January 3, 2012 - Gulf Coast in January

 

 

 

 

 

January 3, 2013.  Today is a good day to be in Texas, heading south to the Gulf Coast.  Annie and I just finished a week in the mountains with the entire family and a handsome moose.  We drove home New Year's Day, unpacked, repacked, picked up Harvey the RV and headed south yesterday.   We spent a cold night outside of Tulsa.  About 5:00 AM, the furnace stopped working when the outside temperature was 23 degrees.  By 6:30, the inside temperature was about the same as the outside temperature.  We are not sure what caused the failure.  I started the engine and warmed the van with the front heater.  Shortly thereafter, the furnace began to warm again.  ????  I have no idea.  Tonight, the temperature will stay above freezing.  I have hope that the furnace will be sufficient.  We'll see.

 

Tonight, we are just outside of Austin, Texas.  We were looking for the state park where we stayed in 1988, with the girls and Clyde.  Now that we are here, I don't think this is it.  My recollection of the 1988 state park was that it was littered with large round boulders and mesquite.  This, McKinney Falls State Park, has larger trees and no big rocks.  It does have deer.

 

The lone star reposes at the visitors center at Dennison, Texas.  It is huge, very much what you'd expect at the front door of Texas.  Even the bathrooms in the center are huge, about a thousand square feet.  Only the sinks were normal sized. 

 

So, we are off on our fourth trip in Harvey.  Alaska, New England\Orlando, Michigan\Wisconsin\Colorado and Wisconsin\New York\Vermont\Pennslvania and now the Gulf Coast.  Annie is beginning to lose some enthusiasm for these sojourns in Harvey.  Me, I am as excited as the first time.   

 

Tomorrow, Padre Island.  We are reserved at Mustang Island State Park for three nights.  We may not stay that long, it depends on what we find to do.  I doubt there will be any swimming in the Gulf.  Annie was just reading about a Polar Bear swim hosted by locals in January.  From the name of the event, I assume the Gulf waters are chilly. 

 

More as we move on.