4,000 miles without incident, I guess we were due.

Over 4,000 miles behind us.  6 weeks away from home without any issues I guess we were due.

Sunday afternoon, we arrived at Long beach Ca, and set the RV up. Jeff was due to fly out the next day so we figured we would have a relaxing evening.

Unfortunately, the RV decided otherwise. We just finished dinner when we heard a clicking noise. Then it stopped, we looked at each other, wondering if we were imagining things, then it did it again. We started following the noise to see where it was coming from.  It was the slide in the back bedroom.  It slides out when we are parked and slides in while we travel. It was clicking like it was trying to close, only we weren’t pushing the button. 

Jeff went into “crew chief “mode and started to problem solve. We spent the next hour checking wires, trying to open and close the slide. It had a mind of its own, it would shut when we hit the open and open when we hit the shut button. At one point it was moving back and forth without us even pushing the button. He disconnected the switch and after trouble shooting some wires decided the switch was bad.

The next morning, Jeff went to the store to get a new switch, certain that would fix the issue. It didn’t!  Of course, it couldn’t be that easy right? About now we are within an hour of needing to leave for the airport, running out of time he disconnected the motor under Ryan's bed. He would have to deal with it in a few weeks when he came back.  Only a few minutes later we heard the clicking noise again. How? The motor is no longer connected.  We once again followed the clicking noise and this time it lead us outside the RV, in the basement area. He opened the bay. The noise was coming from the slide controller. Surrounding  the controller was fresh  mouse droppings, should have been a clue to what was wrong. He disconnected the controller, and when he pulled it out, a liquid poured out… mouse pee! GREAT, the stupid mouse pee was causing it to short out! Crazy! At least we knew what the problem was.  He had no time to fix it now. He would order a new part once he got home and have it shipped here.  

While Jeff was cleaning up the area in the bay, I went outside to see if he was ready to leave for the airport.  I noticed water leaking, more like pouring out under the RV. I asked him what the water was from, he looked under the RV and said “I HAVE NO IDEA! There is no water or plumbing in that area.”  Once again, Jeff went into “crew chief” mode in supersonic speed. There was no way he could leave with water pouring out under the RV. Jeff opened the other bay and frantically searched to see what the was going on. I stood there praying, “God you know what the heck is going on, you know Jeff can’t leave like this, please make it obvious real fast what the problem is so Jeff can fix it”.  A few minutes later Jeff said, “This makes no since at all, the fresh water tank is disconnected and pushed forward”!  He did manage to pull it back into position and get the hoses hooked back up. No more water leak. Crazy huh?

Jeff quickly gathered his stuff, it was past time to leave for the airport.  Thankfully we got there with time to spare. I got out of the van to hug him good-bye. He said, “The airplane better not break”!

Jeff is home safe and so far no more issues with the RV either!

Crazy few hours. I am so thankful all this happened while he was still here. I don’t know what I would have done if he had already gone home.  While the timing of these events wasn’t the greatest I have no doubt, God was watching out for Ryan and I! He allowed these things to surface while Jeff was still here to deal with them.

You can pray that when the motor arrives, I can get it connected and that it works. Also, Jeff set some mouse traps in that area, I have not opened it up yet to check them. I am praying almost as much that there are NO mice in the traps that I will have to dispose of! EEK!

Also we have been hearing about the "Storm of the year" . It is supposed to hit tonight and into tomorrow.  Heavy rain and possible flash flooding . While I am not too worried, our RV is sitting right by a wetland/marsh.  So praying the storm of the year doesn't create some unwanted memories ! 

For those who are visual, like me here are some pictures.

Ryan, Princess and I hanging out. Waiting to ride out the "storm of the year"! This is also the area where the slide is located. 

The slide, with a mind of its own. 

Here is the bay, the basement where the slid switch is AND where the dreaded mouse traps are! 

We leave behind a little piece of our hearts

Hard to believe our time in Texas is coming to an end. Jeff arrived in Austin early Saturday morning so of course for our last Texan meal we had to take him to our new favorite BBQ joint, Rudys BBQ.

