Rug being pulled - Day 981 (Year 3, Day 249)

Austin, TX

Gotta love this lifestyle!  Mitch got word this morning that his services are needed - asap - in a different area of Texas: Livingston, which is 225 miles from Austin and about 75 miles north of Houston.  Today was his last day here, tomorrow we pack and do the day-before things on the checklist, and Thursday we pull out and head over there.  There is nothing (as far as I know) to do in the area, and the closest synagogue is in Houston.  So much for having a place to go for the seder (although we may take a few days off and travel back to Sugar Land and have it with the community there).

My only concern is the problem with the hydraulic pump, which we weren't able to have diagnosed/fixed yet.  Hopefully, with a little bit of effort, we can get the slides closed to leave, and open when we arrive, and then get it fixed over there.  Fingers crossed and prayers being said.

Today, we went to the HEB with the kosher section to stock up on as many kosher-for-Passover items that we could find (including matza) since we have no clue what's available in Livingston and we want to avoid expensive shipping charges.  They didn't have everything in stock, but it was a pretty good selection, so I think we'll be ok.  I also stocked up on another whole (cut up) chicken, some slow-roasted turkey breast and a rib eye steak.  Who knows after this when the next time I'll have the opportunity to eat (kosher) meat again?

Fun weekend anyway - Day 978 (Year 3, Day 247)

Austin, TX

Despite the bubbles in our plans being popped, we still managed to salvage the weekend and have some fun.  We decided that since we had planned to be taking time off on Friday and Monday morning anyway, we would use that time to discover more of Austin (although, as for Monday, we'll both start work at regular time).

We discovered that there's a boardwalk that surrounds Lady Bird Lake (as in the First Lady - LBJ's wife) that has a walking / biking trail.  We decided to try to find that and ride our urb-es.  For the most part, it was a little bit successful.  Not 100% because a good part of the trail - at least the part we found (it's a 10 mile trail) - was dirt/gravel, which is very challenging to ride the urb-e's on.  Mitch, who gets far more practice than I do because he uses his urb-e at work, had no problem with this.  But I don't have as many opportunities to ride mine.  It's kind of like riding a bike and takes practice learning how to balance and steer.  We did it for a bit, but I wasn't enjoying myself as I felt myself losing balance constantly, so we quit early rather than riding much further to find where the boardwalk was completely paved.  It's my hope that I can do some research and find a place where we can pick up the trail where it's paved and see much more of the scenery.  Still, it was a nice way to spend a few hours.  Here are a few photos of the scenery, with the skyline of downtown Austin in the background (and Mitch on his urb-e):

  

 

On Saturday, we went to Shabbat services.  There was a baby naming, which is a special joyous event, so there was a larger than normal crowd and a very  elaborate kiddush spread (message me if you want to learn more about the tradition of baby naming).

On Sunday, we decided to take one of the tours around the downtown area.  We found this really AWESOME company - Duck Adventures.  As a background, there is a manufacturer of various types of amphibious vehicles (including RV's which run about $1.5M - gotta win the lottery because I WANT ONE!!!).  This company has one such vehicle.  An amphibious vehicle drives like a bus but converts into something that can drive as a boat in water (here's a link:  http://austinducks.com/) So our tour included not only all the highlights of the downtown Austin area, but a boat trip around Lake Austin!!!  Our first stop, where we picked up the tour, was the Austin Visitor's Center, which is part of the Convention Center. A cool sign inside.  As for the sign outside, Austin is considered the "live music capital" of the world so the guitar pick is appropriate.  Also a photo of me trying on a Texas hat!  I would have bought it if (1) I had a place to store it; and (2) I had a place to actually wear it since I don't generally wear hats.  If it's too sunny, I'll occasionally wear a visor and I'd love to have a head covering for synagogue, but this really won't pass muster outside of Texas. Still, I think it looked nice.  The wall sign was inside the Visitor's Center, where we purchased the tickets for the tour.





  

Here are the photos taken from the tour:



For starters, they gave everyone little "whistles" that had a duck sound.  They were designed to blow whenever we saw pedestrians or just "whenever".  It was a lot of fun!!!  Here is Mitch blowing his:



Drove around the corner and passed our truck on the street where we parked:



Some photos of the streets we passed in the downtown area, including the most famous donut shop where there was a juggler in front (where the long line is):

  

   

State capitol building:



History museum.  I want to come back here for a full day to explore:



After passing through the downtown area, it was time to dive into the lake.  Here are some videos.  Unfortunately, because of our location in the back of the bus/boat, we weren't able to capture going into the water.   But compare the scenery of the above photos of the city, to the 2nd video here, and you can tell the difference!

      

Here are some photos of the mansions around the lake (reminds me of our tour of the lake in Bismarck) (first photo- going into the lake)

    
After returning back to dry land, we saw these murals on the sides of buildings (there were lots of those, as this town is very much like artsy Asheville).

