Texas is open again and the shelter in place orders have expired. While we absolutely loved our location in Weslaco, TX, after 8 weeks, it was time to move on.
The picture above is the view from our campsite at Thousand Trails Colorado River. Big trees and a great view of the Colorado River in the background. The property has lots of wildlife (mostly deer ) and is well manicured throughout.
Even though we felt it was too much to hope for, we actually have full 5 bar cell service on both T-Mobile and Verizon. There is no broadcast TV, but we can stream just about anything we need or want. That's perfect for the standard pandemic entertainment needs đđē
We made a very minor modification to the RV which is based on our trash can. Yes you read that correctly. We were looking for the most comfortable TV viewing location and Cindy suggested rotating the captains chairs in the cockpit. The only issue we had was that the Mercedes seats only have 1 armrest each, and there are no cupholders reachable.
Honestly we considered many things to address this ranging from replacing the captains chairs all the way to removing the dinette and installing theater seating. Both would have been very expensive and would not have fully addressed the issues.
As we pondered our options, Cindy says "what if we put the trash can between the seats like a table? ". That thought expanded to include a removable table top, cup holders and a basket for remotes.
It is well known that everything in an RV should be multipurpose, and we certainly held to that. Now we have comfortable TV seating, and we can even broadcast the TV audio through the multi-speaker dash radio for surround sound. Wow!
I mentioned that the trip was not without incident. So when you leave the Rio Grande Valley you have to pass through a Border Patrol checkpoint. We have done this for years and always breezed through. "Are you US citizens?" they would ask. When we said yes, they would wave us through. They always have "sniffer" dogs walking up and down the rows of cars lined up waiting. On this day one of them hit on something in our basement. He jumped and tugged on his leash and wouldn't leave the side of the RV.
The border guard asked us a few more questions, "anyone in the back?", "any food in the basement?". When we answered "no", he instructed us to pull out of line, off to the side. Once parked they made us both get out, and they had me put my hands above my head on the side of the RV for a pat down. So here I am, hands up, spread eagle with a bunch of armed border patrol all around. I can only imagine what people going through the checkpoint were thinking. "The must be drug mules", "I bet they are smuggling illegals", "probably got caught eating guacamole without tequila". đ
Two of the border patrol agents and the dog went in to the RV and gave it the sniff test. I fully expected him to exit with a box of my granola bars in his mouth. đļ When they didn't find anything, they instructed us to pull forward into a marked area where the RV would be x-rayed.
We parked on the spot and got out. They drove a nondescript white box truck up and circled the RV. The guard said that's how they x-ray the whole vehicle (example above). Who knew there was such technology. I wish I could have gotten a copy of the x-ray. How cool would that be! My only hope is that the x-rays sterilized the RV and killed any hitchhiking corona bits. Ha!
Speaking of corona, I had the IgG antibody test done. Unfortunately it came back negative meaning there was no indication I had ever had it. Of course I was hoping I was one of the asymptomatic people and had gotten it and gotten over it. No such luck. So our self quarantine will continue for the foreseeable future.
Anyway, it's good to have a change of scenery. Here's a trivia bit. We have walked every day for the past 8 weeks. We did loops around the perimeter of the resort for an average of 5-8 miles daily. That means we walked đŖ over 400 miles, lap after lap, around that park. Whew!
Thanks for reading. Stay safe!
_______________________________________
Cindy and Terry
Wanna see a map of where we have been?
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Miss you guys. Would love to meet up with you guys if are ever around the Austin area.
ReplyDeleteThat would be great! If we get close we'll reach out.
DeleteAny plans to cruise through Albany NY in the future (after the pandemic is under control)?The Adirondacks and the Catskill Mountains are very pretty. Especially in the fall when the leaves are changing.
ReplyDeleteHow is traveling in Texas, generally? We are concerned with all the recent events, even though we have no plans to visit large cities.
ReplyDelete