There's so much to consider when switching type of reporting. I've been freelancing my entire career - I did office management for freelancers, then scoping, and finally reporting. Running your own business gives you an incredible sense of freedom. Freedom from the same old, same old everyday office grind, the 9-to-5 hours, freedom from office politics.
However, it also gives you freedom from something that it seems I really want now: a steady paycheck.
Becoming an official for me is a HUGE change - but a good one. A steady salary with benefits, the opportunity to save for retirement all were big enticements. I'm sure the transition to working every day will be difficult, but, as my friend and colleague said to me the other day, "Hey, girl, it's just court reporting." Meaning that I really don't have to sweat it; I'll learn the ropes and fall in love with officialdom.
As for my "traveling" court reporter moniker, I can still keep it - I'm assigned as a "rover" court reporter, which means I don't have a set location to go to; it may be Raleigh, but it could be some other county seat in our area. I won't feel locked in to the courthouse.
Any officials out there, feel free to shoot me an email and let me know how you like being an official and any tips for short forms - I haven't written court "briefs" for several years, and I'm sure I'm going to want a few!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
January Requirements
As a small business owner, any court reporter probably has a lot of things to concentrate on in January. There is the fourth quarter payroll tax deposit. There are the filings for your subcontractors - those 1099 forms. And the W-2 for any employees. Not to mention the tax office's requirement for you to do an inventory of all equipment in your office and any purchases that you may have made during the year - you know you have to pay property taxes on them.
So January, that time when you're making New Year's resolutions, is also the time that you have to get your act together fiscally. Filing, balancing checkbooks, verifying deposits. Ah, the joys of small business.
In this last week of January, I hope you all get all of your filing done and all your mailings out in a timely manner. I have been a procrastinator all my life - and nothing has changed. This week I'm working like crazy to get all my paperwork in order.
So January, that time when you're making New Year's resolutions, is also the time that you have to get your act together fiscally. Filing, balancing checkbooks, verifying deposits. Ah, the joys of small business.
In this last week of January, I hope you all get all of your filing done and all your mailings out in a timely manner. I have been a procrastinator all my life - and nothing has changed. This week I'm working like crazy to get all my paperwork in order.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Making good on a promise
I've uploaded the photos. But that's about it. You'd think that with three days to a weekend, something would get done. Nope, not much.
But I fulfilled my promise to you all. And that's a good thing. People may sometimes believe what you say, but they will always believe what you do. I like to keep my word.
The next adventure begins in two weeks, and I'll be running around like crazy between now and then. Tomorrow's project is a meeting in Goldsboro with our educational realtime contact. Hopefully it will go well and hopefully my new car adapter for my iPod Nano will work!
But I fulfilled my promise to you all. And that's a good thing. People may sometimes believe what you say, but they will always believe what you do. I like to keep my word.
The next adventure begins in two weeks, and I'll be running around like crazy between now and then. Tomorrow's project is a meeting in Goldsboro with our educational realtime contact. Hopefully it will go well and hopefully my new car adapter for my iPod Nano will work!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Change is Change... and Exciting!
So, yes, I know what day it is. And I know I've not finished posting my pictures.
Life has a way of changing the gears on you when you least expect it! While I was in Las Vegas, I got a tentative job offer. When I got home, I interviewed - and accepted it. I will be working as an official court reporter in the state of NC starting on 2/1/08.
That, of course, necessitates some serious work on my part between now and the 1st. As a full-time employee, I will not have (probably) the amount of time during the week that I normally have to run errands and do projects, so I'm trying to get all that stuff done beforehand. The idea of doing my taxes in the next week is daunting - but that's not all I have to do. I have to go through my closet, get stuff to the dry cleaner or the tailor, contact all my agency clients and subs to let them know of the change, clean the house, organize my truck and my office, and do all the other minutiae involved in starting a new job.
It's exciting, though - the job isn't going to tie me to one particular office; no, it's a "rover" position, which means I'll still be able to travel. Just a little more locally, that's all.