  

When the tour was over, we decided to ride our urb-es around the downtown area, if for nothing else, to find a place to eat (as it was now about 1:00 and we were famished).  After much hunting (there were lots of pubs which didn't have much on the menu either of us could eat), we finally found a pizza place (famous for their NY style pizza).  I ordered a house salad and asked them if they could make it a bit more interesting than lettuce & tomatoes, so they added some artichokes, olives, mushrooms and onions.  I'd like to say yum, but I would have preferred the pizza! (side note: I've lost at least 10 lbs so far.  I don't own a scale so I can't say exactly, but some of the clothes that I outgrew I can fit into again).

After lunch, and before heading back to the truck, there were 2 historical places we wanted to visit:  the homes of William Sidney Porter, aka O'Henry, and Suzanne Dickenson - one of the few people who survived the Alamo.  Here are some photos of their homes:

    

That pretty much sums up our day in downtown Austin.  A salvaged weekend, indeed.  No regrets here.

Plans foiled again - Day 977 (Year 3, Day 245)

Austin, TX

Once again, proof that plans are made in bubbles, and this conference just wasn't meant to be.

We were all packed and hitched up by 9:00, the time we wanted to hit the road.  Were just walking around, doing the last inspections on the checklist, and noticed the front passenger tire on the truck was completely flat.  By 11:00, roadside assistance came and repaired the bad valve (I think the valves keep breaking because of the way the tire monitoring system sensors are being installed).

Ok, only a 2 hour delay, but still plenty of time to go the 80 miles and be there by 3:00.  Last on the list - close the slides and put in the steps.  Slides not closing!  Tried and tried but no response from any of the 3 slides.  We called roadside assistance again and about 1/2 hr later they had one of their techs try to walk us through troubleshooting on the phone.  We tried a number of different things:  we found that 10 minutes later the slides did close, but then we couldn't get them open again.  Another 15 mins and we finally got them to open.  Tech said the most likely reason is that the hydraulic pump is on its last legs and we needed to call a mobile RV tech to diagnose and repair.

We probably could have made it, but if this is indeed the case, we didn't want to chance that the pump would completely die because we can't live with the slides in and we can't travel with them out.  We could still get it repaired in Fredericksburg, but being 80 miles away, it would be a bit hard for Mitch to commute while waiting for a tech to come out, and then most likely waiting for parts.  So we decided not to go.  Very big disappointment as I already made some friends online and was hoping to meet them in person, as well as learn and share a lot of info about working on the road.

But the silver linings -- we noticed the flat before we pulled out of the site and not while we were on the road driving on it, and we noticed the slide problem while still parked here, where we need to be.

Oh well.  Life goes on.  At least we can go to shul tomorrow.

Decision to make - Day 976 (Year 3, Day 244)

Austin, TX

We have been given the choices for our next assignment.  We were able to extend our stay here in Austin until mid-April so that we can be with a Jewish community and have a place to participate in a seder.

The options are either Bozeman or Billings, MT or Greenville, SC.

I've made a side-by-side comparison and pros/cons list and no matter how we slice it, it still comes up 50/50, so a very difficult choice.  Maybe we just need to toss a coin!  Greenville offers more frequent synagogue services (although in a Conservative shul, not Chabad, which is only once a month), so we're probably leaning in that direction.  But they are both such different places, and getting to each offers a totally different experience.  We'll be in the area from late spring until end of Fall, so it has to be an area we'll enjoy being in.  Beautiful scenery or a place to worship?  Tough choice.

Looking forward to this weekend.  I hope to post immediately afterwards.

The weekend - Day 971 (Year 3, Day 239)

Austin, TX

Sorry that it's been 12 days since I've written.  Unfortunately, not a whole lot to report on until today, which after you read this, you'll agree, it really isn't very exciting.

Saturday was the 2nd week we went to the synagogue in Austin.  It's ok, although I admit I've been setting the bar pretty high.  On a scale of 1-5, where 5 is the best, there have been 3 places I'd rate a 5: Fanwood NJ, Oklahoma City, OK, and Sugar Land, TX.  To me, what constitutes a 5 is what I could call "ruach" (pron. roo-ak), which roughly translates to "spirit".  Think of the Southern black Baptist churches with loads of singing and ecstacy.  That I would rate a 10!  Not only joyful singing, but some prayers in English, explanations and learning sessions (with Q&A), and a friendly, welcoming congregation.  So this place I would probably give a 3.5.  It's a very friendly congregation, but it could use improvement on the singing, and although the rabbi does give a very interesting interactive talk, his voice is very soft-spoken and monotonous.  Still, I'm grateful to have a place to spend the Sabbath so not really complaining.

