Chapter 1 - Day 15 to Home - all is well

 So, the very end of our trip was a little chaotic. We stopped in Virginia, did laundry, got a touch of food poisoning, drove home. The end. I'm not going to bore or gross you out with the details.

A quick overview of the entire thing from start to finish. I love this. I can't wait to head out again. Seeing new things, new people, new weather patterns feeds something that's very hungry inside me.

The next trip kicks off soon. If you want the heads up on my next adventure 'follow' the blog. It will send you an email the next time I post. It'll be a couple of weeks.

Thanks for following along! 

Love,

Mother and the Spawn

Chapter 1 - Day 14 - GEORGIA AQUARIUM and Core Memories

 I slept so well, which meant Clay didn't. We don't seem to have similar nights. If it's too quiet, sans street noises, Clay doesn't sleep well. Me? I love the quieter places.

After a quick pitstop for caffeine and donuts we headed into Atlanta. I wasn't looking forward to the drive, but it honestly wasn't too bad.

Once there we had a very nice police officer let us know where we could park the Beast and then hoofed it from that parking lot to the aquarium. 

I'm going to just say this one thing, then let the pics tell the story. There are few things I experience anymore that I would say are 'core memories', things so important or impressive that they rank up there with top experiences. Things like seeing the Louvre, going to Pompeii, driving to the Netherlands and seeing the tulip fields... those are all top memories I have. Today added another.

I could have sat in front of their big tank for hours. It was amazing.

Tonight we're staying near Charlotte NC. Yes, we drove from Atlanta this afternoon. I'm done. Tired and sick of driving, but it was an epic day. Oh, and Atlanta traffic? 

Chapter 1 - Day 13 - Sheep Farms and Alabama

 The morning bloomed sunny and chilly. While I worked Clay took a walk into the BassPro to see if they had fish, tried to buy a multitool and was told they had to be 18yo. So, mom to the rescue. :D

From Pearl, MS we headed east through most of Alabama. We camped at HD Farm in Eastaboga, AL with a lovely retired couple who own a sheep farm. Both the owners were Cooperative Extension regional peeps, so the conversations we had about livestock nutrition were fantastic. Getting in, parked and hooked up to Electric gave us just enough time to cuddle lambs. So cute!

Tomorrow it's into Atlanta for the Georgia Aquarium. I CAN NOT wait!!

Chapter 1 - Day 12 - Planning Whiplash

Flexibility is the name of this game. The weather at home this weekend is going to be nasty so we needed a new-new plan.

We decided to spend sometime traveling east before heading north toward home. We're heading toward Atlanta to go to Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca Cola, then going toward Virginia to hang out with one of Clay's friends.

Clay isn't hating this plan. 

We spent the night near Hope, AR in the welcome center. Throughout the night we had some trucker neighbors but it was a quiet place to stay the night. We headed out toward Louisiana and Mississippi with no specific destination in mind. The plan was to drive until I didn't want to anymore.

Louisiana was fun. We saw mini oil derricks mixed in with cows, a wild couch in its natural habitat, a muskrat and a couple deer. Drive thru liquor and margarita stores, crawfish and crab shacks, alligator bites and more. 

We crossed into Mississippi and stopped to go potty. Clay was being immature. It wasn't me. Really.

We stopped in Pearl, MS just outside Jackson, MS at the BassPro. Hoping for a quiet night. 

Hugs,

Mother and the Spawn

Chapter 1 - Day 11 - The Reckoning

 I have so much fun coming up with the titles.

I've made the executive decision to head back home today instead of waiting until Friday. Clay isn't happy, which makes me no happy. So, we jumped in the Beast, revved her up and headed north. I'm not sure when we'll actually get home, but it'll be sometime in the next couple of days.

We drove through some snow, some slush, some ice. It was fun. No, really, just enough to make it fun.

We're camping the night just over the Texas border in Hope, Arkansas. It's a really nice rest area with RV specific parking! 

Chapter 1 - Day 10 - Gloriously boring

 Yes. We really did NOTHING. Well, I worked, but beyond that we watched movies, napped, and did nothing. It was wonderfully sloth-like. I can't even think of anything else to write. LOL We ordered food in from Domino's and a local BBQ joint. It was good. :D The end. 

Chapter 1 - Day 9 - Bills WIN!, Laundry! and a hotel room!

 Today blossomed cold and blustery with freezing rain and pellety snow. I was entertained during work watching the Texans take on our weather.

Ice and pellet snow at the Texas Prison Museum

Throughout the day I was stressing about temps and propane until I realized I could just get a hotel room for a couple days. DUH! So, the plan changed again. Instead of continuing south and trying to make it work I was just going to blow out the pipes and get a room.

Best Western in Waller Texas is going to be our home until Wednesday morning. That's when the worst of this stupid cold spell is done.

In the middle of the morning we had to find someplace with propane because we were running out. It took a couple of calls but I found a place open and not too far. The roads weren't too bad. Sure, they were a little slick, but nothing the Beast couldn't handle. We did go slow and steady, take the stops slowly and all the good northern techniques.

Once we were propaned up we found a Walmart close and parked there for a while. Again, the entertainment from the window was pretty good. Rear wheel drive pickups seem to be the biggest culprits of shenanigans. 

Same stuff, different parking lot

When it was time we headed to Hempstead, about an hour south of Huntsville where the Walmart was. First stop was at the Love's outside Huntsville to drain the tanks and blow the lines out. Love's has a great little dumping station that was clean and easy to use. Clay manned the inside stuff, turning on all the faucets, etc, and I handled the outside work. We even called each other so we could talk, walkie talkie style, while we worked. Once we had all the water out of the fresh water tank I hooked the air compresser up to the winterizing hose (courtesy of Ben putting a fitting on the hose for me) and opened the bypass. Clay was laughing because the water was shooting out everywhere from the faucets. Once that was done it was time to leave the faucets open, turn off all the water 'things' and add some antifreeze to the elbow traps and around the toilet ring. I'm praying that's enough.

Window washing bucket at Love's, foamy ice

This Love's had a Wendy's. Nuggies for the win.

Mom's hat saving the day in the bathroom for Clay... it was sacrificed for the greater good.

 Hempstead has a great laundromat that caters to RV'ers. Wildflower Washteria. Cute name, cute set up. We were actually supposed to spend the night there, another HarvestHosts find, but with the cold we just stopped to do laundry.

Clay ended up taking it all on. With a little instruction and a few phone calls to me in the camper he handled it all just fine. First time doing laundry at a laundromat by himself. Not bad.

Oh, and the Bills were winning.

After laundry we drove the 20 mins or so from Hempstead to Waller. Roads by then were really fine. Nothing happening there.

We walked into the hotel, Best Western Plus Waller Hotel, at the 2 minute warning of the Bills game. The attendee had it on the TV. We watched the missed field goal as I was signing papers. 

The room is very TALL, which is cool because it gives it a bigger feel. The beds are clean, the shower is clean, and the fridge works. I'm a happy mom. We settled in, after long, glorious showers, for a good night's sleep and food.

Did you know that Jack in the Box has delivery? We'd never eaten JB before so we ordered for delivery. Yes, really, and I'll post how close we were. We could have walked, but nah. We tried a burger, jalapeño poppers, mini tacos, churros and more.

Tomorrow is going to be wonderfully boring. Work, sleep, eat. No worrying about water or propane. 

P.S. yes, we remembered to bring the sodas in with us so they didn't explode in the camper. :D