I really do plan on getting the rest of the trip photos up. In fact, it's on my list... for tomorrow!
Life has a way of changing the gears on you when you least expect it! While I was in Las Vegas, I got a tentative job offer. When I got home, I interviewed - and accepted it. I will be working as an official court reporter in the state of NC starting on 2/1/08.
That, of course, necessitates some serious work on my part between now and the 1st. As a full-time employee, I will not have (probably) the amount of time during the week that I normally have to run errands and do projects, so I'm trying to get all that stuff done beforehand. The idea of doing my taxes in the next week is daunting - but that's not all I have to do. I have to go through my closet, get stuff to the dry cleaner or the tailor, contact all my agency clients and subs to let them know of the change, clean the house, organize my truck and my office, and do all the other minutiae involved in starting a new job.
It's exciting, though - the job isn't going to tie me to one particular office; no, it's a "rover" position, which means I'll still be able to travel. Just a little more locally, that's all.
I really do plan on getting the rest of the trip photos up. In fact, it's on my list... for tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Vegas and the Plane Day
I love Vegas. But I'm ready to go home. In a nutshell, though, here's what I noticed about Vegas since my last time here in March of '07.
Aladdin is no more - it's Planet Hollywood; Trump looks like it's up and open; Venetian opened its tower; and the City Center promises to be built by late 2009, and it looks stunning.
The food is, as always, incredible.
If you're a vodka fan, stop in at Red Square at the Mandalay Bay; several hundreds of vodkas in stock, and their claim to fame is the Red Square Martini (I didn't have it; instead I had the Red Dawn). I had a fantastic lobster bisque and then a tuna tartare, finishing it off with the Anastasia's Dream martini (chocolate liqueur, vanilla vodka, Chambord... and something else.) - YUM.
Sushi Pop was the lunch venue. I can't come to Vegas without having sushi.
Of course, Mom and I ate at the Burger Bar on Monday afternoon. They specialize in the burger - angus, buffalo, kobe, turkey, or veggie - with all the trimmings.
Wednesday will see me finally at home, doing laundry and posting the Vegas photos.
For now, I'm tapping away here in the airport, waiting for the flight home. (Leaves here at 11:20 a.m. - 2:20 p.m. EDT; arrives in RDU at 6:40 p.m.) I'm going to read on the plane, maybe nap, and hopefully get my brain back in "Work" mode.
Aladdin is no more - it's Planet Hollywood; Trump looks like it's up and open; Venetian opened its tower; and the City Center promises to be built by late 2009, and it looks stunning.
The food is, as always, incredible.
If you're a vodka fan, stop in at Red Square at the Mandalay Bay; several hundreds of vodkas in stock, and their claim to fame is the Red Square Martini (I didn't have it; instead I had the Red Dawn). I had a fantastic lobster bisque and then a tuna tartare, finishing it off with the Anastasia's Dream martini (chocolate liqueur, vanilla vodka, Chambord... and something else.) - YUM.
Sushi Pop was the lunch venue. I can't come to Vegas without having sushi.
Of course, Mom and I ate at the Burger Bar on Monday afternoon. They specialize in the burger - angus, buffalo, kobe, turkey, or veggie - with all the trimmings.
Wednesday will see me finally at home, doing laundry and posting the Vegas photos.
For now, I'm tapping away here in the airport, waiting for the flight home. (Leaves here at 11:20 a.m. - 2:20 p.m. EDT; arrives in RDU at 6:40 p.m.) I'm going to read on the plane, maybe nap, and hopefully get my brain back in "Work" mode.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sedona and Vegas
I love Sedona. The red rocks are just awesome! It's a hidden gem. You don't see them coming from the road (I-17) and they kind of sneak up on you as you drive along AZ 179 into the village of Oak Creek. For my handbell-ringing friends, the first major formation is Bell Rock. There are fabulous features all throughout Sedona proper, along with ley lines and the pretty creek. There was even a bit of snow at the higher elevations.
