A Dreary Driving Day

We pulled out of Dennis and Carol Hill’s lot in Livingston a little after 9 a.m. yesterday, and drove about 45 miles to Huntsville, then got on interstate 45 and headed north. It was a cold, dreary day, with a heavy cloud cover, and it looked like it could rain or snow at any minute. But the weather held, and we made good time. Along the way, Miss Terry pointed out dozens of hawks sitting on trees and fence posts alongside the highway.

We passed the Casita Travel Trailer factory near Rice, and then, 114 miles north of Huntsville, we left the interstate and took U.S. Highway 287 for 50 miles northwest through Waxahachie and Mansfield, to connect with Interstate 20. The first five miles of U.S. 287 was a two lane, bouncing, jolting test of just how well our fillings were inserted into our teeth, but then it smoothed out and turned into a decent divided four lane highway.

Once we got onto Interstate 20, we drove west, stopping in Weatherford for diesel at $3.44 a gallon (ouch), and then continued on to Eastland, an interesting little small town that is the county seat and a commercial hub for this part of north-central Texas. We stopped to walk around the courthouse square and admire the clean little community.

Louise’s Cafe was closed, but I bet you could get all of the local gossip here, while having a cup of coffee and a slice of pie. I love small town restaurants like this, where  the waitress calls you “Hon” and pats your shoulder when she takes your order. Listen closely, and by the time you’re finished eating, you’ll know who’s cheating on who, who got arrested for beating his wife, who’s daughter is “knocked up,” and who got his pickup truck repossessed.

Just down the street, the Majestic theater is playing True Grit. I wonder if small town kids still sit in the balcony and shoot spitballs?  

The reason for our stop in Eastland was to get some pictures for a couple of stories in an upcoming issue of the Gypsy Journal, but it was so cold that as soon as we did, we jumped back in the motorhome and cranked the heater up as we continued westward.

The sky had cleared in the late afternoon, and the sun was getting low on the horizon as we approached Abilene. By the time we reached the VFW post on the west side of the city, right across the road from Dyess Air Force Base, the glare was making it very hard to see. We pulled into the VFW right at 5 p.m., with 398 miles behind us for the day, and I made a note to myself to be off the road at least an hour earlier when we’re headed west this time of the year. The morning sun never bothers us when we head east, because we never get on the road until it’s started to climb in the sky! 🙂

This VFW post has its own RV park, with 16 full hookup 30/50 amp RV sites for $20 a night. Those sites were all taken, and from the look of it, some of the rigs are there long term. The place was very clean, but there were a lot of barbecues, lawn chairs, and such out that indicated more than an overnight stay.The VFW also has about six other RV sites on the edge of a paved, level parking lot, with 30/50 amp electric, water, and a dump station. Since we were only going to be here overnight, and it was supposed to get down into the low 20s overnight, I just hooked up the electric cord. We usually travel with a full tank of water, just in case we find ourselves boondocking someplace along the way.

I have a couple of places to visit here today, to get more fodder for upcoming issues of the paper, and then we’ll be headed on down the road again. Hopefully we’ll eventually run into warm weather, if we travel far enough! 

Speaking of traveling, here’s a good example of why you should never trust a computer mapping program, that I stole from somebody on Facebook. Go to Google Maps and click on "Get Directions." Then enter "USA" as your starting point, and "Japan" as your destination. Go to the 31st point on your route, and when you stop laughing, have a great day!

Thought For The Day – You’re never too old to learn something stupid.

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