Hurlshot's 2014 Summer RV Trip

[Gromnir]

am loathing hot temps. we did roofing supply during summers in high school. got paid by the square meant half the guys were abusing greenies. stand on tar paper and slats of house with 12 (or worse) pitch as stacks o' 30lbs 'o concrete or ceramic tile is thrown at you by a toothless moron. go through a pair o' gloves every couple o' days no matter how much duct tape you use to reinforce. miserable job made worse when temps hit 100 degrees. we learned to hate the heat. going to arizona and new mexico during the summer for a vacation? is pretty much our definition of madness... along with ketchup on hot dogs.

 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[ManifestedISO]

I love visiting old Spanish missions. The first-ever one in California is San Diego de Alcala. One of these days, I'll travel up the coast trail to see the ones in central and northern CA. 

[Gromnir]

ps

 

to put hurlshot's tires and toilet into perspective, Gromnir took our bmw x5 into the shop this am. a couple years ago we finally traded in our old ford ranger pickup for a more fancy vehicle-- we miss our truck. Gromnir does have a second car, but it isn't for daily driving. anywho, the bmw were frequent not starting. we had hoped it were the battery that were the problem as that were the only cheap problem we could foresee. it were also the only thing on that computerized monstrosity that we could test and fix our self given the symptoms. we tested battery and that weren't it, so we dropped off The Beast at a local shop and waited for the bad news.

 

bad alternator... and bad something else that sounded like a computer part rather than a car part. am kinda fuzzy on the problem 'cause our mind kinda went white-blank when we heard the amount we would be charged for repairs: $3,400.  is not like we can't afford to fix the thing, but we is kinda a cheapskate at heart (save for when providing gratuities to food service persons) so we were nonplussed when we heard total monetary damage. $360 for a couple goodyear tires for an rv? we wish.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Hurlshort]

Day 3 - Ok, we finally are hitting the more scenic areas, so I'll try to get some good environment shots tomorrow.  It's also the first non driving day of the trip, which is great.  Today we passed into New Mexico.  There were quite a few clouds in the sky, and some loked like rain clouds, but you could actually see the rain evaporating before it got low enough to do anything.  We also passed a ton of huge dust storm twister things, they were crazy looking.  I wasn't going to stop and take pictures in case they turned my way, sorry.

 

When we got into Las Cruces, we decided to trek a mile to a really good Mexican restaurant for dinner.  Afterward we walked to a beautiful minor basilica called San Albino.  Just for ManifestedISO:

 

 

 

We also stopped off at this odd roadside attraction called The Thing.  Spoiler alert, the Thing was a mummified mother and child.  I could not get a good photo because of the glare, but I did take a picture of this gun.  I'm not sure I believe the sign that says it is priceless, it cost a buck to get into this attraction:

 

 

They definitely had some weird taste at this place:

 

 

 

 

I did have a bit of a flash of the movie Nothing But Trouble, but we did the Humpty Dance and they let us go in the end.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Hurlshot

[Gromnir]

 

 

 

 

 

when tim burton were in jr. high wood shop, the teacher instructed him to make a birdhouse. instead, this is what young tim crafted.

 

HA! Good Fun! 

[Hurlshort]

No trip in 2010 & 2011?

 

My son was born during the summer of 2010.  In 2011 my wife tore her ACL right before our vacation, so we had to scratch that one.  

[Hurlshort]

Day 4 - So today was hot.  Too hot to do much of anything.  We spent the day moving between the RV and the little clubhouse they have at the RV park.  I did go running at 6 AM, and it was already very warm.  I also spent the day trying to convince my son to poop, and fed him apples and bran muffins.  We go through this on every trip.  

 

I'm going to post a few pictures from yesterday.  Here we are entering New Mexico:

 

 

And here we are set up at the site:

 

 

Once the sun went down a bit, we headed over to a pizza and winery place for dinner.  It was fantastic, and they had some great gelato to finish us off.

 

 

Tomorrow we get up early and start a very long drive to San Antonio.  It is actually only supposed to be 90 degrees out there, so thankfully it will be a little less scorching.  All they way across Texas, whoa boy.  Thankfully I have a ton of pizza to eat for lunch tomorrow, so that's a plus.  

[Calax]

If you end up in Iowa give me a ring.... (you probably won't but meh)

[Hurlshort]

If you end up in Iowa give me a ring.... (you probably won't but meh)

 

Not this trip!  We are getting pretty close when we go through Missouri and Kansas, but then we drop back down.  I do plan on taking a northern route through the states is a couple years, depending on finances.  I have a ton of stuff to see on the Eastern seaboard.