This morning we had a great breakfast at The Coffeepot Restaurant (s0 named because it's below "Coffeepot Rock") - some great coffee and omelettes. Then the drive to Vegas. Longer than anticipated - Mom is driving again (a little Chevy Aveo) and the mountains are a bit tough on her acrophobia. She's not a big Vegas fan, so she may be turning around and driving back tomorrow.
The thing about this drive - if you're not interested in crossing Hoover Dam, you're going to take two sides of the triangle instead of the hypotenuse. That translates into about an hour or more longer on the drive. It ended up taking us five hours from Sedona. We did stop in Kingman, AZ, home of cowboy Andy Devine and Route 66 paraphernalia.
We've got a view from the 28th floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel out onto the Strip. The lights are awesome! I'll take some photos, I promise... just not today! I want to play.
This morning we had a great breakfast at The Coffeepot Restaurant (s0 named because it's below "Coffeepot Rock") - some great coffee and omelettes. Then the drive to Vegas. Longer than anticipated - Mom is driving again (a little Chevy Aveo) and the mountains are a bit tough on her acrophobia. She's not a big Vegas fan, so she may be turning around and driving back tomorrow.
The thing about this drive - if you're not interested in crossing Hoover Dam, you're going to take two sides of the triangle instead of the hypotenuse. That translates into about an hour or more longer on the drive. It ended up taking us five hours from Sedona. We did stop in Kingman, AZ, home of cowboy Andy Devine and Route 66 paraphernalia.
We've got a view from the 28th floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel out onto the Strip. The lights are awesome! I'll take some photos, I promise... just not today! I want to play.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Sabino Canyon... a washout?
July 2006 - four days of rain in the desert (summer is monsoon season).
The end result? Sabino Canyon, one of the stars of Tucson's city park system - and also part of the Coronado National Forest - was damaged and is still under repair. Instead of being able to take the tram all the way to the top, we only made it half of the way up.
Nature was cleaning house, apparently. There were fires the season before, which loosened up debris up on Mt. Lemmon and the four solid days of rain encouraged a lot of runoff and the clearing of all the debris from the top of the mountain down into floor of the canyon. The guide told us that instead of 6 rock slides in the season, that year there were over 240! Our tram actually drove through water on THREE bridges - instead of bridges over water, the water went over the bridges - and ended up dropping us off near a picnic table half-buried in sand.
Eighteen months later, there's a lot of repair work being done, but the park won't reopen to its usual status until late spring or early summer.
Still and all, it's a gorgeous park with fantastic sajuaro specimens. We had a nice walk (a little over a mile) and I took lots of photos.
Today was my last day in Tucson. We head up to one of my favorite places (Sedona) tomorrow. We plan on stopping in at the Red Planet diner for a chocolate malted and hopefully will take in the shops at Tlaquepaque and maybe have a drink at a restaurant on Oak Creek. Look for some pretty red rock pictures in the near future!
The end result? Sabino Canyon, one of the stars of Tucson's city park system - and also part of the Coronado National Forest - was damaged and is still under repair. Instead of being able to take the tram all the way to the top, we only made it half of the way up.
Nature was cleaning house, apparently. There were fires the season before, which loosened up debris up on Mt. Lemmon and the four solid days of rain encouraged a lot of runoff and the clearing of all the debris from the top of the mountain down into floor of the canyon. The guide told us that instead of 6 rock slides in the season, that year there were over 240! Our tram actually drove through water on THREE bridges - instead of bridges over water, the water went over the bridges - and ended up dropping us off near a picnic table half-buried in sand.
Eighteen months later, there's a lot of repair work being done, but the park won't reopen to its usual status until late spring or early summer.
Still and all, it's a gorgeous park with fantastic sajuaro specimens. We had a nice walk (a little over a mile) and I took lots of photos.
