Once again we were fortunate to find wonderful RV service technicians: Felton's RV Service, in Houston, replaced our Togo Roadlink, got our large slide and auto-level stabilizers working again, correctly re-installed our AquaGo tankless water heater, and provided us with a Texas state inspection for our upcoming vehicle re-registration - all in four days, with expertise and integrity, and at a fair price. After the many scare stories I've heard about RV repair services, I could not have been more relieved.
Heading down to the Texas Gulf Coast to hang out with my mom, we enjoyed our first Buc-ee's, which is a regional chain of amazingly well-appointed roadside service centers.
Besides having a large interior area of every kind of food, snack, or accessory you might need, the outside grassy area for dogs was the absolute cleanest of anywhere on our trip so far. The various clever signs and numerous dog waste stations seemed to really make a difference.
We had treated ourselves to Buc-ee's after an hour hold-up on the road due to an accident. As Doug said, we just had to remember that someone was having a much worse day than we were, and we could be patient. Of course, where we stalled was between cell towers while I was on a conference call and screen-sharing session. Another lesson: We will definitely have to be more conscious of the status of connectivity along a planned route when one of us has a meeting scheduled.
We arrived in the evening, after one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen, set in an expanse of sky amplified by the flatness of this part of Texas. We easily auto-leveled on my mom's cement driveway, and plugged into a household 15 amp power outlet.
It's a little odd sleeping in my old bedroom, and going out to the rig to fetch a skillet or tomorrow's outfit or a new bottle of shampoo. Hershey had spent time with my mom at our home in Virginia, so he has settled easily into her house; but the dogs in this neighborhood seem, on the whole, to be larger and louder than at our old home, which means Hershey has been anxiously whimpering at times. There are other differences, too: instead of sweetly chirping robins, we have raucous grackles, whose vocalizations include odd crackling and flapping sounds; instead of lush northern grass, we have sticker burrs that we pause to pull out of a limping Hershey's paw; and there is an unfamiliar prevalence of heavy duty pickup trucks everywhere, usually moving at an alarmingly fast clip. But also: T-shirts and light pants instead of scarves and sweaters, and the salt smell of sea breezes and the exhilirating cries of sea birds overhead.
Of course, being in Texas is not the same as becoming a Texan; effort was required. (1) Registering our motor home with the Dept of Motor Vehicles. This went quickly and easily, though I felt a little abashed when they asked for a rental contract or utility bill to prove residency address, and I answered "We don't have those - we're living with my mom." (2) Obtaining our driver's licenses through the Dept of Public Safety. The Driver License Mega Center looked impressive, and every human being we dealt with was professional, pleasant, and efficient - but the system could use some improvement, as it never estimated how long the process would take, and, believe me, we would have made different plans if we'd known up front it would be a 5-1/2 hour process! We also received a scare at the end when the passport certification system was intermittently down, and we were told we might have to come back on another day... (I was already sweating, as my Virginia driver's license was due to expire in four days, on my birthday.)
But we made it through - and that, plus Texas insurance and having registered to vote, means - we're Texans now.
We'll stay here a couple more weeks, to finish outfitting the rig, now dubbed the Osprey, and to spend time with our younger daughter, who will join us for her college spring break. Then we head even further west!
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