There and Back Again - Rainbow's End

This past weekend we took our first foray away from the local area.  That's right!  We towed our camper somewhere!  (We are getting bold, aren't we?)

Our adventure took us about 250 miles northeast to a small town in the piney woods called Livingston, Texas.  Do you recognize that location?  Yes, this is our legal "home" nowadays.

We drove to the Escapees flagship park called Rainbow's End to check out our new "home".  Since this is where we legally live now, we thought it would be nice to actually see it in person before we start out on our long excursion.

We were able to make the trip with only one vehicle.  TJ is still at Boy Scout camp for the summer, and we were able to farm out Daniel to a family friend. (Thank you, Noel Dill!)  So the six of us were able to cram into our "Cowboy Cadillac" (that's a suped-up diesel Ford F-350 dual-wheel pickup truck, for those who don't know) and make the journey.

The journey went well... until we drove through downtown Livingston.   At a red light, making a right hand turn, we popped our emergency brake cable and the brakes on the camper locked up - right in the middle of the intersection!  After a few initial moments of panic (and annoyed drivers trying to get around us), Steve was able to figure out what the problem was.  He popped the cable back into place, and we were off again.  Good thing too, because I was about ten seconds away from calling a tow truck!

Our time at Rainbow's End was delightful.  You can tell that the park was at low capacity for the summer.  Most fulltime RVers leave this area of the country for the summer months and return in the fall.  (And no wonder!  We've been hitting at least 100*F every day, with no end in sight!  Blech!)



Rainbow's End is more than just an RV park.  We stayed in the section meant for transient travelers, but there is a long-term site section as well as a permanent site section.  (I think the permanent sites are deeded and privately owned.) 

We stayed at a site that was very close to the swimming pool and activity center.  Although the activity center was closed for the summer, the pool was not.  Steve and the boys made heavy use of the pool, which was just the right depth for my youngest kids to swim.



Besides the pool and activity center, up the road a short distance was the clubhouse.  Many social gatherings and classes are held in there throughout the day, but there is also a very nice book library and movie check-out room.  In addition, there is a private television viewing room in which our kids could watch some movies.

On Sunday evening we joined others for the weekly ice cream social and met some very friendly older Escapees.  We were by far the youngest folks around, but I didn't mind that in the least.  All my life I've been told that I'm really an old lady in a young body, so I really fit right in.  (LOL)  Besides, I've learned that if you just listen to what an older person has to say, you can glean some very wise advice.  We met one couple who retired from the Air Force in 1974.  He was a Vietnam War pilot back in the day, and he had some great stories for us.  He and his wife were delighted to watch our kids set up and knock down dominoes on the floor.  Another lady that I met told me that she was from Tidioute, Pennsylvania (a town of about 800 people), and she was just pleased as punch that I actually knew where that was!

On our departure day, we scheduled ourselves for a "Smart Weigh" to see if we were not only within our weight limits but also to see if we were balanced.  Turns out that we are far below our weight limit, but our back axle is a little off-balanced.  So sometime soon we need to try to even out the weight in the boys' bedroom a little better.  Other than that, I think it proved to be a big relief to Steve's nerves to learn that we CAN tow that big of a camper with the truck that we own, and that we are NOT exceeding the weight limit of the RV.

Then we went into the headquarters building and collected our mail before heading back to San Antonio.

And so we were, like the Hobbit, "There and Back Again".

Our Building Project

On Steve's first official day of the government furlough (*grumble grumble*), we decided to get the back of the van organized.

We have taken out several benches in our 15 passenger van so that there is a lot of open space in the back. The benches are in storage, and there is exactly enough seating for the eight of us now.

Up until our project day, the back of the van was filled to the hilt with big Rubbermaid containers filled with our homeschooling curriculum and supplies. This was beginning to turn into a disorganized mess, and everyone was feeling the effects of living with that disaster.

Steve came up with the idea of putting bookshelves in the back of the van. This was a great idea, but how do you put bookshelves in a moving vehicle and keep them from falling over?

So then my wonderful husband had the idea of building a wooden pallet for the floor and screwing wooden bookshelves into the pallet floor. Brilliant!

So off we went to Lowe's hardware store to buy lumber, screws, and a saw. We brought it all back to the camper and started building. While Steve and the boys built a wooden framework for the pallet floor, I worked on assembling some pre-made bookshelf kits. Before I was finished, they had attached the plywood floor to the framework and finished their floor!

Once the bookshelves were done being assembled, Steve used some L-brackets to secure them to the plywood floor.

So now the question became, how do we keep things on the shelves while driving around? The bookshelves had doors with handles, but they weren't going to stay closed while driving.

Steve once again came up with another brilliant idea. He had some extra strips of wood cut off from the plywood to make it fit the frame they built. He cut them to fit between the door handles and notched them to stay in place. When we are driving, those slide between the handles and hold the doors securely closed.

Today we went to Wal-Mart and bought a small area carpet to cover the plywood floor. Voila! Our mobile classroom is ready for the road!

