Head West Not So Young Man 2

[Molalla1]

this looks interesting, seems I can download my route plan in Good Sams into my Garmin gps.
I'm going to try that for the portable one.

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Have a number of questions on this part, as in do I avoid Houston by using the Beltway? San Antonio looked really crowded, I walked the Riverwalk using Google Earth and
it looks like one hotel after another. I don't need to see the Alamo. So unless someone tells me there's something else in San Antonio that is worth seeing, I'm likely to head to Austin after La Grange. Also would like to know if I should see the seashore near Galveston, someplace as far away from the refineries as possible.

Are you planning on going up the coast to Oregon, Washington . . . Canada? . . .

 

[daugen]

no, not this time. I'm hoping next year I take a trip through the Northern States and Canada.
I just can't do it all this trip, plus I'm likely selling my farm when I get home so you can imagine that will be on my mind.
One of my stops on the Northern trip will be my older brother's lake cabin at the top of UP Michigan.
My good friends who have helped me plan this trip have done the Northern route often, his Mom is in Washington and they have driven their five times so
have good info for me. But when I start that trip, I'll ask...

I figure I could cram about six bales of MJ in the rv, shouldn't smell too bad in there... and haul it all back to this unenlightened state.
No.....but I bet a lot of folks do.

 

[ronjhall]

So much to do. So little time. Your trip does not include a stop to visit Eddie Walker. A few miles East of Dallas on I 20.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

There is so much to see in the west. It’s been 10 years since our last ranch trip in Colorado.

 

[daugen]

So much to do. So little time. Your trip does not include a stop to visit Eddie Walker. A few miles East of Dallas on I 20.
View attachment 630146

Once I get the dates firmed up, I'll stop and see everyone along that route, maybe we can meet for lunch someplace and the waitress can take a picture of us all.
I think the West side of Ft Worth is a better path for me.
So far I have guided tours in St. Louis and Albuquerque.

Mostly, Eddie, Don, Bird, Rick, I'm sure I'm missing a few in Texas. I hope they chime in so if we have a meet, I can get info out to all who
are interested. Good excuse to have a lunch and some laughs. I expect to do that several times.
La Grange, Austin and Aledo are current campground plans. But in between stops I always try to have a lunch in a local place
so lots of options in between stops. What I need to know is heading West
do I swing North of Houston to avoid that whole area and then drop down; is there something
worth seeing in that area, or a TBN member. Or do I swing low to Galveston?
Again, zero interest in seeing refineries.

 

[ronjhall]

Cannot help you much on getting around Huston, San Antonio and Austin, We usually took I-20 to US 79 to US 77 to visit Don. Then 77 all the way to RGV if staying in TX for the winter. If we were headed out to AZ from Don's. Took TX 29 to US 377 until it ran into I 10.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Haven’t been to Houston since 1982, but did go to Galveston. I can hear Glenn Campbell singing now.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Drew, a unique trip planning technique.

From Sweet Home Alabama to New York, New York, one couple turned an epic playlist into the road trip of a lifetime | Roadtrippers

Obviously ... depending on the time of day, just stay on I-10 straight thru Houston.

 

[txdon]

if there is no construction I would stay on I10 also. Just try to be west of Houston before 2PM.

If you go to Galveston you can take the beltway around Houston and hit 45 South.
Galveston does not have the refineries so it would be ok to drive down the seawall and eat some delicious crab cakes in a hole in the wall place. I need to do some searches to see if I can still find it.

Edit. Here it is, found it.
Best Seafood Galveston County Wide | Shrimp N Stuff| Galveston TX

They have a state RV park ON THE BEACH!

 

[daugen]

thanks Don, I'm going to check out that rv park.

as far as that fine looking shrimp, the parking lot is seriously non rv friendly, it's a fun little hole in the wall with ten parking spots.
I always look down on the place before I pick a luncheon spot. May sound good but only for cars. And I don't Uber.
I'm sure there is some place in that area that has good eats.

If the weather looks good, and the rv place isn't a dive with strains of Deliverance
playing in the background, that sounds like fun. Sounds like I need to make some taste testing comparisons between shrimp and grits in Florida,
Louisiana and Texas, but then I'd be like Forrest Gump..... If they have something totally home made and "local" ,and not a lot of hot sauce in it,
I'll try a lot of different things. And if the menu is interesting, and I can order takeout, I can pick another meal and take it with me for another night.
that's the nice part about having a fridge and freezer with you. When I start to run out of milk and bread I'll likely find a store, I'm guessing once a week.
I don't worry too much about supermarkets, they are usually on main roads and have big lots you can park way away from others. I can pack a lot of cereal away in the storage area, not that heavy and bulky, so if I find the brands I like, and frankly I'm pretty restricted at home, looking for a bigger supermarket on the road.
It's vegetables, milk and bread that I'm likely to go shopping for. I'm thinking I'll bring home plenty of meat from unfinished lunches, due to portion size or with me ordering a meal to go.

And then, every two weeks, a laundry is a must. I have the packets for that, and a big supply of quarters. Often campgrounds have decent laundries so this should not be a big issue. I might not go the whole two weeks if I see a nice set up.