Today was my last day in Tucson. We head up to one of my favorite places (Sedona) tomorrow. We plan on stopping in at the Red Planet diner for a chocolate malted and hopefully will take in the shops at Tlaquepaque and maybe have a drink at a restaurant on Oak Creek. Look for some pretty red rock pictures in the near future!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
A walk in the woods... er, desert
Today is the day we head out to Sajuaro Park and Sabino Canyon for some walks among the cactus. Sajuaro is wonderful and it's truly the Sonoran desert - lots of different types of cactus, critters, and excellent mountain views. Sabino Canyon is a city park and it's more up in the mountains rather than in view of - with great hiking over rocky creeks, up into the hills, and generally nice scenery.
Mom feels better - antibiotics are great - and we're also headed into town to find her spa where she'll get her hair done next week. Hopefully a very productive day - and I'll take as many pictures as I can.
The sun is shining brightly today and I'm looking forward to basking in it.
Mom feels better - antibiotics are great - and we're also headed into town to find her spa where she'll get her hair done next week. Hopefully a very productive day - and I'll take as many pictures as I can.
The sun is shining brightly today and I'm looking forward to basking in it.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Vacation Sickness
Have you ever gone on vacation and gotten sick? I have, many times. Not this time, though; instead, it was Mom's turn.
I've found that as you're preparing to go on your trip, you're really in high gear and trying to get all the pending things done so that you don't have to worry... And, once you finally stop and have the opportunity to enjoy the vacation, BAM, you get sick.
For Mom, the solo driving from NY to our house with only a short rest, the stress of the holidays and meeting new family members (bro's prospective in-laws), and then driving across the country, was apparently too much for her immune system. She's been down for the count since Monday night - with a sinus infection.
She's feeling better today, so we're headed into downtown Tucson and U of A and then perhaps down toward the artist village of Tubac. We had to reschedule the warranty work that we were going to do yesterday for Friday (but the parts weren't in anyway), and tomorrow is still up in the air.
So the lesson to be learned is: don't get overstressed before you leave for vacation, take your vitamins, AND make sure you're aware of how your medical insurance works in case you need to visit an urgent care or have your doc call in a prescription!
Happy Mid-Week!
I've found that as you're preparing to go on your trip, you're really in high gear and trying to get all the pending things done so that you don't have to worry... And, once you finally stop and have the opportunity to enjoy the vacation, BAM, you get sick.
For Mom, the solo driving from NY to our house with only a short rest, the stress of the holidays and meeting new family members (bro's prospective in-laws), and then driving across the country, was apparently too much for her immune system. She's been down for the count since Monday night - with a sinus infection.
She's feeling better today, so we're headed into downtown Tucson and U of A and then perhaps down toward the artist village of Tubac. We had to reschedule the warranty work that we were going to do yesterday for Friday (but the parts weren't in anyway), and tomorrow is still up in the air.
So the lesson to be learned is: don't get overstressed before you leave for vacation, take your vitamins, AND make sure you're aware of how your medical insurance works in case you need to visit an urgent care or have your doc call in a prescription!
Happy Mid-Week!
Monday, January 7, 2008
Movie Day
Sunday was supposed to be a day of "weather" - meaning rain here in the desert. So we decided to go to a movie and the mall.
We saw "Golden Compass" - we LOVED it! Excellent fantasy story, great CGI. Fun stuff. I do understand, though, some of the concerns of the religious groups (this was a toned-down version of the book, from what I understand). We've gone to the bookstore and gotten the series - which I understand is much more anti-religion. I'll be reading it when I get back home.
We also shopped the Park Place Mall - very nice! I only brought one pair of jeans and two pairs of sweats; while it's fine for traveling, I felt conspicuously underdressed. Darn, gotta go shopping! Two blouses and a new pair of jeans later, I'm feeling much more comfortable.
We found a great barbecue restaurant for dinner.
A nice evening back at the RV... but no rain on Sunday!
We saw "Golden Compass" - we LOVED it! Excellent fantasy story, great CGI. Fun stuff. I do understand, though, some of the concerns of the religious groups (this was a toned-down version of the book, from what I understand). We've gone to the bookstore and gotten the series - which I understand is much more anti-religion. I'll be reading it when I get back home.
