On The Road Again 15

Not everything’s bigger in Texas.  The predicted thunderstorm didn’t materialize during the night.  We had some rain and a big bushel of wind that made the Beaver Marquis sway from side to side.  We woke to the barking dogs and my body felt like it was maybe 6:15am but my cell phone said 9am.  I think we are jetlagged and just plain tired.  I’ve been in Texas 12 hours and already I have a southern accent.

The steps are still on strike so we are climbing in and out of the RV, lifting the dogs up and down.  It’s quite a sight to see, I’m sure.  I went to drop off the garbage in the RV park and came back to find Jolynn on the phone, trying to resolve yet another problem with the oil.  The battery issue apparently involves the fridge so now the food is at risk of getting spoiled since the fridge is not working.  It would have been easier to stay asleep this morning.

I made a quick walk through the gift shop in the RV Resort in Amarillo.  It’s a beautiful resort with tennis courts, swimming pool, golf putt-putt course and private little parking spaces.  The gift shop was every bit as nice as the resort itself.  I thought about buying a keychain but then I saw a big section of magnets and my attention was drawn to the colorful designs.  “Health Food Makes Me Sick” stood out as one of their biggest sellers and I saw some other magnet about disliking vegetarians.  Okay…now I remember where I am…yup, Texas. 

On the highway through Amarillo, we noticed that this city is a bigger, more modern city than we imagined.  They have big stores and huge billboards – Hooters, Texas Roadhouses, steak houses, Marine Recruitment, big donut shops.  I saw one big billboard that said “Real Girls Play In The Dirt” and I can only imagine what they are selling. Barreling down East 40, we passed one last horse museum and one last big donut shop on our way out of Amarillo. 

Jolynn is doing a wonderful, simply wonderful job of driving this big rig down highways that detour, wind and narrow, go down to single lanes with skinny perimeters in a moment’s notice.  She’s an amazing woman and an excellent driver, rain man.  As we passed the last “Don’t Mess With Texas” litter sign on the state border and crossed into Oklahoma, I heard a voice in my head say “Y’all come back now” and I thought “nope…probably not.”  Bye bye Texas.

Instantly the terrain changed in Oklahoma and the green came back….green pastures with cows under trees and beautiful red earth.  We stopped at the Welcome Center and took a picture because, after all, we ARE on vacation and that’s what tourists do.  On the way back from walking the tail-wagging dogs, a guy stopped Jolynn to tell her that when he passed us in his RV he noticed a flap on our roof.  A flap on our roof???  What??  Climbing on my hands and knees to get back into the RV, I saw Jolynn head for the back of the RV.  In a moment, she was on the roof inspecting the flap issue.  The stairs aren’t working, the fridge cut out and now there’s a flap on the roof.  Well, at least the ants are gone.

The down home folk in Elk City were all too anxious to help us out.  Not only did they have the part Jolynn needed but they dug around in an old drawer in the back of the store and came up with the perfect screw that Jolynn needed for the flap on the roof.  Right there in front of Yow Auto Supply, she climbed back up on the roof with her tools and flattened that flap.  I was getting bored in the RV so I found my binoculars and started looking at people’s houses and their living room curtains and before I knew it, Jolynn had recharged the battery and not only did the steps work but the fridge came back on!  The woman is simply amazing. 

An hour after we left Elk City and the nice old guys at Yow Auto, we had to pull off the road to readjust the battery cable as planned.  I took the dogs for another walk and tried to make them pee but they don’t always listen to me.  Grasshoppers were everywhere and I had this flashback to when I was about 10 and my dad was trying to teach me how to fish by hooking grasshoppers on the hook.  I really don’t like grasshoppers and I know what you’re thinking.....OMG not another insect rant.  I’m not going to rant about grasshoppers but I’ll  just say that when I got back into RV, I was happy to leave them behind…the little jumping monsters.  The world is full of scary things.

Rush hour in Oklahoma City is pretty crazy but Jolynn held her steady in the maze of traffic.  Most notable about OK City was the number of ferris wheels the city has – that’s a bit strange.  They sure do like their fireworks in Oklahoma and there were scores of black birds flying in mass over the freeways.  Fire warnings are everywhere and one sign on the highway from Oklahoma City to Tulsa said “Do Not Drive Into Smoke”.  I’m not making this up.  Really.  Do people here in the Midwest have to be told not to drive into a fire?  Makes you wonder….. 

Bear just poked me with his nose which usually means “hey, I need something” so I’ll have to end.  Earlier today our poodle had a little freak-out episode.  Jolynn was driving (of course) and talking on the phone (of course) and Bear suddenly jumped into Jolynn’s lap as we were going 65 mph down the highway.  I tried to get him, he retracted.  I offered treats and the more I tried to reach him, the more he squirmed and got into Jolynn’s face.  Finally I just grabbed him and he was very nervous.  I inspected him closely and he had two ugly, terribly ugly stickers imbedded in his curly hair that were apparently stabbing him.  I cut out the sharp stickers and he laid down on the queen bed, on the down quilt with the tiger duvet cover and  6 furry pillows behind him and went to sleep. 

We are loving this camping adventure.   Tonight we are at a KOA in Springfield Missouri and tomorrow we will be with my sister and her husband in Dent, Ohio. 

No ants, no grasshoppers, no stickers and the steps work!  We are on a roller coaster and we’re holding on for the next turn and as it happens, I’ll keep you posted.