April 3 – Checking into New Orleans
We couldn’t check into our rental house until 2pm, so even with a short drive ahead of us, we wanted to do something on our way into town. We decided to check out a plantation tour and after doing some quick research and discussion, we settled on the Laura Plantation.
April 2- Moving East in Louisiana
April 1 – Into Louisiana
We woke up in Winnie Texas and had a slow morning. Breakfast, scooter rides, and some cleaning up before we hit the road again. This was our last day in Texas and as we were driving towards Louisiana I reflected with Jen that we hadn’t had any BBQ. I was a little bummed about that, but we’ll make more of a point to eat more regional meals. I had a destination in mind that I had found on iOverlander, Lake Martin. Before we got there we did need to refill the propane tank so we stopped at a propane supplier and had to fill up our tiny tank. (1 gallon was $3.25)
March 31 – Space Center Houston
Playing catchup with these blogs as I’m writing this one on April 24th and though I remember these activities, the nuances of the days have left my mind and the desire to be caught up is compelling me to share some photos and only short written narratives. Sorry, but maybe you’ll enjoy this more 😉
March 30 – Jen’s Driving
Being at a KOA has it’s advantages. We had found out when we checked in that they have a breakfast counter which we were intent to patronize. So we sauntered over to Fred’s Fixins and found a menu with only a handful of options, but they do provide complimentary coffee 🙂
March 29 – The Alamo
March 28 – San Antonio Texas
We pulled out of our site in time to get to Boerne Dodge in time for our scheduled appointment to hopefully have the steering angle sensor calibrated to turn the lights off on the dash that no longer concern me, which is now what concerns me 😉
The drive went great and we made it there a half hour early. Jen and the kids grabbed their homeschooling gear and headed into the lobby while I went to the service counter with Molly to get checked in. The service tech took a look at the van and asked what year it was. She then went back to talk to the service manager which wasn’t a good sign. They both came back and informed me that they don’t have the proper scanner to communicate with our van that is made by Mercedes but badged and sold as a Dodge Sprinter. They were super kind about it all and even went as far as calling to the Mercedes dealership across the highway to see if they could get me in right away. So I found Jen and the kids, gave them the news, and we loaded back into the van the same way we brought it. A 5 minute drive brought us the the MB dealership where they had a plethora of sprinters lined up along the frontage road. A good sign for sure. We pulled into the service area where we looked like iron pyrite surrounded by diamonds. The service guy did a double take, no doubt looking for the MB Star on our grill and confirming his suspicion when he asked what “Is this”? A quick conversation later and we were again tromping into the service waiting area while they were going to “see what they could do while we waited”. The kids had just enough time to pick out bars from the complimentary counter when a tech came back to let me know that they couldn’t “fix” it but did confirm my suspicions that the culprit is the steering angle sensor. So with that knowledge we packed up in the van for the third time this morning and discussed our options for the rest of the day. We had an appointment at Costco to have the tires rotated and balanced, but were close to a museum that is part of out ASTC passport program. So with less time than we’d usually allot for such a stop, we cruised to The Doseum for some fun.
After playing and learning at The Doseum, we got back in the van and drove over to Costco for our tire appointment. We called in an order for Pizza and took a seat on a grassy island in the parking lot while they worked on the van. The van and pizza were both ready at about the same time, so we ate pizza at our own table and discussed our options for where to park for the night.
With the tires rotated, balance, and our bellies full. We drove over to a Walmart which we didn’t think we’d utilize much on this trip, but for the right times, it’s been a blessing to be able to park at them overnight. It works out for them as well, as looking at Mint, Walmart is the merchant we’ve spent the most money at so far this year.
This walmart was more hospitable than others we’ve been at. While Jen did some grocery shopping and the kids rode their Razor scooters on the sidewalk in front of the van, I pulled the steering wheel off (cause who needs that?) to replace the clock spring to eliminate one of the lights on the dashboard and get a look at the steering angle sensor to see if there was an easily identifiable issue that could be fixed. The work did result in the airbag light going off, but no luck with the steering angle sensor issue. I got the steering wheel back in place, the kids in their beds, and we had a nice quiet night.
March 27 – Amistad Reservoir
The drive out of Big Bend is as long as the drive in. It didn’t help that I missed the turn and added 15 minutes 😉
Eventually the park released us back into the rolling weaving drive until we came to a big long bridge over a big body of water that had an unassuming campground on the other side which we wanted to checkout and see if we’d call it home for the night.
It was right up our alley, quaint and empty! So we backed into a spot overlooking the Amistad Reservoir and settled in.
We did a little nature walk around the area and found a dock, so we had to go explore it. And when I’m on a dock, naturally I want to go swimming.
So swim I did, or rather jump in a couple times off the dock and swim back. It was quite windy, but the water felt nice.
After wrapping up our nature walk we ate dinner, cleaned up and settled in with a dramatic evening sky surrounding us.
March 26 – Another day in Big Bend NP
We woke up and decided we were going to move to one of the other campgrounds. We packed up, but left the beds in their setup position with the thought that our new site would also have a picnic table we could eat at instead of tearing down our beds and putting them back up again. Here’s a photo showing off our growing sticker collection.
We ended up in spot 15 on loop 3 which was a good site for us, and again, there were only a few available so we were happy to get it.
After claiming our spot, we headed up the road to the visitor center to turn in the Jr. Ranger packets, get badges, and pay for our site. For such a big park, these are the smallest visitor centers we’ve been to so far. They were shut down for the lunch hour so we did likewise and went back into the van for some lunch while we waited. Several others walked by the back of the van where Henry notified them that it was closed, long pause, until 1, long pause, for lunch.
Eventually the clock struck 1 and we set upon our mission with success.
After that we went back to our site for some relaxation, schoolwork, and then a little hike.
We had to return Molly to the van as no dogs were allowed on this hike. We had a great tour guide in Amelia who pointed out pretty flowers as we walked.
And then the highlight of the hike, for me at least, taking a dip in the Rio Grande River. It was great not only because it was super refreshing, but also because we got to talk with the kids about how their great grandfather, swam across that same river beside his family in a boat when they came to The United States. We have the written story in the trailer back in Phoenix and will share it with them when we get back there.
On the way back we saw fish, a horseman with a co-rider cross the river heading south, and also this little guy.
We got back to our site, played some soccer, had some dinner and went to bed in Big Bend National Park, under the stars of the big sky in the big state of Texas.