Wednesday, February 14, 2018

KERRVILLE TX TO BEAUMONT TX AND OH MY WHAT A STRESSFUL DRIVING DAY IT WAS:((

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FOG WAS STILL WITH US THIS MORNING

A thickening fog began settled in late Tuesday afternoon around 5 o’clock.  Can definitely feel moisture in the air.  Not to often temperatures come up in the night but it was definitely warmer this morning than last night.  Not a pea souper so off we went about 7:40 a.m.

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As we rolled out of the Kerrville Rest Area onto I-10 in the drizzly mist the increase in traffic from the past couple days was the difference between night and day.  And that traffic just kept up for most of the morning and and our previously peaceful travels simply deteriorated real quick.

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THIS BASICALLY SUMS UP OUR MORNING DRIVE

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No, thankfully we did not go through Houston so we took the second option and decided to go North around Houston as well as San Antonio.  We exited off I-10 at Bourne and immediately became immersed in the areas cramped up morning rush.  Somehow managed to get through Bourne heading Northeast but traffic didn’t get any better and we fought it hard all the way to Giddings Texas.  Because of the drizzly mist in the air we didn’t get much of a chance to enjoy the Texas Hill Country scenery we were hoping to see.  Hills and dales, twists and turns, and on and on it went. 

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No point in me trying to tell you what highways we took but I can tell you we went through Bourne, New Braunfels, San Marcos, Bastrop, Paige, Giddings, Ledbetter, Brenham, Navasota, Montgomery, Conroe, Cleveland, Moss Hill, and Sour Lake to Beaumont.  Some of those were little bergs and easy to get through and some like San Marcos and Conroe were a royal PITA.  But we hadn’t got to Cleveland yet and that’s where the day really fell apart for us.  Cleveland chewed us up and spit us out.  Somewhere in our pre Cleveland journey we decided we would overnight in Cleveland’s Walmart.  Well good luck finding that and when we did it was the smallest Walmart parking lot we’ve ever seen and making our way through there was like maneuvering an aircraft carrier up the Bayfield River back home.  Plus there were a lot of planted trees with overhanging branches to watch for.  Then we saw the sign……No RV Parking!!  %#@!!!&**  Okay back out onto highway 105 and turned East.  About 200 yards later 105 ended at a T-intersection!!!! @%!!&*%

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‘I HOPE DAD GETS US OUT OF ALL THIS AWFUL TRAFFIC SOON’

Before Cleveland we had stopped at an easily accessible McDonald in Giddings and took ourselves a half hour break with a couple coffees and a bite.  The fog and drizzle had been with us all morning but when we rolled out the east end of Giddings the drizzly fog ended and for the first time we were able to have ourselves a good look at the countryside.  Noticed right away how much it looked like our Huron County area back home and with the rolling hills I really liked the area….despite all the miserable traffic we had encountered up to that point.  From Giddings roads seemed to be better and with the exception of Cleveland and Conroe (what a traffic zoo that place was)  we found the second half of our journey easier that than the first half.

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TUCKED IN BEHIND MCDONALDS IN GIDDING TEXAS

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A TIRED LITTLE TRAVELER

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We had not planned on going as far as Beaumont Texas but after our overnight plans in Cleveland were thwarted we decided to push on to Beaumont and find us a Walmart spot for the night,  No Rest Areas along the way and due to recent heavy rains there was a lot of flooding so there were no thoughts of finding a little patch of dirt along the way to pull over.  It would have been Stucksville.

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AMID TODAYS CALAMITY WE DID SEE SOME PEACEFUL RURAL SCENES

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Anyway, just in the nick of time coming into Beaumont Kelly found a Walmart on our laptop and that is where this post is coming to you from.  We pulled in here about 4:45 late this afternoon so it was a loooooong and very tiring day for all of us.  Oh and to rub a little salt into our traveling woes our dash A/C isn’t working…..and it’s humid here in Beaumont:((

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A FEW THINGS SEEN ALONG THE WAY

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CONROE TEXAS

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Had it not been for our GPS today guiding us through all those highways and towns we probably would not be here tonight.  I don’t know where we’d be.  Maybe still hiding out behind McDonalds in Giddings seriously contemplating our whole RV future.

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WOULD SAY THIS IS ONE OF THE NOSIEST WALMARTS WE HAVE EVER OVERNIGHTED AT

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A LOT OF STANDING WATER IN THIS REGION OF TEXAS

So here’s my Houston advice to myself should we ever happen to pass this way again.  Not likely!!  I think the best way to get through Houston Texas would  be to do it early on a Sunday morning.  We find Sunday mornings less stressful with less traffic.  The Houston go-around to the North is a looooong one and it has it’s own traffic woes along the way.  So as far as stress goes it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other………….