I-10 seems to be a straight shot due West right through the middle of Houston. Sorry JR, I don't need to see your
house of memorabilia...

 

[daugen]

Funny, I found this by accident, trip planning from first trip. The one six years ago when I got to Jackson MS, broke down and had to come home.
My sister hadn't moved to California yet so you can see I wasn't going that far before. Now it will be sea to shining sea.
I wish we could attach small movies here, my sister sent me a surf's up pic near her home and it was something certainly to look forward to.
No sandy beach there. I'll see plenty of sandy beaches on my rv trip to Florida end of January I hope. And trying to get to beach along the Gulf Coast on this trip. My friends retired to Florida, I'll be seeing them regularly so that's why I'm avoiding that area.

The Northern part of the first trip will be another head West trip, going North during the summertime, up to UP Michigan. all the way up almost to Canada.
And a trip through the Rust Belt. But lots to see in that area. Long time since I've driven on Woodward Ave. I'm thinking then of going to Seattle or Vancouver and getting the cruise up through Alaska.
Sounds like something I should do before I die...plus I like cruises anyway. And by then I will have downsized the farm into something I can leave alone without worrying too much and if I decide to stay another week, I can.
Because I reserve ahead, my trips are pretty closely planned, and on this April 1 trip I just have to watch the weather coming back through Colorado beginning of May. Until then, hurricanes not an issue, but tornadoes on the way home through tornado alley, gets hot by May...trying to decide if I was going to haul heavy ground anchors and straps with me. Trying to go early enough to avoid more intense weather, but not get stuck in snow for sure.

 

[Molalla1]

no, not this time. I'm hoping next year I take a trip through the Northern States and Canada.
I just can't do it all this trip, plus I'm likely selling my farm when I get home so you can imagine that will be on my mind.
One of my stops on the Northern trip will be my older brother's lake cabin at the top of UP Michigan.
My good friends who have helped me plan this trip have done the Northern route often, his Mom is in Washington and they have driven their five times so
have good info for me. But when I start that trip, I'll ask...

I figure I could cram about six bales of MJ in the rv, shouldn't smell too bad in there... and haul it all back to this unenlightened state.
No.....but I bet a lot of folks do.

:thumbsup: . . .

 

[daugen]

Well things haven't gone as expected, mostly due to a couple months of really poor health. First I got super sick from the meds they gave me for tinnitus/Meniere's disease and now my neck and lower back have gone out. Scheduled for epidural on neck, hope that helps, has in past. I have five inches of titanium rod in my neck already and right below the fusion is one very sore area. MRI didn't find much, other than bulges. And lower back MRI showed a total blockage of the spine, no canal left at all.
It's why my legs are weak and I can't walk any distances, some severe nerve pinching going on. Surgery is inescapable, so that will happen sometime in April I hope.
All of which has messed up my rv plans, first too sick to continue on Florida trip and had to come home, now neck hurts enough no way I could drive long distances, and I'm not drugging myself with pain pills to accomplish that. So a bit stymied at the moment.

Because of my health, made decision to sell my farm and downsize. I need to accomplish that first and then I'll go back on the road if health permits, and I'm keeping positive that it will. Have had bone/spine issues for over 20 years, so none of this is a surprise. You just figure out how to adjust, but one's neck is on a swivel when driving a rv, so need to get it fixed, if they can.

Keeping some heat on in the rv, which is under its shed, good thing as 3-5 inches of snow coming in tonight.

Hope to be back in two months and getting out there.

 

[lilranch2001]

Good luck with better heath!

 

[LouNY]

Good luck with all the medical and downsizing.
Take care be safe.
I enjoy reading your different posts.

Lou

 

[Molalla1]

Well things haven't gone as expected, mostly due to a couple months of really poor health. First I got super sick from the meds they gave me for tinnitus/Meniere's disease and now my neck and lower back have gone out. Scheduled for epidural on neck, hope that helps, has in past. I have five inches of titanium rod in my neck already and right below the fusion is one very sore area. MRI didn't find much, other than bulges. And lower back MRI showed a total blockage of the spine, no canal left at all.
It's why my legs are weak and I can't walk any distances, some severe nerve pinching going on. Surgery is inescapable, so that will happen sometime in April I hope.
All of which has messed up my rv plans, first too sick to continue on Florida trip and had to come home, now neck hurts enough no way I could drive long distances, and I'm not drugging myself with pain pills to accomplish that. So a bit stymied at the moment.

Because of my health, made decision to sell my farm and downsize. I need to accomplish that first and then I'll go back on the road if health permits, and I'm keeping positive that it will. Have had bone/spine issues for over 20 years, so none of this is a surprise. You just figure out how to adjust, but one's neck is on a swivel when driving a rv, so need to get it fixed, if they can.

Keeping some heat on in the rv, which is under its shed, good thing as 3-5 inches of snow coming in tonight.

Hope to be back in two months and getting out there.

Sorry to hear daugen . . . unfortunately I am in a very similar situation, keep the faith . . .

 

[Jstpssng]

Sorry to hear, I was looking forward to reading about your latest trips.

 

[KubotainNH]

That's a bummer, I also like seeing your posts. Hopefully they'll fix you up soon.