A Texas Style Send Off!

Growing up I recall the excitement I felt before our family would embark on our summer vacations. In the late 60s and early 70s, our family would load up the old Oldsmobile and the 18’ Mobile Scout travel trailer and head west with a RV caravan of aunts and uncles and cousins, and on one trip my Granny Walker. The night before we left I would be so excited I couldn’t sleep!  It always seemed that we left way before the crack of dawn, leaving our house to meet up with the family. These vacations as I remember were usually 4 to 6 weeks in length. My mom tended to be the trip planner, so I guess I inherited that from her and let me tell you, it seems as though I have spent months and years planning this one that we are finally embarking on!

The day is finally here for us. Today, May 1, is the day we’ve been planning for over a year now. We are heading to Alaska, taking our time and enjoying the journey.  We will be traveling with friends Donna and Greg, whom we went to high school with. Ron and Greg worked together 20 years, Donna and I worked together at the school.  But the really cool thing is that we have been camping buddies for what seems forever.  Our children grew up together on camping trips. Now our grandchildren play together and that is a really treasured gift. So my blog writing for this adventure you will need to understand that when I say “we” it will be including Donna and Greg. 

Saturday evening we had a very special send off with our families and a few friends. I lost track of how many folks but know it was over 60.  We both have big families! I want to share a few of these special memories with you. We were so fortunate to have such a great send off!

Amy's yard is full of cars!

Bradyn, Addisyn and Lucy! Cousin love!

Crazy Aunt Liz!

Koether and Gregurek grandkids marking a 3rd generation of friendships.

Mr. James' old black hat sure did bring Aiden some good luck playing this game!

Amy, our youngest daughter, and me! Thanks for hosting the party!

We keep getting asked about the route we are taking.  Short version is head west on I-10, turning north in Arizona for the Grand Canyon, through Vegas into California, up the coast to Canada (around June 1) and into Fairbanks for their Summer Solstice Festival around June 21.  We will travel everywhere in Alaska where there is a road, then put the campers on the Alaska ferry system for a couple of weeks and head home.  On a high level we have planned visits to 19 of our National Parks, but that doesn’t count the National Monuments, Seashores, Historical Parks, etc. that are in the National Parks system.

Part of the planning for this adventure also included buying a smaller fifth wheel. Why? Well…..we didn’t really want to risk any damage or put that many hard miles on our “home” fifth wheel.  We found a great Starcraft Ar-One-Maxx that is 25’ and is loaded with lots of storage. Ron has spent the last few months going over it, making some modifications, and most importantly buying new tires for it. (You have to know that dealerships nowadays put really cheap tires on these trailers that eventually may cause a blow out. We didn’t want that safety issue lurking in the back of our mind.) Another big thing we did was move our checking account over to Wells Fargo. They don’t charge foreign transaction fees, but we still got our Canadian currency before leaving as we plan to pay cash when in Canada, as the bank explained to me that we could still get charged for using our debit card at gas pumps. Doesn't hurt to try to be a little frugal!

Our "home" all covered up!

The baby gypsy trailer, all ready for fun times! Got the canoe packed and tied down!

Our first night at Fentress. Donna and Greg on the left in their Vibe trailer. We are on the right.

Even with all this pre-planning, Ron and I had a good chuckle when he got a jury summons for May 1.  Thankfully he was able to reschedule it for October. That was the one thing we really didn't plan on. This morning the last task we needed to do was get the truck inspected and get our license tag.  It expires in July, but since we will be out of state, we are able to get it 3 months earlier.

Now we’re off and meeting up at our favorite jumping off place – the San Marcos river at Fentress!  Woohoo!!!!  Finally, heading “North to the Igloos!”

 

Perfect afternoon to hang a hammock by the river and take a nap. Ron does a good job showing us how!

Couldn't resist a toe shot from my hammock looking at the river

Stay tuned!