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GROANER’S CORNER:((  Have you heard about the guys who drove their pickup truck into a lumberyard? One of them walked in the office and said, "We need some four-by-twos."  "You mean two-by-fours, don't you?" the clerk said.  "Let me go check," replied the man, and he went back to the truck.  "Yeah, I meant two-by-fours," he said, returning a few moments later.  "Alright. How long do you need them?"  The customer paused for a minute to think and then finally said, "I'd better go check."  After awhile he returned to the office and said, "A long time. We're building a house."

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Summer vacation was over and the teacher asked Little Johnny about his family trip. "We visited my grandmother in Minneapolis, Minnesota." The teacher asked, "Good, can you tell the class how you spell that?"  Little Johnny thought for a few seconds and said, "Actually, we went to Ohio."

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16 comments:

  1. You keep hitting all of my old stomping grounds. You went through Guymon, OK, a couple of years ago where I went to High School. You stayed at a Walmart in Weatherford, TX, recently, where my mother lives. Now you are in Beaumont, TX, where my dad's pipeline ended, my sister was born, and he built a refinery. ;) Plus your stay at the one place between Ft. Huachuca and Tombstone that I would recognize a photo of on RV.net which led us to where we live now! Swing by Steubenville, OH, where I was born, and you've pretty much got my life covered. Well, unless you want to visit a few more Army forts. :D

    Safe travels,
    Pat

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  2. I think you can easily understand why I left the Houston area in 2002 after having to live there for 56 years. Returning is not an option.

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  3. Pheebes was smart hiding under the seat. You hit most of my day trip spots, more fun on a Sunny day on a motorcycle. Safe Travels.

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  4. Seems the day wasn't a great weather day anywhere out in this area. The pictures aren't encouraging other than the fact that do show you moving forward. Forward is usually a good direction. Glad you've found a nice spot to rest overnight.

    Safe travels.

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  5. Mike and I decided that maybe sneaking through Houston or Dallas on a Sunday morning is better than all those endless smaller towns in Texas with their stoplights and traffic. Hoping for a better day for you guys! It is raining here--YES!!

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  6. We have travelled a lot of those back roads and are scenic but can be frustrating if you want to make time. We did some back roads and stayed at Delta Downs Race track near Vinton LA, very nice there parked beside the track and watched the horse race, Got a 1/2 price buffet as well.
    Usually we got right through Houston on I-10 between 9 and 2 pm with out any major issues. The rest of your journey should be pretty smooth.

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  7. Well, at least it improved later in the day!

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  8. Better that the end of your trip yesterday was improved. Nicer to go from bad to good rather than bad to worse!
    Glad you finally found a spot and arrived safely.
    I've always said they would HAVE to pay me a lot of $$ to dress up like that and carry a sign in the heat! However, I would be expected to hold the sign upright. :)

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  9. At least it seems your sanity is intact, hopefully as I think George said... it will be smooth sailing the rest of the way.

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  10. Sorry I suggested taking that route. It has always worked for me.

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    1. Oh no need to apologize Dizzy, That is the exact same route I had been looking at before you mentioned it. It's about the only route there is north of Houston. I think the route we usually take north around Dallas has probably spoiled us over the years with it's dusty little sleepy western towns and hardly any traffic. We were needing to get ourselves slowed down a bit anyway. The morning fog was stressful and I think we just got ourselves over tired. Sure is some nice country you have up your way. Sorry we didn't look you up near Bernham. it's just this damn introverted personality of mine and no doubt because of it I have missed out on meeting a lot of fine people over the years............

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  11. Been a little while since I checked in on your blog as we’ve been so busy lately. What a surprise to find you in Texas! I checked back several posts, but couldn’t see where you decided to change tracks and head East. Are you going even further East? Or headed home? I’m missing your West pics already :)

    Nina

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    1. Hey Nina nice to hear from you. We're actually headed to Sarasota Florida to visit my Aunt Jean before heading home next month about this time. After 12 winters in the Southwest I'm enjoying seeing some 'new scenery' as we travel East.

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  12. Well. Welcome to Texas (sarcasm), said the lady who would never live there again. Kerrville would have been the best part. BTW, the Houston I-10 is better now, but definitely not at busy times of the day.

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  13. Glad the second half of your day was better, the first half sounds horrendous Better days ahead.

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  14. You are right Sunday Morning finds most of Houston in Church I went right through on I-10 easy peasy. It is the rainy season here in the east when warm meets cold and you get fog and drizzle cold one day hot the next...so look out for the humidity!

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