Waltz Across Texas

There were beautiful yellow trees in full bloom in Arizona.  They were stunning to look at, but deadly for the sinuses.  I ended up with a sinus/bronchitis infection that lead to a nose blowing marathon across Texas.  This is the reason there have been no updates in my blog for a week.

I am happy to report that we have a new awning and we made it all the way across Texas without incident.

So here’s what I love about Texas, in no particular order.

1.  The Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, TX has a Pie Happy Hour every day between 3-5 p.m.  

2. There are wildflowers everywhere.  I even got to see my first blue bonnets, in addition to plenty of other varieties.

3. My fabulous family is here.  They are all wonderful and supportive, not to mention clever and funny.  I love them all dearly.

4. Everyone is friendly. When you talk to them, they say, “Bless yer heart.”  I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.

5.You can and should order fried okra at every meal.

6. American flags and Texas flags are everywhere.  These people do not take their liberty lightly.

7. At night, you can see more stars than from anywhere on earth.  I think this is because Texas is the center of the universe.

For the most part, Texas is the perfect place to be an RVer.  There are nothing but bucolic  scenes as far as the eye can see.  That is, until you reach Fort Stockton.  Located about 50 miles from the middle of nowhere, we pulled in to a KOA Camp not far from the interstate.  As we checked in at the office, we noticed an abundance of flies.  The manager said casually that moths had been a problem a few days before.  It was a throwaway comment that could have been forgotten.  But those words would come back to haunt us for days (and several fly-swatters) to come.  Actually, a Google search would produce an article talking about moths of "Biblical proportions."

We ended up with several flies and a few moths in the RV, which Larry executed with my handy pink flyswatter.  It wasn’t until we brought the slides in the next morning that we realized we were engulfed in an Alfred Hitchcock-worthy terror of “The Moths.”  It seems they had landed and spent the night on the slides, and when I brought the slides in, I disturbed hundreds,  nay thousands, of said creatures.  Now they were flying straight at me, like oncoming traffic during Friday rush hour.  I hit the deck and waited as the swarm passed over my covered head and out the door.  After doing the heeby-geeby dance for a few minutes, I grabbed the fly swatter and escorted the stragglers through the door.  Unbeknownst to me, many wily moths burrowed into the air conditioning vents and happily rode to the Texas Hill Country.  

Cut to night time.  I was happily reading in my cozy bed when Larry turned off all the lights in the RV save the ones over the bed.  What do moths love?  Light.  Before our eyes, the air conditioning vents released the inhabitants of their moth condos and proceeded to buzz the bed.  Picture this: Larry with a pink flyswatter standing in the middle of the bed with a cast on his foot battling an airborne enemy, screaming, “Die, Moth, Die!”  After five nights, I  am happy to report we appear to be moth-free.  We also had to replace the pink flyswatter.  Larry replaced it in East Texas with one in camoflage colors.

Texas, I love you. But you can keep your moths.  Bless yer hearts.