May 12, 2015 TEXAS!!!!!!

May 12, 2015

Texas!!!!!

We got up and packed up by 9:00. We wanted to be at the office to pay and then be at the park when they opened. We are definitely learning to work together as a family to get the camper packed up and ready to go. Esther and I normally work on the inside and get lunches ready. Carl and the boys work on the outside and get the camper hitched up. It is teaching the kids teamwork and responsibility.

We drove down the road and pulled off to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway. It is a trail that was used by the Native Americans and later the early explorers and settlers. We then drove to Natchez National Historic Site. When I heard the name I thought Indian site. I was so wrong. Think antebellum Southern plantations. It was incredible to see the huge houses and all the buildings that went along with the plantations. I explained to kids that the plantation owners did not want to heat their houses up in the summertime so the kitchen and laundry were in separate buildings. We also got to talk about slavery and why it was so wrong. It is good to tell our children about the past so we can learn from the mistakes that our forefathers made. We had a good discussion about why the civil war was fought. The kids are learning so much that they could not learn from a book.

We met a gentleman at the gas station who is somewhat of a local celebrity around Natchez. He is kind of a history buff when it comes to the south. He was explaining to the kids what the civil war was really about and how it affected the south. He was very kind to the kids and the kids had a blast talking to him. He kind of reminded me of Carl’s dad. Very eager to talk to anyone who is willing to listen and engage him in a conversation.

We drove out of town pulling our huge, almost 60 foot rig through the little narrow streets of Natchez. It is such a quaint little town. I would like to go back one day as everywhere we turned there was a historic marker or a historic house. Carl and I have decided that you could travel the country for years and never see all there is to see. It is so incredible the rich history we have in this country. I am so glad that we have been blessed with the opportunity to show our children little parts of that history.

We left Natchez around lunch and headed into Louisiana which was about 3 minutes outside of Natchez. We drove though Louisiana and into Texas. The plan was to try and get to San Antonio. The first leg of the trip was awesome as we went 3 hours straight without a stop. We listened to and finished Pollyanna Grows Up with the kids crying out at the end over how the story ended.

Once we entered Texas I noticed the mile markers. The kids and I are always interested in them as we know how many miles to the border and such. I laughed when the mile markers were almost to 900. I was astonished at how wide the Texas is. The kids got a kick out of it and so did I.

Once we had that first stop the trip slowed down with us having to stop every 45 minutes for some reason or another. It kept getting later and later. We drove in an out of storms. I was nervously checking the weather throughout our trip as there were flash flood warnings and thunderstorm warnings everywhere.

Carl had an Army conference call so we stopped for dinner and decided to try Whataburger. Let me just say that between the behavior of my children, employees who know nothing about their menu, a miscommunication between North Carolina southern speak and Texas southern speak, and food like a McDonalds, we will never go to another Whataburger again. It was a very stressful situation and I needed chocolate afterwards. Lots of chocolate. I was able to find something to be glad about though. Now that I know what to expect, I am glad that I do not ever have to go to another Whataburger again. Carl just laughed at me.

We arrived in San Antonio to Fort Sam Houston around midnight.. Sam thought the name was cool. We pulled into one of two sites they had left in the entire RV park (after we found the RV park – I am not a good navigator). We set up and fell into bed.

Carl and I decided that we were getting burnt out. We needed a down day where we kind of relaxed a little. We decided to stay an extra day in San Antonio and just relax a little. I am so looking forward to some down time. I need to do some more laundry. Carl is planning a big breakfast of eggs and bacon. I am looking forward to that.

We drove over 500 miles today and are tired. We did finish Pollyanna Grows Up. It was our longest day so far and I am glad that we do not have to do this every day. Sleep sounds good, very good.