Having Fun

Steve said that I make our blog sound like we are having nothing but drama and catastrophe in our lives, so I thought I'd write about the many FUN things we've been up to lately!

We took the kids bowling one evening here on base when there was a $1 per game night. The kids all enjoy bowling, especially Joseph.

We also took the kids to the movie theater recently - a rare treat for us because it is usually so expensive for a family as large as ours. But we went to a mid-week matinee, so the cost wasn't too terrible. (Still nothing we are going to make a habit of!) Half of the kids saw Monsters University, and half saw Despicable Me 2. Both movies were good. I saw Monsters University with the kids, and I thought it was a very cute movie.

We also have a splash pad here on the base that is open for use in the late afternoons and evening. On really hot nights when nothing is going on, we like to take the kids there to cool off.

On Independence Day, we did a self-guided tour of the historic part of Ft. Sam Houston. We got to see all the old 1800's-style garrison houses, found the house that the General lives in, etc. Some of the highlights include the field where Foulois first flew military aviation, the house that Eisenhower used to live in, and the awesome "Quadrangle".

The Quadrangle is the remaining part of the original fort built back in the 1800's. It is a square stone wall with little windows for guns/cannons, as well as a bell/clock tower in the center of it all. Imagine our surprise when we wandered through the gate in the wall only to find a herd of deer roaming freely inside, a pond with fish in it, ducks and geese and chickens wandering about, and a flock of peacocks even!

We went inside the visitor center to learn that the Apache chief Geronimo was held prisoner here at one time, and local legend has it that he jumped out of the bell/clock tower. I don't think that's true, but it impressed the kids. Today the Quadrangle is the headquarters to the USArmy North.

On the evening of July 4th, we sat on the helicopter landing pad at the Quadrangle to watch the fireworks on display in downtown San Antonio. We had the perfect view without the traffic and crowds from downtown.

So I hope this evens out my tales of woe lately. We really have been having a good time. If we hadn't been, we would quit this grand scheme of ours and go back into a sticks-n-bricks house without looking back!

Homeschooling and Car Wrecks

How do you homeschool five/six kids in a tiny camper?  That's the million dollar question of the week.

We got back into the books on Monday, and Monday was a disaster. We were stumbling all over each other, tripping over stacks of books and papers, and rearranging our mess all day long. I couldn't remember where we left off in several subjects. I had no game plan. The kids were out of routine since we hadn't homeschooled since the end of March. It was terrible!

By Tuesday I decided we had to go somewhere else to be effective. So, we spent the morning at the park. I worked with Andrew and Ben at the picnic tables covering high school government while the younger guys played at the playground. At lunchtime we came home and ate. After lunch, we went to the library. The older kids found quiet corners to work in while I took a table to work with Joseph and Jonny alternately. While I worked with one, the other could watch a movie picked off the shelf, then they would switch.

Worked like a charm!

However, on Wednesday we had to stay in the camper again. Laundry had to get done!

Thursday I wanted to resume my park/library plan because it worked so well the first time. We found a different park to try in the morning, came back to the camper for lunch, then headed off to the library again.

However...

We never actually made it into the library. That day, the parking lot was completely full. There was not a single parking space to be found. As I circled around the parking lot, I accidentally clipped the back end of another car and took off their rear bumper. It was completely my fault since I was in the moving vehicle and that car was parked, but it didn't help that the other car wasn't in a designated parking space but rather was parallel parked along the interior curb of the parking lot, making the turn from one row to the other too tight for me to maneuver in my big 15 passenger van.

I left a note on the windshield, then came back home again. I didn't want to talk to them if they called until I had talked with Steve first. Well, I couldn't get ahold of Steve for several hours. In the meantime they called me, but since I didn't answer their call, they contacted the military police. Then I was getting phone calls from the MP's! Still,I didn't want to discuss anything until I informed Steve first. So for a few hours I was a fugitive of the law, and it was making me a nervous wreck!

When Steve finally got home and I told him everything, I just broke down in uncontrollable tears. (Geez! What's wrong with me lately? All this crying recently! I feel like such a ninny!)

And my wonderful husband made all the return calls for me, met with the other people to swap insurance information, and took care of it for me while I called my mommy and licked my wounds. *Rolling my eyes at myself*

Needless to say, no more homeschooling was accomplished that day.

On Friday, we stayed in the camper in the morning, but returned to the library in the afternoon - accident free.

Now here it is a new week. Yesterday (Monday) we did the park in the morning and camper in the afternoon. And since we are in a pattern now, I have to say that I had one of our best sessions EVER with Joseph. He is intellectually disabled, but yesterday he read an entire page out of his beginner reader, did an entire reading workbook page, did all his math flash cards (he's finally cementing his math facts into his head!), and practiced writing the capital letter "L" (he has extremely delayed fine motor skills). He rocked it yesterday!

So now it is 7:30 in the morning. Time to start again. Off to the park this morning, then to the library this afternoon, and hopefully we'll have another good day!