It could have been so much worse

 May 27, 2025

Sun Retreats San Antonio site 13

San Antonio, Texas

What a long, trying, tiring travel day!!.....but it could have been so much worse.  The rain that was predicted arrived .....but early in the morning....before Momma was even awake...but Dad and I danced amongst the raindrops.  By the time we were ready to hitch up, all was sunny once again ....but we did have to slop thru the puddles created by the rain.  It could have been so much worse...slopping thru puddles WHILE dancing amongst the falling rain drops while winding up the electric cord and water hose.

The campground we were heading for in San Antonio has a 2pm posted arrival time with a statement about the possibility of earlier arrival with a $30 charge.  No thank you.  We timed our departure so we would be arriving after 2pm arrival.

As it turned out, we didn't need to depart at 10am.  We could have left much earlier as the first 32 miles traveled took us an hour and twenty minutes.  WHAT??  There must have been an accident that clogged up the traffic.  We crawled along

following a line of cars that went on forever....as far as the eye could see....with three full lanes.  It could have been so much worse, but thankfully, it was early in our travel day and Dad was fresh and alert.

Just as things began to get rolling, the lanes increased to six all heading west, with merging traffic coming from and exiting the many layers of roads above and around us.

We were making our way past Houston.  And then it began to get a tad congested and our speed reduced significantly as the number of lanes decreased.

Our speed might have been 11 mph but it could have been so much worse if we were stopped and not still moving.

Momma said avoiding traveling in Atlanta is on her list and she is adding avoiding traveling near Houston to the list.  It is a toss up as to which is a more taxing drive.

As the flow of traffic began to pick up speed, we were in the center of three lanes and Momma was researching for a spot to take a break when she heard a loud, crashing sound...but we were still rolling along.  In response to her, 'What was that?' inquiry, Dad said, ' an old fertilizer spreader'.  It could have been so much worse, but the push spreader was old and broke into a million pieces that didn't appear to effect us in any way.  We haven't found any physical signs of damage.

After using up so much fuel and not knowing if there would be additional traffic situations up ahead, Dad decided we had better stop and fuel up.  Momma found a Love's that participates in Open Road, lowering the price to $2.77.  All the lanes were full so we pulled up to wait.  It could have been so much worse but Momma slid inside and snagged frosty treats (Wendy's version of ice cream in a cup) while Dad and I waited for our turn at the pump.  By the time Momma returned, both Pam and Dad were just wrapping up the hose and with trucks blocking forward movement and no one behind us, Pam and Dad were able to back away from the pumps and get us back on the highway.

Upon arrival at the campground,  Momma was told they had to move our site due to a sewer issue so instead of site 212, we had been assigned 207 while Pam was still assigned 213.  Pam asked if there was anything closer and she gal responded with an offer for site 214 (next to 213) but it would be $15 more as we had paid for an economy pull thru site and 214 was an upgrade.  Pam decided to pay for the upgrade and she is in 214 while we are in 213....but the sites look identical.  We can't figure out what the upgrade is.  The gal kept saying something about we didn't pay a 'site lock fee' so they have the right to move us.  Momma and Pam both smell something fishy with this deal.  Both sites appear to be the same length.  Both sites are a cement pad with an attached cement patio area.  Both sites have a wooden railing separating the patio area from the neighboring site.  Both sites have nice picnic tables.  Both sites are full hook up pull thru sites.  It's a mystery for sure. But we are located side by side.  It could have been so much worse if the campground was at full capacity rather and fifty percent.

As Pam pulled into the campground entrance, her tire minder alert indicted a drop in tire pressure.  By the time she pulled into her site, the pressure had continued to lower to 46. 

 Closer inspection of the tire points to a valve stem failure.  It could have been so much worse if we were on the side of the highway after a tiring. longer than expected travel day.... 6 hours rather than 4;  plus having to replace a tire rather than just a valve stem.  

Getting set up, Momma discovered that the microwave glass plate had shifted.  That is indeed a rare occurrence.  It certainly could have been so much worse. Spots of the highway we traveled were rough enough to shift a few things around but nothing was broken.  Just shifted a tad from the normal resting spot.  

All in all, it was a tougher than usual travel day,  but it could have been so much worse.

I'm Chloe