Old Forts & New Friends...

    Suzanne had a call from 9:00 - 10:00 this morning so we had plenty of time to prepare for departure. I checked the oil in the coach - it was right where it's supposed to be. Aaron wanted to take my bike for a ride. The tires needed inflating so I located my foot operated pump and we aired them up. While Aaron was out on his ride and Suzanne was on her call I took my time stowing things away and reattaching the car to the coach.
     Aaron returned...

...Suzanne finished her call and all that was left to do was retract the slides and jacks and disconnect from shore power and water. Sonora RV park doesn't have septic hookups so that was one task I wouldn't need to perform this morning.
     I was about to start the coach to begin airing it up and retracting the jacks when I saw Suzanne in a conversation with the only other guest in the park, an older fellow in the big, beautiful late model Monaco Diplomat parked beside us. He and his wife were already there when we arrived yesterday and we had chatted briefly about what a snug fit it was. I went out and joined in the conversation.
    Lou and his wife are well into their 80s (they have a 64 year old daughter) and have been full-time RVers for 23 years. He told us there has never been a day in all those 23 years when either of them has regretted moving out of their 'sticks & bricks' home and into their motorhome. Their daughter occasionally asks when they're going to give up their crazy nomadic lifestyle and settle down. He told me their plan is to "Eventually drive the coach up to the front door of the funeral home." Lou was a very cool guy and we really enjoyed talking with him. 
    We were on the road by 11am headed for our first stop, Fort Stockton, Texas where we planned to have lunch and tour Historic Fort Stockton.  There was an empty gravel 'parking lot' at the fort and I strategically parked the coach so that it was facing the exit. We were all a bit peckish and Aaron and Suzanne had found a promising local eatery on their smartphones. Following Aaron's GPS we walked the two blocks to B's Family Diner where we found the food tasty, the service friendly and the prices reasonable.

     After finishing lunch we walked back over to the Fort. I got Travis out of the coach and we began walking around the grounds. Dogs weren't allowed in the buildings, Travis was in need of some exercise and there was a lot of wide open space, perfect for tennis ball throwing and retrieving. We were the only people visiting the fort so I wasn't worried about bothering anyone with our shenanigans. Travis and I abandoned the tour and got his over-sized tennis balls from the coach. He had a grand ol' time chasing tennis balls for the next 45 minutes and was a very happy, very tired boy for the next leg of our trip.
    We finally landed in Van Horn, Texas at the Van Horn RV Park where I met Guy & Sue, a lovely couple in a classic 1984 Newell motorhome. We had a long chat - and I even got a tour of their rig! I love those older Newells. I tried going for a run, but by then it was dark and even with my headlamp I was having a hard time seeing the gravel road surface. Not wanting to twist an ankle I abandoned my run and went back inside.
    None of us was very hungry when dinnertime rolled around so we each had a snack of our own choosing... and that, as they say... was that. The cable service at Van Horn RV Park sucks so we watched a few episodes of Frasier on Netflix and called it a night.
    Tomorrow we have a fun day planned. Something a little different.
    Stay tuned...

   Thanks for checking out my blog.