Sunday, Feb. 13

We had been without electricity and water for days and needed to recharge the batteries and fill the tank. Western Texas has a poor selection of campgrounds, so we had to stay in a dreaded RV park in Fort Stockton, TX. The only thing we liked about it was its name – Honey Badger.

Monday, Feb. 14

This morning, as I was disconnecting things outside, I rounded the back of the Ham and was blinded by the sun. Not seeing our bikes on the rack, I was scalped by the brake handle on my bike. It’s a good thing that Carol thinks I look better with a scab on my head.

South Llano State Park is known for its wildlife and trails. There is a wild turkey roost preserve here, different species of deer, antelope, many varieties of birds and the whimsical four-legged, army helmet with a long snout and tail. Armadillos were everywhere and Christy tried to befriend everyone. They had nothing to do with her. It was a perfect day to sit in the sun and watch the arriving lady across from us back her trailer into her site. It took her 45 minutes, 27 tries and used the guidance of two park employees. When she finally got out of her pickup truck, she took an enthusiastic bow and the neighboring RVers all gave her a standing ovation. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Carol and I decided to make a brownie in a cup as our treat. We didn’t have any of the right ingredients, so we improvised with what we had. If anyone is interested in how to make brownie-in-a-cup chewing gum, let us know.

Tuesday, Feb. 15

Carol, the girls and I took a long hike in the woods this morning, in search of wild turkeys. The hike was good, but the turkey sightings were non-existent. Determined to see a turkey, I biked all the turkey roost trails again and returned disappointed. We finally figured out that the turkeys were an advertising ploy to get people to come to the park. I did get to watch a Blackbuck antelope.

Lois, Carol, the girls and I took a walk down a trail to a bird blind. Lois sat in the blind to watch the birds, but the birds were blind to the fact that she was there. We left and went back to being entertained by armadillos.

Wednesday, Feb. 16

Carol found us a COE campground northwest of San Antonio for two days. Christy and I were planning on kayaking in the lake, but the winds were too strong. With no trails, we just took walks on the park roads.

Thursday, Feb. 17

Christy and I were on an afternoon walk and stopped by to visit with a friendly neighboring boxer dog. He ran with Christy for a few minutes and then reversed his path toward me. Unexpectedly, he took flight and smashed into me. As I stumbled backward, I thought I felt his Wolverine-like toenails penetrate my forearm. I talked with the owner for a few minutes until I sensed something warm flowing down my arm. I wished her a good day and returned to the Ham. I removed my blood-stained shirt and discovered three punctures on my arm. I now have new scabs to match my head. 

Friday, Feb. 18

When we use our Harvest Host membership, our favorite places to stay are farms. VegOut! Farms grow organic vegetables and have a general store that sells fresh vegetables, pizza, cinnamon rolls and other general store stuff. They were cooking tonight to get things ready for their weekend hours, so we ordered a large pizza. Later in the evening, the host brought us two large 16″ vegetarian pizzas. She had a dough-rising malfunction, so, because our pizza was not up to her standards, she brought us two. We graciously accepted. When we closed the door, we immediately knew that we had a problem. We had stopped for groceries a little earlier and we weren’t certain what to do with the leftovers of just one pizza, and now we had two. Being good problem solvers and loving her pizza, Carol, Lois and I kept eating until the leftovers were small enough to get into the refrigerator. We were about to give up on what we thought was going to be a great sunset, when the sky exploded.

Saturday, Feb. 19

I flew my drone early this morning, then Carol and I did our general store shopping. When we make a special connection with a host, I make them a video of their property.

Clickonthislink to view the video. https://photos.app.goo.gl/FVfVYWtbRjsm8hht5

Driving through the middle of Houston today was ridiculous. A section of I-10 was closed! We made it to a winery on the east side of Trinity/Galveston Bay. Trinity Bay is freshwater and Galveston Bay is saltwater. It makes for great fishing, so we had a wonderful supper of catfish. We had to play with this gorgeous guy before we could get our dinners.

Louisiana doesn’t have counties, they have parishes. We are staying at a parish park on a river tonight in Lake Charles, LA. It’s a nice, small campground, but more importantly, it had hook-ups.