A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step... or 450 steps.
We began our epic journey with one goal in mind: get the heck outta Texas! And so we drove...and drove...and drove! We drove due north from San Antonio until we got to Dallas, then headed northeast until we arrived in Texarkana. A total of 450 miles on the first day. (And we managed to get through Austin traffic by annoying only one trucker. Not bad!) We ate lunch and dinner along the way at roadside rest areas, then I went ahead in the van to scout out our stopping place for the night.
We stayed the night at the Red River Army Depot near Texarkana - only $12 for the whole family! It was a lovely little hidden gem of a place near a lake. After getting set up, Steve played basketball with the older boys then swung on the playground with the younger boys.
One thing that struck all of us was how much cooler it was in northern Texas compared to San Antonio, and how tall the trees were. As a matter of fact, when our younger guys went back out to the playground the next morning, they ended up returning to the camper to get their sweaters on, because according to them, "It's FREEZING out there, Mom!" (It was down to about 75 degrees - LOL!)
We all slept well our first night on the road, and had no trouble getting ready to leave for our next day of adventure.
