The Road to Austin...

    We got another early start Wednesday morning.  Suzanne didn't have to be set up in her 'office' until 1:00 but not knowing what traffic conditions might be along our route we thought it wise to get an early start. Not wanting to cross the median strip I wrote about in yesterday's post (and following our GPS instructions) I turned right as I exited the RV park and headed back east on Rt. 31 hoping there would be a convenient spot to make the U turn that would point us westward. There are no exit ramps along this stretch of Rt. 31, just stop lights with left/U-turn lanes.
    We came to such a light about 1/2 mile up the road and it was obvious to me that there was no way I was going to make the U turn from the designated left/U-turn lane. I was going to need the full width of all three east bound lanes AND the two west bound lanes in order to get us pointed in the right direction. The light for thru traffic was green but the left turn arrow was red. Traffic conditions were ideal but my window of opportunity wouldn't last long. Traffic approaching from both ahead and behind looked to be about 30 seconds out. Rt.31 is a pretty heavily traveled road and had we left any later I think the maneuver I was about to employ would have been problematic. Oh, I also looked to see if there were any cameras mounted to the traffic signal - there were none. I swung the coach out into the far right lane and , disregarding the red left turn arrow, cut the wheel as far to the left as I could. Just as I figured, it took the width of all five lanes to make the U-turn. But make the turn we did.
   It was a pleasant ride along SR31. Larger towns along the route included Athens and Corsicana. 117 miles later we were merging onto I35 in Waco. The trip from Waco to Austin Lone Star RV Resort wasn't nearly as pleasant as the first half of the day's journey. A good portion of this stretch of highway is under construction - a massive project.  It wasn't the sort of construction that slows traffic... we were able to maintain 65 mph (I could have done the 70 mph speed limit but I like to keep our speed between 60 & 65). What made it 'not so pleasant' was the lack of shoulders and concrete 'Jersey' barriers on either side, the frequent lane shifts and the sheer volume of traffic.  This is a very busy stretch of road with fast moving traffic.
     We arrived at our destination around 11:30 and were met at the gate (before I even had a chance to get out of the coach...we spoke through my window) by an employee with a clipboard. He confirmed our reservation and I asked if it would be possible to spend two nights rather than one. He said they were booked 'full-up' but that there was a non-landscaped sight all the way at the back of the park that would accommodate our 43 feet - available for two nights. While he went back inside the office to double check availability I took the opportunity to hop out and disconnect the car from the coach. Even though he had told us it was a pull-thru site I could see the sites were pretty close together and anticipated having to wiggle around a bit to position the coach perfectly. Soon thereafter another young fella appeared on an ATV and escorted us to our site.

                                               Kinda tight...but a very nice park
 
Travis and I had a fun time at the campground dog park...

    Then he waited patiently beside me as I did my workout in the back of the coach...

    The cable service isn't so good here but we're getting about 30 channels over the air with the antenna. Oh, and Austin Lone Star is a Passport America campground... 50% discount ($24/night)!
     Tonight's cocktail: margaritas

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