Surprise, a baby!! You know, not ours or anything, but still quite the surprise change in scenery. Just a short time ago I was writing about traveling through the mountains of Guatemala and getting towed up hills because of our under-powered little van. However, here and now, we've traveled thousands of miles in a such a short time to completely turn our adventure upside-down again.
Texas and unrelenting heat. Despite the fondness we have for all that Austin has to offer, the heat in our short time there was outright kicking out asses. At a certain point you realize that despite how unbelievably bored you are, you’re too hot to actually do anything. The locals informed us that this particular summer is apparently much cooler than normal...ugh. The PennyWagon with her lack of A/C was making Jacqui and me realize that maybe summering in Texas was a little presumptuous.
Through very frequent patronage of cafes, bars and swimming holes Jacqui and I survived our little visit to Texas. Before finally departing Westward we didn't forget to say a few hello’s to some new friends and old. At last the time had come to trudge out West on what promised to be a boring drive to pick up our new power plant, or so I thought.
“Jacqui and I mused to ourselves that every day living on the road, no matter how monotonous it could be, always seems full of adventure.”
Driving through Western Texas on the I-10 the road was flat and monotonous. The heat outside was so sweltering it forced me to roll the window up. It was better to deal with the stifling air in the van then let that nuclear waste from outside melt half my face off. However, It wasn’t just heat that greeted us on our drive towards California.
Approaching the massive, white-knuckle-inducing Texas thunderstorm.
While driving through tornado alley we entered rain and windstorms so thick that even while crawling at a measly 35mph, with the wipers on full blast, seeing more than a couple feet ahead was simply impossible. I spent the entirety of that storm white-knuckling the steering wheel at a hard left turn just to drive straight. Water continually hitting the side of my face reminding me that our front windows could probably use some new seals (gotta add that to the shopping list). When that storm eased we were greeted with 110 degree punishing heat. Even the PennyWagon’s aircooled motor seemed to occasionally sputter in protest.
The following day the scorching heat returned and didn't cease even as massive storm winds began building. Exhausted, sweaty and only a little delirious we finally surrendered into a hotel room for the night. As we turned on the news channel in our little air-conditioned bliss of a room, the TV was ablaze with warnings of the dust-storm that was going to be pummeling the area throughout the night.
Watching the dust storm approach
Penny bracing herself for the storm.
As we listened to the wind humming outside, Jacqui and I mused to ourselves that every day living on the road, no matter how monotonous it could be, always seems full of adventure. Right now we have three sets of friends getting ready to pick their rigs up in Columbia, something we very well thought we’d be doing in the near future. However, no matter how much we try to force it, at least for now, our adventure is simply moving another direction, again. We’re definitely excited about some post-motor-swap-plans that I’ll keep to myself for now.
Indio, California. Somehow friends that we normally would hardly get to see we’re now visiting almost every six months. Helen, Martin and baby Elliot...we’re back!!
Taking baby Elliott to his first brewery! We're getting this kiddo started right.
The hour is finally upon us! We’re in Southern California and our motor should be ready any day now! DIY projects are going to be rolling out hard and heavy for the next few blog posts until this little wagon becomes a turbo diesel beast! But don’t think I’ve been sitting idle while we wait for the “Motor is ready” call. There’s some serious prep going on already.
Be sure to check in this Tuesday! We're kicking off the first post of our three part motor-swap saga!
Saying goodbye to new friends and old, and finally making it to Patagonia...just joking!
Thunderstorms and Dust Storms heading West.
We seem to be showing up on Helen, Martin and Elliott's doorstep about every six months now! Good thing we've got good friends. Jacqui, of course took a gratuitous number of baby-Elliott photos and we even got a shot of a bunch of neighborhood kids that wanted to check out the van.
