Change is in the Air !

Change is definitely in the air.  I bet no one doubts that for us.  Change was also in the air for the weather in the Dallas area.  It’s not that it was bad but it was foggy, cloud covered and dismal.  We didn’t like the weather but we knew about Texas weather.  If you hang in there long enough, the weather will change.  Guess what we decided to do?  You probably guessed it.  We did need to consider a few things first to be sure it was the best thing to do..

First of all, getting to and from the airport would be a nightmare with  traffic and all the 24 hour construction on the freeways especially at 6 AM in the morning.  Now, we could leave our vehicle with the motorhome and take Super Shuttle for just under $100 plus about an extra 2 1/2 hours of picking up everyone else on their list or we could opt for the other idea.  We had decisions to make. 

 

We talked about it.  That’s not quite true.  I kept talking and Terry finally agreed.  On to Louisiana we would go.  To begin with it was cheaper and faster getting to the Dallas airport from Shreveport than from far East Dallas.  That was a no brainer.  Plus I’m thinking it doesn’t matter if we get to Portland later because I never got any response from the kids when I sent our arrival information!!

We did have a few things to finish up before we got back on the road including getting together a bunch of staff we wanted to take  to Washington.  We could send it by FedEx or check it on the airplane with us.  The problem was we didn’t have a big suitcase for the airplane.  Terry and I only use small roller bags and very rarely check anything when we travel.  So, off to the Goodwill we went and found a perfect Samsonite bag for $5.98. What a deal!!  We’ll donate it back once we unpack the contents.

Remember Terry’s wonderful new inflatable kayak he tested in his sister’s pool?  Well, we had been looking for a similar one for me. We loved the feel of his 13’ Advanced Element Advanced Frame but I wanted one a little lighter.  Just out of curiosity I checked out REI’s website.  They had the same one I had been looking for in stock at their store 3 miles from us.  Yippee!!  No shipping!!!   We couldn’t leave town without it.

I’ve always used Microsoft Streets and Trips to plan our travels.  Recently, I’m been fiddling around with Google Maps and discovered you really can teach an old dog new tricks.  This is my work in progress map for 2015 but it’s from Mapbox.  So much yet to do and so much yet to learn including how to get the feed small enough for a side panel from Mapbox and map centered in frame.   I’ve adjusted percentages and pixels and it just isn’t working yet.

The map above is just a picture and you can’t click on the pins for information.  The larger one below can be moved, enlarged, reduced, etc.  I’m not sure how to get it to stay in one position on the map.  Maybe I have to fit in longitude / latitude?  That’s a work in progress thing too.

The light blue pins will be where we’ve already been this year and the pinkish will eventually show where we think we’re going.


‘Tis life on the road.