Sylvia's RV Journey

T he past 48 hours have been a tornado of events and emotions. I was able to arrange for a winch tow to pull out Sylver. She started right up, and I drove off the beach. My first and last time. I called insurance and had her towed to storage and am now waiting for an inspector. I don’t dare drive her any further until she is checked over. I am struggling with what transpired at the National Park service in N. Padre. As I used their phone to reach assistance, I heard the rangers state to others over and over, what they told me, what they told all that walked into the visitors center. “It’s ok to take a 2 wheel drive car/RV/truck up to mile 5” I asked about camping on the beach. Her response: “Well, what do you want to know?” That response should have been my first clue to question all of it.  After mile marker 5, you need a 4 wheel drive vehicle. No other warnings, no other precautions, no other words of wisdom, or any clues that this was not the ...

My utopea travel has temporarily hit a major road block. To make a long story short, I got stuck in the sand at North Padre National Seashore. A very remote part of the beach where you can drive onto the beach. Many have, with no problems at all. Unfortunately it was my turn to get stuck. I had 2 good samaritans try and pull me out with no success. I hoped for a ranger, but no one came. There was no cell reception. So I spent a sleepless night, stranded listening to an angry  sea, with howling winds. Scary? Yes, very scary. But I missed this by one night, the 29th, when a storm here was so severe, it came with tornado warnings. I was prepared to walk 2.5 miles back to the visitors center. I took a help me sign, and managed to flag down a driver who drove me there. My first hitch hike. Sylver Gypsy is at a tow yard waiting for the insurance inspection. She was bottomed out, essentially ship wrecked on the sand. I am safe with Jo Jo at a Red Roof Inn. I am exhausted, tramatized, and ...

I spent the night at a KOA at South Padre Island, excited about finally hitting the beach area the next morning. South Padre is near Brownsville Texas. I was stunned over what KOA charges for the night, however it was full hook ups with water, sewer dump, and electric, so I filled up, and emptied my reserves. Ran the AC for a while too. Breaking in the Sylver Gypsy. She is at 4400 miles. So she is still a baby. In the morning I drove to Andy Bowie State Park. Before noon, I was on the beach with my stuff to spend the afternoon. I did pretty well with cover up and 100 SPF sunscreen, but still managed to get stung. Oh my, it felt so good feeling the sun, and at the same time it was windy, and cool. So being out there for hours was a piece of cake. It is still hard to remember that it is only March. I went into the water, and the sand was smooth, and easy with no sharp debris. Walking with JoJo was funny. He does not like the water, so he managed to reach the end of his leash (16 feet) an...

I was able to connect with my high school classmate, Mary Ellen Taber. It was great seeing her, and her daughters. Dinner was delicious: steak fajitas, and I enjoyed a quite, cool night parked right next to her house. After a trip to Planet Fitness, I caught up with her at KFC with more friends, Joyce and Carol, and Corbin, who was 18. It was lovely conversation about the good old days, about the good and challenges of teaching in Mission. Many of the challenges that are felt all over the country. These were dedicated educators. But I think what impressed me most was how Corbin was completely patient, and participating in conversation with 4 other mature 50+ year old women. What teenager sits there so patiently for more than 2 hours in this type of company, and does so with a smile, and a sweet charming demeanor? Whoa, I was super impressed with this young man!!!! What a nice bunch of people!

After the visit at the Alamo, I crossed the street to the River walk. This unique area is kind of like an underground experience in the heart of the city. Stairs lead you down to the River which is blocked wall to wall on b oth sides with buildings, restaurants, hotels, and shops. I had to take the barge/boat ride, which was my tourist obligation, but also it was fun, and a great way to learn about the area. They also sold alcohol right at the barge ticket counter, which made for a good happy hour while on the barge. After passing all of those restaurants I decided to have an early dinner from a balcony watching all of the other tourists do the same. Yum, steak ranchero. I left the city parking lot, even though I seriously considered spending the night there. My intuition told me to leave. Reading FB postings since then, confirmed that I did the right thing. I made it to the Texas Air Museum and spent a quiet night there instead. As a member of harvesthosts.com, their app membership he...

I arrived later in the afternoon, and made it to one of the many missions here on town. There is so much world class history here. These missions are a part of the national park system. It was calming to walk amoung these buildings. I left a donation, and lite a candle for my parents. I didnt want to do it, but spent the night at a Wal-Mart. Well, it was bound to happen eventually. What can I say, but it was traffic noise for much of the night. The next day, I opted to go for a morning bike ride, which was really nice, and refreshing.  They have bikes that you can rent by the hour. Jo Jo  came along too, and fit in the front basket. I then went on to downtown, to see the Alamo, after a bit of parking  effort (the machine ate my money) There were tons of people here!! More history here, and celebrations of an intense battle.

I took the 10 am guided tour to see the 2000-4000 year old pictographs. It was a climb down into the canyon for about a mile and a half. There were some amazing, and unique images, and many that were quite faded. One wonders when they will be gone. I left the park at about noon and drove to Del Rio. The time had come to see a dentist. I had an implant put in a few weeks ago. Long story short, I am back on antibiotics. According to the dentist the implant looked fine. But I've been experiencing quite a bit of pain to the point where it's keeping me up at night. As I write this, that was a couple of days ago, and I'm still feeling pain. I do hope that the medication kicks in. The xrays show that all else is really ok. But tell that to my aching face. I thought I would continue the domestic fun with grocery shopping and a trip to CVS. I am lucky that the dentist was able to see me on the same day that I showed up. I didn't want to spend a night at the nearby Wal-Mart, so I...

Thanks to Mary Jane Edwards I was not ware of it at the time, but I found Seminole Canyon State Park. I decided to hike a 3 mile one way to see the 9 foot panther pictograph in a cave along the Pecos River. We are close to the Mexican border. It was an easy walk, but long, with no shade. It was very peaceful, except for the singing birds, and it was early. I did make it, and it was a beautiful view of the canyon. For hours I didn't meet a single soul. It got hot, and I had plenty of water, but there was something a bit unsettling, when at high noon, all I heard was bees, flies and crows, or maybe they were buzzards. This could have been a movie ending. Eventhough I am tired, it wasn't too bad, and I am planning a 1.5 mile hike tomorrow with a guide to the other pictographs, which are only viewed on  tour. I can do this. Jo Jo pettered out on my at mile#2, so I had him in my pouch for 4 miles. I called him a lazy puppy, and he gave me "the look." He makes me laugh. He...

I had planned to drive to San Antonio, but I am a sucker for brown signs on the  highway indicating a National Park, or as such. I know where the National Parks are, but am less aware of the monuments and recreation areas. The parks are my thing. So I turned to the brown sign, like a woman possesed, and headed down to the water. I came across a boat launch, and then a dirt road that lead the me to a penninsula. I parked at the end, right as the ground was fresh, and was surrounded by water on 3 sides. I scrambled to change into my suit, grabbed my towel, water, and JoJo's stuff, and parked my chair right where I could plant my feet at the edge. I went for a dip twice, and got way to much sun. It was hot, and the water was chilly. The fish were huge, and I thought of my dad, who would have loved to fish here. I have to confess that the the sign said: "No camping." It was sunset, a gorgeous one, and as I laid down, I realized I was not going to to follow the rules. I guess ...