We also shopped the Park Place Mall - very nice! I only brought one pair of jeans and two pairs of sweats; while it's fine for traveling, I felt conspicuously underdressed. Darn, gotta go shopping! Two blouses and a new pair of jeans later, I'm feeling much more comfortable.
We found a great barbecue restaurant for dinner.
A nice evening back at the RV... but no rain on Sunday!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Acclimating to Tucson
Cactus Country RV Park is awesome! It's significantly east of town and very comfortable. We did have to move to a different site - the first site only had 30-amp service, and we asked for 50-amp service. Trying to figure out which of your lights, computers, heaters, etc, to have on without blowing a fuse would've driven Mom crazy - heck, it was stressful even in one night.
This morning we called Enterprise - we are a ways out, remember - to come pick us up. Took four phone calls and 90 minutes to get picked up. The good news is that instead of the Chevy Aveo (compact) that I had booked - come on, I'm cheap! - they upgraded us to a Pontiac G6. What's awesome is that I have been wanting to test drive one, and I get to do it. It's nice - but very LOW! For me used to my Tahoe, and then this RV, being one of the lowest cars on the road was a little freaky. But it has great pep and handles fantastic.
So, after that ordeal, we headed for Mimi's for lunch (quiche) and then made our way to San Xavier del Bac, the northernmost Franciscan mission of the original Spanish mission-building extravaganza. This mission and church building had fallen into disrepair until the late nineties, when a not-for-profit group started raising funds to restore it. As of this date the exterior is not finished, but the chapel itself is. It is wonderful.
And, the best part of going to the White Dove of the Desert is the Indian fry bread. Every Saturday, local Tohono O'ocho (sp?) Indians camp out under ramadas and cook this very light and sweet bread. It's a lot like elephant ears at the State Fair, but much tastier.
Tomorrow they're calling for rain. If so, I'll try to get pictures afterwards of the desert flora blooming!
This morning we called Enterprise - we are a ways out, remember - to come pick us up. Took four phone calls and 90 minutes to get picked up. The good news is that instead of the Chevy Aveo (compact) that I had booked - come on, I'm cheap! - they upgraded us to a Pontiac G6. What's awesome is that I have been wanting to test drive one, and I get to do it. It's nice - but very LOW! For me used to my Tahoe, and then this RV, being one of the lowest cars on the road was a little freaky. But it has great pep and handles fantastic.
So, after that ordeal, we headed for Mimi's for lunch (quiche) and then made our way to San Xavier del Bac, the northernmost Franciscan mission of the original Spanish mission-building extravaganza. This mission and church building had fallen into disrepair until the late nineties, when a not-for-profit group started raising funds to restore it. As of this date the exterior is not finished, but the chapel itself is. It is wonderful.
And, the best part of going to the White Dove of the Desert is the Indian fry bread. Every Saturday, local Tohono O'ocho (sp?) Indians camp out under ramadas and cook this very light and sweet bread. It's a lot like elephant ears at the State Fair, but much tastier.
Tomorrow they're calling for rain. If so, I'll try to get pictures afterwards of the desert flora blooming!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Day 11 - Touchdown! Tucson, AZ
We're here! We decided just to drive straight through from Las Cruces, NM, and finish the trek. Mom and I both are tired - and she's done ALL of the driving (hey, it's HER RV - no way am I going to even try to drive it - too much liability for me) and she wanted to be here!
So here we are at Cactus Country RV Park on the eastern side of Tucson, not far from Sajuaro National Park and Mount Lemmon. Tomorrow we will have Enterprise pick us up and I'll rent a car (she has no "toad" as of yet, just a motorbike) for the week and we can have fun playing in Tucson.
I've not taken many photos today - but I promise to take many of Tucson and the environs. For those of you tired of the scrolling from the beginning of the trip, I'll start a new album for our "landfall" portion.
Happy Weekend, y'all!
