5. Jun, 2020

THURSDAY 19-06-08 

Well Billy Bob - Ya drinks may be 50% ice and a might pricey but ya sure know how ta’ lay on a light show. 

At about 04:00 the heavens opened and we had the first of many, almost non-stop, thunderstorms with lightning lasting until about 09:00. The RV swayed around a bit in the wind and rain but she stood her ground well, including our four better-than-new skylight openings, now shock-proof and waterproof following their ‘Blue Peter’ repair at Devils Tower.

We ventured out at 10:00 for a look around town and to take a few pictures, though it will be a bit difficult to merge yesterday’s sunny video shots with this morning’s cloudy and wet ones, but never mind. I wanted to re-shoot the longhorn cattle being moved up Main Street and the train coming in to the station because since videoing them last year I’d upgraded to a High Definition Video camera. The cattle moving up Main Street went fine.

We then went for lunch at Billy Bob’s. As we were nearing the end of our trip we really pushed the boat out. I had a cheeseburger and fries and The Chef just a portion of fries. I also had a Coke to drink which was again 50% ice. I vowed that in future I would ask for "No ice" when ordering drinks. 

After lunch we wondered back down towards the station. On our arrival we noticed two mounted police officers. One guy, and one gal. The guy with his shades on and a coffee in his hand, was bigging it up with the tourists – poseur, so I went up to them, at the last moment the guy was engaged by a dad and his kid, and so I spoke to the female officer who was not my intended target. Pointing to the horse I observed “It doesn’t matter what you feed them, they never sound quite like a Harley Davidson do they?” She just looked at me and replied “R-i-g-h-t”. Not surprisingly I think it had gone over her head. 

Following further enquiries I established that the train wasn’t due to arrive until 14:30 and was being pulled by a diesel unit rather than a steam engine, and as it was so hot, decided it wasn’t worth hanging around for. 

We made our way back to the RV, programmed in the nearest Wal-Mart and set off. When there I had to buy another suitcase for our return journey to the UK and a few bits and pieces. I could have bought more as I had run out of hair shampoo weeks ago and have been using Rosina’s. Hers isn’t suitable for my hair type but after my haircut in Durango it’s not noticeable. I’m shaving with white bubbles from my can of shaving foam; I’m doing my best to make it last a couple more days. I’ve been making do with a sliver of pure soap which I only use to wash my face rather than start a fresh bar, I ran out of toothpaste a couple of days ago and am now using free samples I bought over with us from our dentist Damian Rattigan. We do however have a large supply of dissolvable toilet paper, having discovered two packs of four rolls under the floor in the rear cargo locker, so if a nasty case of Montezuma’s Revenge strikes us – we’re prepared. 

 We’re now parked up at the RV Ranch campground www.rv-ranch.com which is about 6 miles from our final destination, Motorhome Specialists www.mhsrv.com where we bought the vehicle, and who will be storing it for us for a couple of months and sorting out the snagging problems. We drove past there this afternoon to pick up the service road to this campground. They certainly have a lot of expensive, but good quality stock, as well as vehicles for those requiring something more affordable. I remember remarking to Rosina when we first arrived at the start of this trip, that these people sold the very models I fell in love with having done the research, and would love to have bought had we been able to afford to do so. 

We will be spending two nights here at the RV Ranch. This will be to prepare the vehicle for storage, pack our cases, secure what we will be leaving behind, clean and tidy through etc –chores in other words. We’re going to try and get up early in the morning and get as much done as possible before it gets too hot, then go and lay by the pool. There I will occasionally give my impersonation of a drowning whale whilst attempting to get from one side of the pool to the other.  The Royal Navy tried to teach me to swim but failed. I even fell overboard from an aircraft carrier whilst moored in Freemantle harbour, Australia, and survived, but that's another story.

When we leave this campground Saturday morning we’ll be delivering the RV back to Motorhome Specialists, handing in our list of defects, getting a taxi to a Motel or Hotel somewhere near DFW airport and waiting patiently for our return flight with ‘American Airlines’ – the worst airline we’ve ever flown with. 

LOCATION TONIGHT: RV Ranch campground, Burleson, Texas

5. Jun, 2020

5. Jun, 2020

5. Jun, 2020

5. Jun, 2020