Time off is a relative thing.

Over six months, that is the amount of time its been since Toie and I have had any time off that didn't involve having to rig up or rig down the RV. Not that we haven't tried to have someone come out and keep an eye on things while we take a little much needed time for ourselves, it just seems to be "that" time of year.  We started upon our quest for a bit of time away over a month ago and it seems that the stars have not been aligned to our favor, so we kept soldiering on, the days becoming a never ending blur of traffic and dust.

We actually had an ulterior motive for taking the time. Lacey (daughter) moved from Missouri and has been staying with us so we figured on taking her to the coast and getting all the paperwork done so that she could make a little money and cover for us when we wanted a "date" night.  After many failed attempts of getting coverage for ourselves we finally decided that the girls would strike out for the coast on their own to get all the details taken care of and spend some time at the beach.

Yesterday morning Toie and Lacey made the 100+ mile, 2 hour drive across South Texas towards Corpus Christi. Traveling south on Highway 181 gives a glimpse and feel of what travel was like before the federal highway system existed.  Overgrown and abandoned roadside gas stations along with other "attractions" now barely visible hearken back to a time that the journey was part of the adventure, not just an inconvenient intermission to the destination.

Below are a few photos from that trip.

Corpus Christi Beach

Windmill near Taft, Texas

USS Lexington

Shrimp Boat in the Marina

Along the Waterfront

Standing on the seawall looking for fish in the water below

Getting the hang of things

Its a beautiful day here in southeast Iowa. I got the chance to caulk a few windows, mount the spare again and put out the awning.  I also got the ads from Amazon working so if your wanting to do a little shopping, click on the link. Toie is sitting outside underneath the awning enjoying the day.  I just hope she doesn't get wet, it rained a few days ago and well.. you know.

We are parked at a friends place right now and while its great to be able to hear the crickets and frogs at night, the night sky is what really gets me.

We were invited to go down to Missouri with our friends on their annual kayaking trip in about a week. They have offered to let us borrow their little 13 ft Scamp if we don't want to move the motorhome, Toie and I are still talking about it.  We may go if the timing works out but I think  if we go, we will take the motorhome so that we can continue south afterwards.

On that note, we are still waiting on a few things to fall into place so that we can leave for Texas and do the Gate Guard thing.  Our company of choice is going to be GGS because Patty has been wonderful and patient while we get everything set.

Becoming full-timers has been quite a liberating experience. I'm still amazed at the amount of stuff that we are leaving behind. It's amazing what you can live without.

Have a great day!!