Texas has been such a wonderful adventure, we will drive away full of memories and at least 10 lbs heavier!  Enjoyed a lot of good food and so thankful for the time we had with friends and family.  Does our heart and soul so good.

Ryan said,"mom, getting out really does help my mental health!"  You have no idea how many times I have tried to get him to understand that. While in Washington he never wants to leave the house.  I am fighting back tears thinking how much life I have seen in Ryan over the last few weeks! I am not sure what started his desire to come to Texas, but i'm glad for it.  Feeling extremely emotional , I struggle to find the words to express how much this precious time together has meant.  While it was Ryan's desire to see Texas, it has been my desire to pack Ryan up and runaway, to get away from everything and just enjoy life . God has truly given us the desires of our hearts.

I asked Ryan to name a few things he liked about Texas.
1. Getting his tattoo
2. Seeing a movie at the Alamo Cinama
4. Eating at Chuy Mexican restaurant
5. Touring the capitol building

Just a few added observations. Texans like to honk their horns. You can drive 85 on the Toll roads. Handicap parking is free. The road system here in Austin is crazy. H.E.B. the best grocery store with the best homemade tortillas. All the restaurants serve delicious green chili cheese dip.  When they say sweet tea they mean SWEET tea! In Washington there are coffee shops on every corner, here there are taco trucks.

While we are saying good-bye to Texas, at least for this trip, , our adventures are far from over. We are going to spend a few days with Jeff's parents, grandma Kitty and grandpa Wayne at their winter home in Hope Arizona.  Making a little pit stop on the way to check out Carlsbad caverns in New Mexico.  After our time in Arizona we will be heading to Seal Beach, California. Jeff will set us up at a campground on the Naval station, then he will fly back home, dang work!  Ryan and I will stay there for a month.  While we have no plans for what we will do or see in California I am sure we will find lots of adventures to share.

6.State Capitol, and time with friends and family

We've been busy the past few days. Tuesday my friend Elizabeth drove up from Buda to have lunch with us.  Wednesday toured the Capitol Building . Thursday we drove down to San Antonio for my nephews promotion ceremony. Friday, My nephew Nick, his wife Erica, their daughter Natalie, my dad and Coral drove up to Austin to hang with us and have lunch.

On Wednesday we toured the Texas Capitol building.  Although it was in the warm in the 80's it was very cloudy so my pictures don't show the beauty of this building.

We were able to find parking right across  the street. 

The African American memorial . 

The goddess of Liberty. She sits at the very top of the Capitol dome, she has a sword of justice in one hand and a gilded Lone Star in the other.

Our own private accessible entrance in the back. 

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The Rotunda and dome.  On the floor are the six seals of the countries whose flags have flown over Texas. France, Mexico Spain, the Republic of Texas, the United States and the Confederate States of America.

The dome is 218 feet above.

Ryan looks very authoritative behind the desk in the Governors room

There are steps to get inside the Senate chambers and Supreme courtrooms so for accessible entrance you go inside a little room off the side of the hallway. That is where you find these little elevators.  When we opened the door to the room it was dark so I reached inside to turn on the light, only to find this Texas Ranger sitting in the corner. Scared me half to death! He just looked up and said, Howdy, I was just taking a little break in the quiet room. I'm like right, you were taking a nap! Anyway he jumped up and helped us figure out how to use the elevator.  He walked with us through the Senate chamber. Told us the Senate is quieter than the House of Representatives, mostly because they are old and have been there forever . Not everyday you get a personal escort from a Texas Ranger :)

While inside the building we heard chanting outside on the grounds of the Capital. Ryan was curious as to what they were doing .  He kept asking me what they were doing I said go ask them.  He actually did. If you know Ryan this was not easy for him to do. He asked a few questions and we had a nice conversation. While we don't agree with everything she said we were able to listen with an open mind and gain a little different perspective. Honestly, once we stared asking specific question and what she felt would be a good solution she didn't have any good answers either.

Thursday we drove to San Antonio to watch my nephew Nick get promoted to Smsgt.  Very proud of you!  I'm glad the timing was right that we were here for this. Also was good to see my dad and meet Coral. They flew to Texas from Florida to be part of this event as well.