So here we are at Cactus Country RV Park on the eastern side of Tucson, not far from Sajuaro National Park and Mount Lemmon. Tomorrow we will have Enterprise pick us up and I'll rent a car (she has no "toad" as of yet, just a motorbike) for the week and we can have fun playing in Tucson.
I've not taken many photos today - but I promise to take many of Tucson and the environs. For those of you tired of the scrolling from the beginning of the trip, I'll start a new album for our "landfall" portion.
Happy Weekend, y'all!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Day 10 - Out of Texas and on to New Mexico
Today is Mom's birthday! She opened cards and a present this morning before we left. Several friends and family members called while we were on the road.
The last 200 miles of Texas were pretty much what we saw yesterday, pretty but once you've seen a few yuccas, well, you've seen enough! And the trek was capped off with a hairy drive through El Paso at lunchtime. Let's just say we were a little white knuckled, but we managed to escape into New Mexico. The visitor center hosted our picnic lunch - pbj and chips.
Shortly after arriving in New Mexico, we headed up I-25 in Lac Cruces to visit White Sands National Monument. White Sands is a unique geological site - it's part of the inland sea (as was) and the "sand" is actually fine gypsum powder that would normally dissolve in water, but - of course - there is no water in the desert to dissolve it. It looks like fine, powdery snow. It's really pretty. Did I mention it's surrounded by a missile range? Fortunately, they weren't firing today.
The drive was through a 5,100-foot pass and it was a challenge; overdrive was OFF and the special RV brake was used. About a 10-mile uphill to the pass and a very, very long down!
The U.S. Border Patrol was very visible throughout the trip. We were in view of the park - less than a mile - and all traffic was herded into a large covered area. The questions were: Are you American citizens? How many in your party? (they only looked in) And then we were passed forward to go our merry way...
I'm thinking that our money could be spent better. I mean, if you're going to do this stuff, ask for ID and, in the case of an RV, ask us to show you. Not to mention, don't put up a permanent shelter - if folks know it's there, they won't take that route; right? But, hey, who am I?
Tonight we're at a fancy RV "resort" in Las Cruces. Hot tub, heated pool, breakfast in the morning... wow. Tomorrow is a short day and then we'll make landfall in Tucson on Saturday. Phew.
The last 200 miles of Texas were pretty much what we saw yesterday, pretty but once you've seen a few yuccas, well, you've seen enough! And the trek was capped off with a hairy drive through El Paso at lunchtime. Let's just say we were a little white knuckled, but we managed to escape into New Mexico. The visitor center hosted our picnic lunch - pbj and chips.
Shortly after arriving in New Mexico, we headed up I-25 in Lac Cruces to visit White Sands National Monument. White Sands is a unique geological site - it's part of the inland sea (as was) and the "sand" is actually fine gypsum powder that would normally dissolve in water, but - of course - there is no water in the desert to dissolve it. It looks like fine, powdery snow. It's really pretty. Did I mention it's surrounded by a missile range? Fortunately, they weren't firing today.
The drive was through a 5,100-foot pass and it was a challenge; overdrive was OFF and the special RV brake was used. About a 10-mile uphill to the pass and a very, very long down!
The U.S. Border Patrol was very visible throughout the trip. We were in view of the park - less than a mile - and all traffic was herded into a large covered area. The questions were: Are you American citizens? How many in your party? (they only looked in) And then we were passed forward to go our merry way...
I'm thinking that our money could be spent better. I mean, if you're going to do this stuff, ask for ID and, in the case of an RV, ask us to show you. Not to mention, don't put up a permanent shelter - if folks know it's there, they won't take that route; right? But, hey, who am I?
Tonight we're at a fancy RV "resort" in Las Cruces. Hot tub, heated pool, breakfast in the morning... wow. Tomorrow is a short day and then we'll make landfall in Tucson on Saturday. Phew.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Day 9 - to Alpine, Texas
The Chihuahuan desert - beautiful desolation.