[ManifestedISO]

Huh, I have two uncles that live (or lived--haven't seen or heard from them in decades) in Ames and Des Moines. My father and those two brothers grew up in St. Louis, I remember driving out there to see the grandparents and the humid heat in Kansas was like a blazing wet blanket from Florida. Not that I've ever been there, thank god. 

[Hurlshort]

I am now trying to attract a cricket that has snuck into my ceiling vent with some peanut butter.  He is right above my bed.  I opened up the vent but he's hiding in a crevasse.   

[mkreku]

I've been to San Antonio. It was my favourite place to visit when I was in Texas. That place is almost like an American Venice, with the canals and everything! Very good food, great hospitality and (if I remember correctly) great micro-brewed beer.

 

I didn't remember the Alamo..

[Gorgon]

I like how every exhibit has a plaque saying how much it's supposedly worth. Are they about to have a major fire ?

[Amentep]

I like how every exhibit has a plaque saying how much it's supposedly worth. Are they about to have a major fire ?

 

Hucksterism 101: The rubes don't pay to see worthless, un-notable items.

[Gromnir]

I've been to San Antonio. It was my favourite place to visit when I was in Texas. That place is almost like an American Venice, with the canals and everything! Very good food, great hospitality and (if I remember correctly) great micro-brewed beer.

 

I didn't remember the Alamo..

well, hurl is in new mexico, yes? while he is there, he can stop at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert. am given to understand that the benedictines has an award winning micro-brew o' there own.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Amentep]

 

I like how every exhibit has a plaque saying how much it's supposedly worth. Are they about to have a major fire ?

 

Hucksterism 101: The rubes don't pay to see worthless, un-notable items.

 

 

I realized upon re-reading this it could be seen as me calling Hurl a rube, not really my intent.  I think these roadside shows can be interesting if you know what you're getting into.

 

But the ballyhoo is there, regardless.

[Gromnir]

 

I've been to San Antonio. It was my favourite place to visit when I was in Texas. That place is almost like an American Venice, with the canals and everything! Very good food, great hospitality and (if I remember correctly) great micro-brewed beer.

 

I didn't remember the Alamo..

well, hurl is in new mexico, yes? while he is there, he can stop at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert. am given to understand that the benedictines has an award winning micro-brew o' there own.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

"there own"? sheesh. am gonna blame on an auto-correct 'cause am not seeing how that coulda' happened.

 

is also a church in santa fe that is quite pretty... includes a "miraculous" staircase. the miracle stuff is unnecessary given that the chapel is beautiful enough on its own merits. and whoever the mystery carpenter were who created the staircase did a fantastic job. the handrail that were added some number o' years afterwards felt to us like sacrilege... wish we coulda' seen without such an embellishment.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Hurlshort]

I'll be going through Santa Fe on the way back, so I'll keep an eye out for the micro-brewery and church.

 

 

Day 5 - 600 miles through Texas!  Today was the longest drive of the trip, and it was crazy.  I got on the road by 6:45 AM, and managed to get 200 miles under us before the kids start to stir and ask to get dressed.  They slept through quite a bit of it, so that was great.  We passed through El Paso, which was huge.  But then for the next 400 miles there was hardly anything.  At one point, I went a pretty long stretch without gas.  I pulled over to a station in the middle of nowhere, but they were charging $4.00 a gallon!  I still had a quarter of a tank, so I figured I'd stop at another.  50 miles went by and there was nothing.  The next town was about 40 miles out, but I estimated I only had enough gas for about 30 miles.  I stressed and stressed.  I checked google for possible side roads that might take me to gas.  The light went on with about 20 miles left to go.  I checked to make sure I knew where the hazard lights were, I checked to make sure we had decent cell phone service for roadside assistance, and I kept a sharp eye on the shoulder to look for a decent place to pull over.  Somehow we managed to make the town.  I filled up, and it turns out that my 30 gallon tank really has about 30.5 gallons in it.  

 

Then we hit a tremendous thunderstorm a couple hours out of San Antonio.  I white knuckled my way through the torrential downpour as bolts of lightning crackled around me.  The kids actually slept through it, which was for the best.  We pulled into San Antonio and found our park just down the street from where the Spurs play.  It's a great park, it has a bunch of stuff for the kids and is more alive than all the other parks we have been in.  Tomorrow we will take a bus to the city center and explore.

 

Here's a pic of us at a roadside rest stop:

 

[Hurlshort]

 

 

 

I like how every exhibit has a plaque saying how much it's supposedly worth. Are they about to have a major fire ?

