And...We're Off!

 At Hapgood RV Park, Henrietta, Texas...

We are four days into our summer escape from the Texas heat...except we really haven't yet escaped. As usual, we plan our summer travel after oldest grandson Mason's birthday on June 3; this was his thirteenth, and we joined the family in Grapevine, Texas, where he was feted at the Great Wolf Lodge.

Upon our departure from Ranchito Hondo, I discovered that Phannie's dash air conditioner was not blowing at its normal chill. Uh oh, this was not good--especially for someone who thinks air conditioning should appear in the Bill of Rights. Fortunately, it was an unusually cool day with some showers around, so the cooling was adequate for the first leg of our journey. However, when the weather warms up again, it will need to have been fixed, or I'll have to call a tow truck. With that in mind, we have a few stops to make in the coming week to take care of this and some other minor issues.

The first of these stops will be in Wichita Falls at an auto air conditioning shop. In preparation for this, we stopped at the city RV park in nearby Henrietta before taking the old girl in to be "Freoned." We discovered this little gem of a park several years ago--a great little place, well away from busy U. S. 287, with all pull-through level sites, full hookups (some with 50 amps) and manicured grounds--all for $15 per night, paid on the honor system:

As you can see, we are almost alone in the park; I suppose this is because few RVers know about it. We have found that many small towns in Texas and in other states have municipal or county RV parks available at very low cost, assuming, of course, that users will patronize local businesses.

This trip's departure is the first where I have experienced a subtle psychological change in myself that I've been expecting. The aging process, I believe, naturally brings with it a more cautious and guarded outlook on life--something that seems to increase in older people until their spirit of adventure is more and more circumscribed, ultimately to be suspended permanently. It is said that a person's world is very small at birth, very large in young adulthood and middle age, only to become small again in old age. I'm pretty sure that's what is going on here but, having recognized it, I'm going to do my best to bring it in for a soft landing--perhaps years from now. In the meantime, we will have had two decades of incredible journeys and, most important, no regrets for having 'slipped the bonds' and lived the dream. We feel blessed because so many are not afforded the time, resources or good health we have had in order to make these memories and form treasured friendships along the way. In the meantime, I must keep an attitude like that of Clint Eastwood, whom I quote at the end of every post.

Well, that's about enough self-psychoanalysis for one day; perhaps sharing this little insight will be a signpost for others traveling this road. 

Once Phannie's little hiccups have been cured, we will be spending a few days near Plainview, Texas with old friends Bubba and LouAnn and their family. More to come as we push forward to the mountains.

 Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it each day as I should.

We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing. 

 ---George Bernard Shaw

"I get up every morning, and I just don't let the old man in." ---Clint Eastwood