Our RV Adventures

Jan and I headed into Katy once again this afternoon, about 12:15, but with a first stop at the Park Office.

I realize this morning that since we hadn’t left the park after we got here on Sunday, I hadn’t paid my $3/day 50amp fee yet, so I stopped off to take care of that.

We got Brandi’s just as Lowell arrived with Curtis, Tana, and Gwen, after picking them up at the airport. They had flown in this morning from Orlando after doing the theme park thing there. So we finally had the whole crew in one place.

Early in the afternoon we surprised our daughter-in-law Linda with a birthday cake.

Then everyone ended up in small groups scattered around.

It was really funny listening to Jan, who did medical records coding for 35+ years, Miss Piper, who’s now doing psych facility coding, and Curtis, who’s also in the medical field, throwing medical codes back and forth.

Chris brought all his gumbo paraphernalia with him today and started working on a big batch of Seafood and Andouille Sausage Gumbo for dinner. Really made the house smell good, and the gumbo was even better.

Jan and Brandi made up garlic bread to go with, the perfect addition.

Then it was cleanup time with a lot of helping hands.

Later in the afternoon I was finally able to get everyone (except me and Jim who were taking the photos) somewhat lined up so I could get a group shot for posterity.

top left to right: Our son Chris, his wife Linda, Jan, our son-in-law Lowell, our daughter Brandi, Jan’s sister Debbie, Debbie’s daughter-in-law Laura, Laura’s husband Jason, Debbie’s daughter Tana, and her fiancé Curtis.

bottom left to right: Tana’s daughter Gwen, Laura’s daughter Avery Jane, Miss Piper, Landon, Laura’s daughter Ella, Debbie’s daugther Christina, and Laura’s daughter Annisten. And of course, Baxter the dog. I think I got them all.

That’s a motley crew if I ever saw one.

Jan and I finally headed back to the rig about 7:30, and after a quick stop at the Brookshire Bros. in Columbus, we were back at the rig by 8:45 after another fun day.

Tomorrow we get a day off, since most of the bunch are going over to San Antonio for the day. As far as Jan and I, Been There, Done That. Several Times.

But Saturday it all starts back up again with a cookout. Then Sunday we’re going down to Sugarland to watch Landon play Ice Hockey.

Wrapping up, I had been worried about the status of my Arizona CCW permit. I mailed it off from Apache Junction April 12th to an address right down the road in Phoenix. So now at the 2-1/2 month mark I was starting to get antsy.

Every time we would talk to Brandi I’d ask if they’d gotten anything for me from Arizona. And always, NOPE.

And I was sure that I had ask for my CCW permit to be sent to Brandi’s, but I was wrong. This evening, when I went through our mail that had come to our son Chris’ I found the letter with my permit. enclosed. And it was dated May 2nd. When means it got sent back out one day less than 3 weeks after I sent it in.

Fast service.

Thought for the Day:

Most people would like to be delivered from temptation but would like it to keep in touch. – Robert Orben

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With a full day on tap, Jan and I left the rig about 11:30, heading for our daughter’s home in the Katy area.

But we had a number of stops beforehand, with the first one being the Jack in the Box in Columbus for a quick breakfast, Jan getting Supreme Breakfast Croissant, while I got a large Iced Caramel Latte. Very good.

Finally getting into the Katy, we dropped off a prescription for Jan at the Sam’s Club, and then it was on to  the Kroger near Brandi’s for some last minute supplies. That done, I dropped Jan off at the nearby POSH Nails to get her toesies done while I took the groceries on to Brandi’s.

About the time that Jan’s sister Debbie and her family showed up, Lowell showed up with our dinner, a Rudy’s Picnic Box.

And it comes with pretty much everything you need, two big trays of every kind of meat, boiled potatoes, potato salad, creamed corn, beans, bread, two gallons of drinks, plates, cutlery, and even a red checkered tablecloth.

It’s amazing how quiet it gets when everyone is eating.

After dinner, our son Chris brought in his surprise for Landon and his cousins.

A Giant Jenga game that he made.

It’s obvous that Chris put a lot of time into this, including also make the stand underneath that holds all the blocks for storage and transport.

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It was fun enough that it kept the kids involved for a good while, though the sound that the Jenga tower made as it came down rattled the house.

Later, Avery Jane, Ella, and Landon spent some time with coloring books and some other art projects.

Today’s group totaled 17 with 3 more showing up tomorrow.

And adding to the fun, tomorrow is Gumbo Day, with Chris whipping up a big batch of his famous Seafood Gumbo. Everyone’s looking forward to it.

Everyone started to head out about 8:30, with Jan and I making another stop at Kroger’s on the way, this time for gas, at $1.84/gallon, finally getting home about 9:45 after a really fun day.

And then tomorrow we do it all over again.

Well, no one seems to know what the mysterious red buttons in my engine compartment are, but the consensus seems to that I should press the buttons to see what happens, Jan should be taping from a safe distance, and I should wait to do it on the 4th of July for the best effect in case things go terribly wrong.

Thanks a lot, guys.

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