Heading Home To Texas

After the excitement of the Balloon Fiesta, we were focused on getting back to Texas. The grandchildren have been with us in the trailer for two weeks, and they really have had a great time. We think they love Airstreaming as much as we do. At Sumner Lake State Park, our last stop in NM, we had a beautiful lake view. The next morning we stopped in the town of Fort Sumner to visit the Billy The Kid Museum and Billy’s grave site. It is interesting how we as Americans remain so fascinated with a reckless, young outlaw who is known to have killed nine men by the time he was 21. Jack and Lincoln were delighted to see Billy’s Winchester Rifle.
Next we stopped for two nights at a private RV park in Lubbock, TX for shopping, doing the laundry, servicing the Tundra (10,000 miles since May 30), shopping, and playing the kid’s favorite card game, Rats. We arrived at our shady campsite at Abilene State Park in Buffalo Gap, TX during early afternoon, as this promised to be a wonderful place for the kids to run and explore. Along the way in our travels we stopped often for Mexican food, BBQs, Dairy Queens and more card games. The children seemed to be in no hurry to get back home.

So here we are in Buda, TX next to the Airstream dealer and Cabela’s. The children have been safely delivered to their relieved parents, having been properly toured, exercised, educated and fed. We have had devotions nearly every day, laughed a lot, and have learned that these kids are all competitive card players. They really love each other, and we hope they value us as much as we do them. They have been a great joy as travel partners, and they now know a lot about RVing. Lucy was a big help to Gloria with the “pink jobs,” and Jack and Lincoln assisted Jerry at each stop with hooking up and unhooking, connecting the water and electric, leveling the rig, and even draining the sewage (“blue jobs”).

Already, we are missing the chronic giggles (along with other unmentionable sounds), creaking and thumping of unfolding couches, great conversations, frequent questions, the reading of student journals, and competition for who sits where.

Tomorrow, we will attend church with the kids and their parents in San Marcos and then get the Airstream serviced at the beginning of the week.
There are wheel bearings to repack, a commode to replace, and minor repairs that are required after thousands of miles of bumping along the highway at 60 miles per hour. If a home had to take the abuse that an RV gets it would quickly become a pile of rubble. Sadly, Tuesday night will be our last time to see Stephanie, Steven, Jack, Lucie, and Lincoln until New Year’s Eve. We should be home in Hillsboro by Wednesday noon. It has been a wonderful half-year on the road.