We left 3 Rivers RV park, dropped in at Amistad National Recreation Area, and began our long drive across US 90. Towns were few and far between; water, even with the Rio Grande to our south, sparse. This is desert, pure and simple. The ground was covered with creosote, prickly pear, and other desert-dwelling vegetation.
The posters on Mom's RV bulletin board touted this route as an alternate to I-10, and suggested the Texas Welcome Center at Langtry as a place to stop. Langtry is a very small town, but it has a colorful history - apparently there was a justice of the peace (the infamous Judge Roy Bean) that was quite the character - I'll have the photos of his "office" uploaded on the slideshow.
We made our way to Alpine - we'll save Big Bend for another time, with a smaller vehicle - and did some shopping at this quaint little town. Mom got some Texas beef barbecue. I, of course, did not!
We're hoping that our pipes (et cetera) will NOT freeze this evening - they're predicting about 24 degrees. In the morning we're crossing the time zone line (into Mountain), passing through El Paso, crossing over into New Mexico, and stopping in Las Cruces. White Sands National Monument will be our first stop on Friday, before turning west again toward Tucson.
We left 3 Rivers RV park, dropped in at Amistad National Recreation Area, and began our long drive across US 90. Towns were few and far between; water, even with the Rio Grande to our south, sparse. This is desert, pure and simple. The ground was covered with creosote, prickly pear, and other desert-dwelling vegetation.
The posters on Mom's RV bulletin board touted this route as an alternate to I-10, and suggested the Texas Welcome Center at Langtry as a place to stop. Langtry is a very small town, but it has a colorful history - apparently there was a justice of the peace (the infamous Judge Roy Bean) that was quite the character - I'll have the photos of his "office" uploaded on the slideshow.
We made our way to Alpine - we'll save Big Bend for another time, with a smaller vehicle - and did some shopping at this quaint little town. Mom got some Texas beef barbecue. I, of course, did not!
We're hoping that our pipes (et cetera) will NOT freeze this evening - they're predicting about 24 degrees. In the morning we're crossing the time zone line (into Mountain), passing through El Paso, crossing over into New Mexico, and stopping in Las Cruces. White Sands National Monument will be our first stop on Friday, before turning west again toward Tucson.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
RV Trip - Day 8
Happy New Year!
We had a fairly short drive today, from San Antonio to Del Rio, Texas - about 150 miles. Though it was a short day, we had some errands to run, which included stopping at Wal-Mart for things like a work lamp (to keep hoses warm in almost-freezing weather) and more groceries AND another tank of gas (it took 53 gallons today).
US 90 to Del Rio was the Texas and the West that I think most of us remember from the old western movies. Low sage shrubs, mesquite trees, and great stretches of open spaces. We even saw some cactus - prickly pear.
Amistad NRA was closed today (silly me, Federal Holiday!), so we'll stop by tomorrow before we head for Alpine, TX. The Big Bend park just sounds like a drive for a regular vehicle, not an RV - or at least not for US in an RV. Our destination is Las Cruces, NM, after that; hopefully we'll make it to Tucson by Saturday.
Hope you all enjoyed watching football, the parade, AND wrote down some great "resolutions" for the next year.
We had a fairly short drive today, from San Antonio to Del Rio, Texas - about 150 miles. Though it was a short day, we had some errands to run, which included stopping at Wal-Mart for things like a work lamp (to keep hoses warm in almost-freezing weather) and more groceries AND another tank of gas (it took 53 gallons today).
US 90 to Del Rio was the Texas and the West that I think most of us remember from the old western movies. Low sage shrubs, mesquite trees, and great stretches of open spaces. We even saw some cactus - prickly pear.
Amistad NRA was closed today (silly me, Federal Holiday!), so we'll stop by tomorrow before we head for Alpine, TX. The Big Bend park just sounds like a drive for a regular vehicle, not an RV - or at least not for US in an RV. Our destination is Las Cruces, NM, after that; hopefully we'll make it to Tucson by Saturday.
Hope you all enjoyed watching football, the parade, AND wrote down some great "resolutions" for the next year.
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