Today (Sunday), we found a local farmers market that was actually opened on a day other than Saturday.  I have no idea how the GPS decided to take us, but it brought us to the absolutely wrong place.  Whereas it should have taken us about 10 minutes and 6 miles, we were driving around about 45 to finally reach it.  Thankfully, it was well worth it.  It was almost like a street fair, with rows and rows of vendors; mostly with locally produced organic fare.  Sadly, there wasn't a whole lot in the way of veggies as it's not really the season for much more than root vegetables such as beets, turnips, radishes and carrots (which I can't eat) or bitter greens such as arugula and the tops of the root veggies.  There was a place that had about 1/2 lb of cilantro left and gave it to us for $1.00.  There were quite a few vendors with fresh baked breads (another no-no for me), food vendors, meat and freshly made cheeses.  We bought some duck eggs and free-roaming chicken eggs, as well as some garlic infused oil and a chocolate bar with no sugar and 84% dark chocolate (which I can use in baking recipes containing almond and/or coconut flour).

The market is located along a park with a lake and we brought our urb-es to ride around there.  Unfortunately, most of the path looked like dirt/gravel (can't ride on that).  Plus the weather was not that great and we still had shopping to do, as well as my getting a haircut.

Real exciting day, huh?

Actually, next weekend should be interesting.  There's a Facebook group I belong to for RV Entrepreneurs and they're having a conference (about 80 people) in Fredericksburg, TX, about 80 miles from here.  We decided to take the rig and go.  It will be a great opportunity to network, as well as enjoy the Texas wine country (there are 6 vineyards within a mile of the campground!  And yes, wine has no carbs so I can drink all I want.  But alas, it does have calories, so no, I can't really drink all I want).  We'll leave on Friday and return on Monday so we'll have a full weekend.

Update on campground - Day 959 (Year 3, Day 226)

Austin, TX

It was a lovely evening last night and since Mitch was at a dinner meeting, I grilled a steak.  I noticed that although this place looks like an RV park and is called one, it is more of a community.  They don't rent spaces to overnighters or weekenders; only monthlies and yearlies, so everyone is well settled in.  By 5:30 most folks returned from work and school and the place was jumping with folks outside, and neighbors visiting neighbors.  I met a few myself.  Also, when I ventured out a bit more, the surroundings really weren't so terrible.  I won't be miserable here.  Not ecstatic, but not unhappy.

And a note about the weather -- it's February 7th and it was 87 degrees today!!!  Wish there was a pool here.  It'll be in the mid to upper 80s again tomorrow and then back to the 70s on Thursday.  I'm appreciating not having freezing days (although you just never know around here).

Stuck in the mud; moving day, meat - Day 957 (Year 3, Day 224)

Austin, TX

I can't believe I haven't written for 10 days!  Guess other than a little "adventure" Mitch had this past Thursday, it's been a pretty busy work week.  Friday, Mitch was off of work so he decided to bring the truck back to the mechanic to have the catalytic converter installed.  The pickup was getting very bad and we didn't feel we could wait until after we towed this weekend.  Seems all better now, at least until the next thing goes wrong.

First, the adventure.  Mitch called me in the morning to tell me that he was stuck in the mud and had to call the fire department.  Huh?  Recall that the truck has been stuck in mud at least 3 times in the past, so my natural question was "why didn't you call roadside assistance?"  To which he replied, "the truck isn't stuck.  I am!"  Almost up to his thigh.  Seems he was walking around a construction site to get to the meters.  The ground looked dry, but apparently it wasn't and he fell straight down.  After about 1/2 hour of trying to get out, he decided to call 911.  When the FD arrived, they had to use a ladder which they put horizontally on the ground to give them something to stand on, put a metal rod under his legs, and 3 guys pulled him out (with great difficulty)!  Thankfully nothing more than his pride was hurt, although he had to bring his very expensive work boots back to the chain where he bought them to have them cleaned (Red Wings) and his cell phone also needs to be returned & replaced.  He covered, quite literally, from head to toe in mud.  I handed him a change of clothes, shoes, a towel/washcloth/soap and sent him to the bathhouse.  No way he was coming inside, and he wouldn't have been able to wash himself with the outside shower.

On Saturday, after prayers, a nap and lunch, we visited with Brenda and James.  Very nice folks.

Which brings us to Sunday - today.  We packed up, hitched, and left the campground at 11:00, and arrived at the new place at 11:45, which was 30 miles away.  With some help from the manager, we were parked and set up in about an hour.  We had a number of errands to run (including Red Wing for the boots, Dollar Tree and grocery shopping.  The stores were around 15 miles away.  I was very excited about this supermarket (H.E.B., which is one of the largest chain here) which had a very large kosher food section.  They carried almost everything we used to enjoy but haven't seen since we left NJ almost 3 years ago (sadly, since I started this new food plan I can't eat any of it 😢)  However, the good news is they had a kosher deli and butcher so a wide range of meats were available - much better than Trader Joe's.  I stocked up on ground beef, chicken and a piece of steak, as well as some beef "bacon".  I'm a happy camper now, at least for the next few months (Mitch actually has a dinner meeting tomorrow with his team, so I'm going to grill the steak).

As for the campground here, not so much happy.  It's just a notch above a dump.  It's a place designed for long termers, not over-nighters or weekend campers, and many of the folks here have been here for 5-15 years (as their trailers look it).  I'm willing to suck it up, though, since it does cut about 50 miles and an hour and a half each way off Mitch's commute.