The End of the Road

With a firm departure date ahead, we bee-lined for the Dallas area to store Ginger and return Fred. Somewhere along the way we made a lame attempt to list Ginger for sale on Craigslist but quickly decided storage was a better idea. Well, maybe not a better idea but certainly one that works well for two people who like to kick big decisions down the road as far as possible. We'll just deal with it next year! On our way we made the most of the Allstays app and found some good state parks to break up the trip. Compared to Tangent it was relatively easy to get a trailer ready for storage. The constant downpours didn't help but we got it all done and managed to sneak in some surreptitious Christmas shopping before hopping a flight back to PR.

We had a lot of fun playing in the dunes at Monahans Sandhills State Park. 

The weather was perfect and the sand was really soft.

It was really windy which kept us cool in the strong sun.

The kids wandered off by themselves for a while but we followed their tracks. It was easy to get lost among the dunes. 

We rented sleds for a couple dollars from the office. Sliding down was easy but just like all sledding, going back uphill sucks. 

Really sucks.

It was slower than it looks and we were wishing for some non-nutritive cereal varnish to spray on the bottoms. 

Just like at every beach, a fort was built. This time a mini one for plastic horses. 

A quick lunch stop at the Odessa Meteor Crater. The world's most boring slight dent in the ground. Oil rig in the background. The rigs were everywhere through NM and TX.

At Lake Mineral Wells Andy and the kids went for a walk in the woods. They heard some rustling and saw this funny armadillo guy rooting around in the leaves. They look like little dinosaurs.

Okey dokey!

Ginger gets a much needed bath.

We stayed at a pretty awful RV park in Cleburne where we packed, cleaned and winterized through endless downpours which kept the kids trapped inside while we tried to work around them. Ginger is too small for everyone to bustle around so the kids were relegated to bunks and beds and helping with the laundry. This cute kitty wanted to get out of the rain and made herself right at home. She kept the kids company and added to the general chaos. Not to mention a round of tears when we had to say goodbye. "But what's going to happen to shmiiiiittttteeennnnnssss???"

Andy doing some outside work during a brief break in the rain. 

Ginger's winter retreat!

At our hotel I had to unpack and re-pack everything to make it all fit in our bags. Drew's tiny pile is on the little side table. Cubby's mountain of crap and stuffed animals is at the end of the couch. I can still feel my despair when I look at this picture. 

Up and out the door at 4AM waiting for the airport shuttle. Horrible. But so excited to be packed up and on our way back to Tangent. This traveling thing is exhausting! 

A quick breakfast and nap before taking off. Puerto Rico, here we come!