Saturday March 26, 2022

 The time has come to leave the RGV for the season. Unlike so many other seasons, we don't have any more Heartland Owners Club rallies to attend. We have an upcoming Camp-Out planned for April 25th-May2nd this spring. We will likely host one last Rally next year (2023) but haven't planned any dates yet. Stay tuned!

I have suffered from a bad back, likely caused by 34 years of wearing a gunbelt and gear. I had X-rays taken of my back several years ago with a diagnosis of my L4 and L5 vertebrae being and apparently causing irritation to the nerves running through them, affecting my legs and hips. It caused great pain in the muscles in my thighs, somewhat relieved by various medications and anti inflammatory pain mediations. I have taken myself off the pain meds out of a fear of addiction but plan to seek a medical expert's advice when I return home.

With our season coming to an end, it is time to return to Dickinson. We began the packing on Wednesday. With a lot of help from friends we got the porch taken down and packed up for travel. 

Thursday morning I began the last part of the outside work, finishing up the outside decorations and accessories before doing the utilities. Again with help from my friends to help with the painful chores. It was much slower than normal, but we got it done! We didn't actually leave until about 11 AM but we only have about 230 miles to travel today. 

We saw more Texas Highway Patrol Troopers today than I have ever seen in one area. We traveled north on the 281 highway and there was a Trooper at every crossover. The Border Patrol was also active, having a U Haul truck stopped with several men in custody along the highway. The Border Patrol checkpoints have become a mere slowdown, with only one agent to check us as we came through. I guess the dogs and handlers are needed somewhere else? 

We made the obligatory stop at the rest area just after the checkpoint. I've often wondered if the placement of the checkpoint only a couple of miles before the rest area is on purpose. Perhaps some people need to use the facilities after contacting the Border Patrol and Customs personnel?? They weren't interested in us, so we continued on toward Victoria, our overnight destination. We made another pitstop for coffee (me) and a cold soda for Stella. This had to be the largest Love's Truck Stop in the world! I parked far out from the truckers, to stay out of their way but we had to walk about a half-mile out from the building. This was measured by Stella's phone. 

We made it into the Gateway to the Gulf RV Park where we had an uneventful night. This little park has gone down in the past few years. A piece of 2X4 covers the sewer connection on the site we were on. The park used to have decent Internet service, but no more. Just little things are the problems.

We pulled out late, so as to avoid the rush-hour traffic in Houston. It worked! We breezed through without slowing down, which was planned. We arrived here a bit after 2PM and had a pretty easy setup. Well do the porch tomorrow, as it requires a lot of bending and stooping.

I was tired from two days' driving and the pack up and setup, so I slept very well. We spoke with brother Phil and his wife Carol and made a date to meet for breakfast. We ended up at the Los Ramirez in Dickinson for a delicious Mexican breakfast. 

It's good to be back!

So long.