCamp on base. Full hookup, gravel sites close to the Commissary, for $20 per night. It was alright, but we would have enjoyed a bigger spot that was level even more.
So..we heard about Lulu's Cafe and the 3 pound cinnamon roll. That was originally our birthday cake for Michelle.
Upon entering the Cafe a weird smell made my stomach turn. We saw patches on the ceiling that had water leaks. We questioned, if it was safe to eat here. While waiting to be seated water dropped onto our heads and we decided to leave.
Too bad, we really wanted that cinnamon roll.
We dined at Maggiano's instead and had an outstanding waiter. The food was fabulous and desert divine. Tony and I had a slice of Cannoli Cake.
We didn't do much sightseeing, since we wanted to spend extra Family time , but we did check out The Pearl on a Sunday morning. Every Sunday local farmers, artists and entertainers gather and offer their unique goods. For brunch, sit down with food from one of the vendors, listen to music and people watch to your heart's content.
I tasted some amazing rosemary ciabatta dipped in olive vinaigrette.
When strolling around The Pearl don't forget to sneak inside Hotel Emma, a former brewery, where old industrial charm meets a modern twist. And of course, you have to visit the Alamo and San Antonio's Riverwalk.

We arrived in Kemah around 1 PM on Wednesday 10th, October.
Upon checking in @ Gordys Road RV park we heard on the news that hurricane Michael made landfall and devastated one of our favorite places on the Emerald coast. Watching the weather channel was heartbreaking.
Good thing we followed our instincts and packed up. The storm was massive!
Even in Louisiana we could see the outer banks of the hurricane.
Once we set up at our new spot for the next 2 nights, we cleaned up and drove 10 minutes down the road to the Kemah boardwalk. After traveling for 2 days it was nice to get out, stretch our legs and explore. We asked Landon if he wanted to ride the rollercoaster , but he just wanted to eat and go back to the RV. We were pretty tired and called it an early night.
T he next morning, after school was done, we drove to Galveston. Parking was free! Lucky us. We walked the Seawall , checked out Bubba Gump, a couple of beach stores and the Pleasure pier before driving out on East beach. Hardly anyone was driving on the beach due to the flooding caused by hurricane Michael. As far as Texas, flooding was still a concern.

We planned to stay in Mayport for a week, but had to cut it short due to hurricane Michael. We were debating on staying put in Mayport, because it looked like we were outside of the predicted path. Sunday night the wind already picked up and rocked the RV more than we expected. After talking to other campers and the people in the office we decided to leave before the storm gets closer. We did not want to sit, wondering if we need to evacuate and certainly did not want to be on the road close to the hurricane making landfall. We packed up Monday morning ( Columbus day) even though we had reservations through Friday and drove on Interstate 10 to Crestview, Fl.
We made that our quick overnight pitstop and continued early on Tuesday morning towards Lafayette, Louisiana. I wanted to visit New Orleans and do some sightseeing, but decided against it. The Interstate was beginning to get crowded and we witnessed several caravans of Electric companies from neighboring states driving east. You could definitely see that the state of Florida was preparing for the worst. We stayed in an RV park in Lafayette right off the Interstate with the intention of getting up early and hitting the road. I went to a local grocery store to get some Louisiana sausage, local rice, dark rue and one of the best bbq sauce I've ever had. We left Frog City RV park around 9 am. The wind had picked up and the sky was gray, more caravans were heading the opposite direction and I 10 was packed.
50 miles east of the Texas border the last band of Michael faded and opened up to a crisp blue sky. I am certain we made the right call by leaving 3 days ahead.