Finally, went on an RV trip, but not in my B+.

I sent the last few days since the 9th. doing more mundane stuff like picking up the neighbor's dryer from the repair place. Also getting the Class B packed down ready for the trip to the San Antonio area. This would be the first trip I had made without my trusty old B+ in 12 years, and even then I had only made one trip in it in the last 7 years, since my DH died. That was to go to Galveston to see my dying granddaughter in ICU, after she got hit by the DDD (dam drunk driver), and the last trip my little doggie would make, as he was slated to be put to sleep, (as he had inoperable spleen cancer), upon my return. Those are the memories that I see every time I walk in to my B+. And this was going to be my first RV trip alone, for 20 + years.

I left here at 9.30 on Saturday, and traveled on some little country roads. I had never driven the Class B before, and it felt very different from my B+ with duals. It handled pretty well, as the wind was blowing, some times in hard gusts. I saw some beautiful scenery, but I couldn't look at it too well while driving or I would have gone over the side of the road. I could see where Austin Stone comes from. There is this beige rock and greenery all over the Hill Country, and I went up and down so many hills, some quite steep, that I could hear the $3.39 gallon gas slurping out the tailpipe.

I finally got to my destination and even in that subdivision there were really steep winding roads in the hills and valleys. I was in strange surroundings and didn't know what was around the next bend in the road, and there were lots of them. So on some of the hills I started out too slow, and made the 351cc in the Class B struggle to get up them, then there would be a really steep descent, and a curve, and I was scared to go down too fast not knowing what was around the corner. I haven't seen roads like that since I was in the Dolomites, in Italy. Not that there is any real comparision, as the Dolomites are a lot taller.

The RV that I went to see was just what I had been looking for. The floor plan was right, with a bed and a dinette. It was just the right height for me to get in and out of, and it wouldn't hurt my knee to drive it, because of the angle my knee would be at. I drove it a bit in those steep windy hills in that subdivision, and then the owner took over, and he knew where he was going and would just romp down on that little Astro 6 cyl. 4.2 motor and away it would go climbing up those steep winding roads, and down the other side. I have wanted one of these older Provan Tigers for years. The first one I ever saw was a toad for a bulgemobile, at Lady Bird Johnson RV Park, now that is having your cake and eating it ! But the one I went to see was ratty. I just don't understand people having something and not taking care of it. It was still full of fishing gear and camping stuff, so that you could hardly see in it. I could have made it really beautiful by throwing time and $ at it, but I have enough to do right here. And he wouldn't come down on the price, as he didn't really want to sell it. His wife did. I think that it was his 'dog house', and sanctuary.

The Class B that I was driving has my knee bent in such a way that it hurts, and wouldn't you know it, the cruise control wasn't working. Not that I could have used it on that terrain, but it would have been handy before I got to the Hill Country, and on the way home. So I left that area between Boerne and Blanco, and went over a lot of different wiggly back roads to Schertz and Stone Creek RV Park where "Debken" of RV-Dreams chat is staying. Debbie and Rod are now fulltimers, finally selling their house in FL after it being on the market for nearly two years.

Stone Creek isn't like some parks that are just cement parking lots sitting in the blazing sun. I dislike those kind of parks intensely, the glare of the sun off the white cement really hurts my eyes. Then there is no shade, so everyone has to congregate in the air conditioned club rooms, not outside their RVs with their BBQs and campfires. It just isn't the same. The people who design those type of RV parks aren't in TX.

At Stone Creek there are trees scattered around, there is grass, and the pads are, of course, crushed rock from the local area. Each site has a picnic table on a slab with a wooden gabled shelter with a shingled roof over it. Cute little wooden shingled bath houses too. I came in after the park office had closed, and chose from a posted list of open sites, one right across from Debbie and Rod. Their son and DIL were visiting, so Debbie and Rod were making a delicious dinner on their BBQs. Debbie was making chicken breasts, marinated in olive oil and seasonings. Rod made lots of veges which I love. Grilled zucchini and asparagus. Yummy. Potatoes cut up and roasted in the oven with fresh rosemary, garlic, and olive oil. Everyone is supposed to have some olive oil every day, so this was my kind of healthy eating. I don't do fried food. It was great to finally meet them.

They have a lovely Everest 5er that has a slide each side of the living room so it feels roomy, and a well laid out kitchen with an L-shaped island, or rather peninsula, as it is connected at one side.
Debbie tried to get my WiFi laptop connected through her WiFi, but it didn't make it. Great folks. We all visited for a while, and then it was time to retire. It is cold in 'them there hills' at night, and I had not expected that. I had remembered to pack a little cube heater, but only one thin little throw. I had intended to pack a blanket, but got sidetracked and packed tools; assorted screwdrivers, hammer, wrenches, socket set, battery charger, and a tiny box of assorted nails and screws instead. I was glad that I had my Makita screw gun with me as the generator door came loose just after I had left my home town. The thing I missed most in the B was closet lights. I have 12v. lights in all the closets and upper cabinets in my B+. The B was comfy, and compact, yet roomy with a lot of storage in a small space. It even has a slide-out pantry. The solar worked fine, as I had the fridge on 12v. a lot of the time. The entertainment center TV worked, once I figured out how to program it. The fancy radio/CD, with remote, worked once I figured it out, too. But the steps going in and out of the side of it let my knee know that a B wasn't for me. Too high up for lil ole me. So I am still on the quest for a lower down small RV.

We all said our goodbye's this morning, and I went on another windy road that cut south to I-10 and came back on the freeway, through Houston, even though it is a longer way round, hunting cheaper gas along the way. I saw it from $3.24 to $3.56 a gallon. Of course I was already past the $3.24 when I saw it.

I liked the RVing, but I didn't like all the driving. I crossed over the Colorado and Guadaloupe Rivers on my travels, so I really felt like I have been somewhere. It would have been better if I could have stayed in that area for a few days and made the trip more worth while.

A tiring couple of days.