The Lost Month in Texas
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September 30: It seems unlikely, even impossible, but we seemed to have lost about 30 days. They must be floating around this state somewhere, but with a state the size of Texas it may take longer to find them than it is worth. We sat down to plan our next post and realized we really hadn’t done much. Texas, a state often thought of as dry and desert-like has been hammered with rain. In our current workamping schedule, we get 5 days off in a row every other week. We usually use these days to galavant and explore, but the forces of Zeus, the God of Rain, were stronger than we were. So while we weren’t able to get out and do much exploring, we did more than just sit on the couch eating bonbons. Okay not much more, but more. Plus to be honest if I was sitting on the couch I would be more likely to have a cookie in my hand. I’m not really a BonBon type of girl. So enough about our lazy habits, what is it that we actually accomplished.
There’s the good, the bad, and the ugly. So let’s start with the ugly. Our pearly whites weren’t what I would call ugly, but in need of some attention. Things like medical visits become a little more tricky as full-time RVers. It’s not just the usual trip to the same ol’ dentist office every six months, instead it is finding a local dentist and crossing your fingers for a good experience. We decided upon Aspen Dental to help streamline our dental treatment as we travel across the country. They can be found in almost all 50 states with 600+ locations and while not completely tied together, Aspen Dental is a dental support organization that provides management, business, and administrative support to each location. If anything else, it would provide us with a place to look first for our next dental visit in whichever state that finds us in.
So off to the local Aspen Dental office in Victoria, Texas we went. We started off with a free exam and X-rays and orders to come back for a two-part cleaning. We scheduled those the following two Tuesdays. I had a chipped tooth that at my last dental appointment was too small to do anything about. Just like I had thought it had, it was a little bigger and while not causing pain, I decided to nip it in the bud before it did so. Russ must have eaten one too many gluten free sweet treats, as he was in need of a filling to take care of a cavity. So those appointments filled out the rest of the Tuesdays in September! The first Tuesday that went by without a trip to the dentist, we felt like we were forgetting to do something. And while the primary appointment was complementary, the latter definitely didn’t follow suit. While this is a planned expense, it definitely is not a welcomed one. ChaChing!
So we got that all knocked out and while on a roll with dental care, we purchased new toothbrushes which we liked so far. I’ve never been a fan of the big bulky electric toothbrushes, but knew the extra movement and vibrations do help keep the gums in good shape. So, we were on the lookout for something that would suit the needs of our small RV bathroom a little better. All of the sudden from a google recommendation, the Quip entered from stage right.
We liked the simplicity of their site, the options for free refills on a tri-monthly basis and the size of the toothbrush. While it is a powered toothbrush, instead of having chargers and plugs to figure out where to put the Quip is powered by battery. All this packaged in a normal sized toothbrush. Rather than circular motions, it has simple vibrations that pause every 30 seconds giving you a hint to move to the next quadrant of the mouth for a complete 2 minute brush cycle. If you are a full-blown electric toothbrush lover, this might not be the brush for you. If you are looking to one-up your manual toothbrush, definitely check out Quip. If you do decide to bite the bullet, I mean quip, use this coupon code to save $5 which will in return gift us a free refill. Our IVORIES // TOOFERS // CHOMPERS (whatever you call them) thank you!
So if that was the ugly, what was the bad? I never thought you would here this from us, but the words bad and beach trip will be in the same sentence. What what?? Didn’t think that would ever be published on the blog of two beach lovers, but what do you know bad beach days do exist. After what was about three weeks straight of rain, many which fell on our off days from work, we got a little bit too excited about the blue skies we spied out the window of Charlie.
So off to the beach of Matagorda we went with a packed lunch, beach umbrella, beach chairs and a book each in tow. After a 70-minute car ride north, we hopped out of the car for a quick walk to the beach and were greeted by the biggest swarm of mosquitos we had ever experienced. This quickened the pace in which we grabbed our beach gear and waddled down to the sandy shore of the Gulf of Mexico. We had talked about the fact that the mosquitos would likely be bad as those same pesky guys had kept us from venturing out of the camper at our RV resort when we didn’t have to. But, there is always a breeze at the beach and that would clear the mosquitos out from the sandy shore. Baa-Haa-Haa. We put our beach chairs out and tried to attempt the umbrella, but between the slapping, swatting, and dancing to keep from being eaten alive, we found that these Texas mosquitos aren’t the least bit phased by a ocean breeze. We looked around and saw others sitting at the beach, confused by how they could handle it. We decided they must have another liquid other than blood flowing through their veins. It sure looks like a lovely day doesn’t it??
We tried to talk ourselves into staying and that it would be okay, but after 104 bites in about 90 seconds, the beach gear was back in our hands in a desperate quick shuffle back to the safety of the car. The sad thing was the car was filled with mosquitos too. After lots of swatting and cleaning up, we were happy in all the window slapping that we wouldn’t have to call Safelite for a windshield repair. Not allowing our whole beach trip experience to be a complete bust, we ate our packed lunch in the car on the sandy side of the road peeking at the Gulf of Mexico in the side mirrors. It’s all about the journey, not the destination. Thankfully so, because this destination included our arch enemy - the unfazed Texas mosquito. Unfortunately even the journey included a few of them too.
To make the 70-minute drive not a complete waste of time, we decided to drive back a different way and check out some things we had not seen before. We headed toward Bay City, but we didn’t make it very far before seeing something else new to us - a rattlesnake! Upon spotting the rattler, two things made us feel safer, one we were in our car and two he was flat as a pancake. I spotted him just as we were pulling out of the beachside parking lot and I told Russ to pull up so I could see the “big snake” through the window. When I peered out the window, I spotted a rattle on the tail. It was our first rattlesnake spotting and we would both be okay if it was also our last. Kinda of cool in a weird way! We thought our trip to the mosquito-laden beach was bad, but our day panned out way better than the flattened rattlesnakes did.
This is where the “good” of the post comes alive. It was on to Bay City for some exploration. We parked and walked around the cute downtown and stopped in a health foods store and coffee shop. Just my cup of tea or should I say coffee! Bay City was much like many small Texas towns, featuring a big town square built around a court house or government building. Commercial space surrounds the square which would have created a booming small town back in the day. Unfortunately, like we have seen most places around the country, these towns are often plagued with vacant spaces where small businesses once thrived. Bay City had more located downtown than something other of the towns we have frequented, but let’s just say it wasn’t hard to find a parking space! Even with our botched beach day behind us, I still don’t think I’ll be convinced that there really is such a thing as a bad day at the beach as the beach lead us to our first rattlesnake spotting and a lovely latte in a local, downtown coffee shop. But also don’t get the idea that we’re going to thank the mosquitos for that happening.
As we are posting this it is hard to believe another 30 days has sneaked right by us. We packed a few more things into our October, than we did our September, so stay tuned for more of the adventures of R & B. As always, thanks for reading. We so enjoy sharing our journey with you. Drop us a comment below with what have you been up to.
