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Captain’s Log: RV Wanderlust 04-25-2014

April 26, 2014 by Eric Highland 6 Comments

Eric and Brittany Highland

Meriwether Navigator Brittany Highland and Captain Eric Highland of RV Wanderlust

  • Date: 04-25-2014
  • Current City: Vicksburg, MS
  • Current Location: River Town RV Park
  • Site Number: 99
  • Wi-fi Signal: Verizon - Strong / AT&T - Very Weak
  • Mission: Explore / Work
  • Compliment: 2 Officers, 1 Crew, 0 Guests
  • Captain: Eric Highland
  • Navigator: Brittany Highland
  • 1st Mate: Trogdor the Burninator
  • Weather: Clear / 79°
  • Precipitation: 10%
  • Humidity: 50%
  • Wind: 9 mph
  • Fuel: 12.5 Gallons of Diesel - 1/8 capacity
  • Odometer: 100,020
  • Generator Hours: 4611.8
  • Estimated Date of Departure: Saturday, April 26th
  • Next Destination: Arlington, Texas

Special Orders: Liberal water use is authorized until Saturday morning disconnect.

Captain’s Remarks

21:00 - One look at the skies last night, and I decided it was time to secure all exterior gear. Though the weather said clear, the clouds said “maybe.”

Not taking any chances on having to carry wet material inside our basement storage on Saturday, I decided to secure our two exterior chairs, our patio rug and I retracted all awnings. All exterior items were stowed below decks and the hatches were battened down.

08:15 - I was right. It rained last night. A good sailor can read the sky and old habits die hard. Glad I got everything stowed.

09:54 - Because we plan to drive 382.5 miles on Saturday to Arlington, TX, I have secured the grey water valve to build up a collection in the grey water tank sufficient to help flush the holdings of the black water tank through the hoses upon disconnect on Saturday morning. As such, liberal water use is authorized and encouraged throughout Meriwether until Saturday morning disconnect.

We typically try not to drive more than 250 miles in one day. However, the options between Vicksburg and Arlington were limited to Tyler, TX and Longview, TX neither of which sounded appealing enough for a week.

Not what you want to see driving down the highway. (Photo credit: Jmos via FlickrCC)

10:07 - TORNADO WARNING: It appears that there is a severe weather / thunderstorm / hail / lightning / tornado forecast making its way across the United States for the next 7-10 days. It is supposed to come through the Dallas, TX area on Saturday or Sunday night. The bad weather is not supposed to hit until Saturday night at the earliest, so I’m monitoring the storm reports as we approach our Saturday morning departure.

1st Mate Trogdor The Burninator

In other news, I’m concerned about our 1st Mate Trogdor the Burninator. He hasn’t eaten it what seems like weeks.

We have been researching heavily and have begun a close watch on him. We have been giving him nightly baths which include a massaging of his stomach and abdomen area. These baths seemed to have helped in that he experienced a sizable bowel movement for the first time in quite awhile. We think he may have been impacted/constipated.

Now that he has had this movement, we hope he will regain his appetite. He has been drinking more water than usual due to his baths which he seems to enjoy. ~ E

Navigator’s Addendum

14:53 - First Mate Trogdor consumed three super worms - his first meal we know of in the past two weeks. Another bath is planned for tonight.

Took two walks around the campground today. Met a group of four couples who travel together. They said their group size will be 19 once everyone arrives. Told them about the RVillage website.

Met a full-timer on the other side of the campground who was out washing his grill. He has a 40″ 2000 Holiday Rambler Endeavor that seemed to have a similar floorplan to Meriwether. He commented on the awkward angle of our rig this week. It’s true - Meriwether looks like he’s ready to lift off into outer space. But inside he’s level and happy.

The gentleman told us about Palms RV Park in Dickinson, TX between Houston and Galveston. We may need to check it out for our week in the Galveston area at the beginning of June. -B

Filed Under: Captain's Log Tagged With: mississippi, trogdor, vicksburg

  • kamwick

    Love your blog. Hope Trogdor feels better soon. I went to college in Nacogdoches, Texas years ago, and used to take short trips to Tyler. It’s the “Rose Capital of Texas” and a darned sweet little town, so don’t dismiss it too soon 🙂 Lived in Texas for 12 years and never actually SAW a tornado, but had several times in which they were reported to be close. I’m so envious of your travels. Hubby and I just bought our third travel trailer and can’t wait to get it outfitted and on the road….

    • EricHighland

      Thanks Kamwick! No contempt prior to investigation is one of the things that I live by. Normally! Wow, after Donna’s breakdown of things to do and see in Tyler, and your comment, now I feel bad that we didn’t stop this time around. We have a lot of travel in front of us though, maybe there will be another time we’re passing through the area.

      Glad you are enjoying the RV Wanderlust blog! Would love to connect with you two sometime! ~ Eric and Brittany

  • Donna Seago

    There may not be much to do or see in Tyler or surrounding areas compared to larger cities, but it’s quite the East Texas gem. If you’re able to visit in March/April when the azaleas and dogwoods are in bloom, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

    Tyler State Park, just off IH-20 (north of the city), has lots of pine trees, a small lake, hiking and mountain bike trails. Also, Kiepersol Estates (south of Tyler) has an RV park. I’ve never been there, but have heard the estate and vineyard are nice.

    If you’re ever in the area, here are a few things you might want to do:

    Azalea and Spring Flower Trail (March/April)
    Tyler Rose Festival/Rose Season (October)
    Visit Miller’s Classic Cars (south of town on Hwy. 69) (year-round)
    Visit the Caldwell Zoo (year-round)
    Attend an event at Liberty Hall (year-round)
    Walk through the Azalea District to see the historic homes and brick streets (year-round)
    Visit Headache Springs Natural Park
    Take a ride on the Texas State Railroad (between Rusk and Palestine)

    My husband grew up in Tyler and we have lots of family and friends still there, so we visit often and always find plenty to entertain us.

    Enjoy your journey!

    • EricHighland

      Wow Donna! Who would have thought! My goodness. I really appreciate you taking the time to tell us about all of this. Sounds like we may just need to stop there one of these trips. Texas is so full of little gems like Wimberley, Fredricksburg, Kerrville, etc. I never would have thought that Tyler might be one of those little gems. Thanks for all of the great tips!

  • Nancy Cohen

    For some reason, I was extremely interested in reading about Trogdor’s bowel movements! LOL. I’m glad he seems to be feeling better. Love reading your Captain’s Logs!

    • EricHighland

      That is really encouraging @nancy_cohen:disqus we really started the Captain’s log section more as a humdrum daily (or semi-daily) recap. But we’ve received a positive response. I guess it is sort of like peeking into our daily lives. We committed to be transparent when we started RV Wanderlust. So all the good personal stuff will be in this section. Trogdor ate 4 more worms yesterday and 2 more this morning. He’s really looking a lot better! Thank you so much for following along! ~ Eric and Brittany

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