 

Hucksterism 101: The rubes don't pay to see worthless, un-notable items. 

 

 

I realized upon re-reading this it could be seen as me calling Hurl a rube, not really my intent.  I think these roadside shows can be interesting if you know what you're getting into.

 

But the ballyhoo is there, regardless.

 

 

I'm happy to play the part of the rube for a buck most days.    

 

The cost was small enough to justify it, and it was a nice break from driving.

 

Plus the kids loved it:

 

 

Oh I forgot to mention we passed through a Border Patrol checkpoint.  Thankfully the menacing dog was not interested in our cargo, and we passed through with just a quick question about our citizenship. 

Edited June 26, 2014 by Hurlshot

[BruceVC]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thankfully the menacing dog was not interested in our cargo,

 

Wowzers...that must have been nerve-wracking

 

Imagine if they had found all that crystal you were keeping for the evitable road trip partying that comes later

Edited June 26, 2014 by BruceVC

[Humanoid]

Huh, there are border guards between states over there? I know the stereotype about being more security-conscious over there, but I still find that surprising.

[Amentep]

I'm happy to play the part of the rube for a buck most days.    

 

The cost was small enough to justify it, and it was a nice break from driving.

 

Plus the kids loved it:

 

Yeah, some of those places are fun. I've always wanted to go to some of the remaining route 66 roadside attractions.

[Hurlshort]

Huh, there are border guards between states over there? I know the stereotype about being more security-conscious over there, but I still find that surprising.

 

I was surprised as well.  We didn't bring passports on this trip, and I don't even have one for my youngest, so I'd be hard pressed to prove citizenship for my kids.  But I assume they are just looking for things suspicious, we were travelling alone Interstate 10 and it really is a stone's throw away from the border for quite a few miles.

[Sofaking]

 

Huh, there are border guards between states over there? I know the stereotype about being more security-conscious over there, but I still find that surprising.

 

I was surprised as well.  We didn't bring passports on this trip, and I don't even have one for my youngest, so I'd be hard pressed to prove citizenship for my kids.  But I assume they are just looking for things suspicious, we were travelling alone Interstate 10 and it really is a stone's throw away from the border for quite a few miles.

 

 

Ugh, I hate those "border" checks. Those things shoudl be illegal.

[Hurlshort]

Day 6 - Today was the first day I really felt like we were on vacation.  We went out and explored San Antonio, and it was a great adventure.  The day started with us trying to get to the Alamo.  We took a break under a veranda for about 30 minutes while a passing storm dumped buckets of water, and then continued on.  The heat was still in the 90's and the humidity was high, so it was always nice when we found a decent air conditioned building.  Here are some pics of the Alamo:

 

 

 

We also toured an impressive cathedral where the leaders of the Alamo are interred.

 

 

 

After that we did a boat tour of the Riverwalk.  It was very interesting, but it put us in the sun for awhile so we sought out some ice cream and a cool building after that.  I decided to try and find a decent place for some local beers, but most of the Riverwalk was tourist trap stuff.  There was one good location about a mile away called The Friendly Spot, so I convinced my wife that it would be a good place to check out.  The walk was tough, and on the way there my son fell asleep, my daughter started to whine, and my wife started to look skeptical.  We got to the place, and there was no air conditioning!  It was actually a very neat outdoor bar and grill, and there was even a playground for the kids.  This would have been ideal in better weather, but alas my whole family did not dig it.  I won my wife over with a grapefruit beer.

 

 

My daughter cheered up a bit with some iced tea and I got myself there beer of the day, a pale ale.  But then Logan woke up, and he was not happy.  I did a couple laps with him in the stroller while I drank my beer to keep him from total meltdown, and then I grabbed a last beer.  We also ate a couple appetizers that were great, a IPA hummus dip and some mushroom tacos.  Logan's fuse got shorter and shorter, so I finished up my local IPA and we hit the road.  We stopped off at a used video game store to enjoy the AC, and suddenly Logan was happy again.  

 

So the two beers, coupled with the heat and not eating much, went straight to my head.  I was close to buying an old SNES, but my wife convinced me otherwise.  The kids got some hard to find Skylanders, and now my son wants to go home and play it.  He doesn't get that we are 2,000 miles away.  

 

I happily stumbled my way back to the city center with my family, and we stopped off at a Guadalajara Grill for an enchilada and a margarita.  I was feeling pretty good.  We grabbed a bus home and were in bed shortly after.  It was a great day.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Hurlshot