After leaving Big Bend N.P., we headed east towards Austin where we planned to stay for several days while enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday with David’s younger brother Glenn. Was Jo ever delighted when, after an hour’s drive north of Big Bend, she was able to gain at least temporary internet access and receive some voicemail messages that had come in while we were in the “electronic desert” at Big Bend. Once we hit Interstate 10 and started zipping down the highway towards Austin, the internet access proved a pleasant distraction from mile after mile of traveling through the Texas desert. Had it not been for our extensive exposure to western desert terrain over the last several weeks, particularly in Big Bend, we might have found the drive through western Texas to be more pleasant. As it was, we had clearly grown somewhat tired of desert scenery and were looking forward to a change of scenery in the Texas hill country around Austin.
We had pledged months ago to limit ourselves to driving no more than 4-6 hours per day and to getting into campgrounds well before dark. Our enthusiasm to get to Austin caused us to break both rules. Driving eastward on I-10 proved to be easy driving conditions because of the sparse traffic and high speed limits. The flip side was that there were few good options for stopping at campgrounds prior to getting into the Austin area. Accordingly, we ended up driving about 8-9 hours and got to our campground at Johnson City shortly after sunset. Being able to relax that night in our Big Sky, knowing that we would not have to hitch up the next morning made the long drive worthwhile.
Monday morning, we went over to Glenn’s home to get together with him and his lovely wife Tamara. Glenn had been urging us to consider bring our Big Sky over to his property and staying there as he had ample land around his house for parking our RV. However, we quickly determined that our Big Sky would bottom out trying to make the climb from the road up into his driveway, nor could it have negotiated the tight turn in the driveway just after entering the gate to his property. While disappointed that we couldn’t stay right next to his house, we congratulated ourselves on being prudent about protecting our precious home.
After visiting their home, we followed Glenn downtown to the building he had recently purchased to support his business. He was in the process of converting this office building into a conference center where he could host several conferences a month for current and prospective clients as well as providing a venue for groups interested in sponsoring conferences focused on opportunities for personal growth. Contractors were all over the place painting, running duct work, wiring and plumbing in an effort to finish the project before a conference scheduled for the following week. Since we had 
brought our truck along with us, we were able to be of some assistance by helping Glenn transport construction supplies from Home Depot and picking up cabinet doors at IKEA. Our primary reason, however, for going to IKEA was to buy new chair for the living room in the Big Sky. Jo had grown tired of constantly having to move the big, bulky recliner that came with the Big Sky every time we set up in the evening or tied things down in the morning before hitting the road. And boy does that new chair look nice in our living room. We hope that the new IKEA chair doesn’t cause too many problems, even though Jo feels that David is monopolizing it, at least in the first few days that we have had it. LOL!!!!
During the next several days, we had a lovely time interacting with Glenn and his family, including being able to watch his daughter Autumn playing with her 9th grade basketball team. We also had a pleasant visit on Wednesday to historical Fredericksburg, a German-based community an hour’s drive west of Austin. We enjoyed the shops, and David had a fun time wandering through a very large museum focused on World War II in the Pacific and the exploits of Fredericksburg own son, Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was commander in chief of the naval forces in the Pacific during World War II.
After leaving Austin Saturday morning, we took a short drive south to San Marcos where we had a pleasant visit with Jo’s cousin Margot and Aunt Helen. Aunt Helen, who is 89 years old, is a wonderful repository of family history, and Jo really appreciated listening to her talk about family. Boy, we sure hope that we are as mentally sharp at age 89 as Aunt Helen is!!!!!
We had pledged months ago to limit ourselves to driving no more than 4-6 hours per day and to getting into campgrounds well before dark. Our enthusiasm to get to Austin caused us to break both rules. Driving eastward on I-10 proved to be easy driving conditions because of the sparse traffic and high speed limits. The flip side was that there were few good options for stopping at campgrounds prior to getting into the Austin area. Accordingly, we ended up driving about 8-9 hours and got to our campground at Johnson City shortly after sunset. Being able to relax that night in our Big Sky, knowing that we would not have to hitch up the next morning made the long drive worthwhile.
Monday morning, we went over to Glenn’s home to get together with him and his lovely wife Tamara. Glenn had been urging us to consider bring our Big Sky over to his property and staying there as he had ample land around his house for parking our RV. However, we quickly determined that our Big Sky would bottom out trying to make the climb from the road up into his driveway, nor could it have negotiated the tight turn in the driveway just after entering the gate to his property. While disappointed that we couldn’t stay right next to his house, we congratulated ourselves on being prudent about protecting our precious home.
After visiting their home, we followed Glenn downtown to the building he had recently purchased to support his business. He was in the process of converting this office building into a conference center where he could host several conferences a month for current and prospective clients as well as providing a venue for groups interested in sponsoring conferences focused on opportunities for personal growth. Contractors were all over the place painting, running duct work, wiring and plumbing in an effort to finish the project before a conference scheduled for the following week. Since we had 
brought our truck along with us, we were able to be of some assistance by helping Glenn transport construction supplies from Home Depot and picking up cabinet doors at IKEA. Our primary reason, however, for going to IKEA was to buy new chair for the living room in the Big Sky. Jo had grown tired of constantly having to move the big, bulky recliner that came with the Big Sky every time we set up in the evening or tied things down in the morning before hitting the road. And boy does that new chair look nice in our living room. We hope that the new IKEA chair doesn’t cause too many problems, even though Jo feels that David is monopolizing it, at least in the first few days that we have had it. LOL!!!!
During the next several days, we had a lovely time interacting with Glenn and his family, including being able to watch his daughter Autumn playing with her 9th grade basketball team. We also had a pleasant visit on Wednesday to historical Fredericksburg, a German-based community an hour’s drive west of Austin. We enjoyed the shops, and David had a fun time wandering through a very large museum focused on World War II in the Pacific and the exploits of Fredericksburg own son, Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was commander in chief of the naval forces in the Pacific during World War II.
After leaving Austin Saturday morning, we took a short drive south to San Marcos where we had a pleasant visit with Jo’s cousin Margot and Aunt Helen. Aunt Helen, who is 89 years old, is a wonderful repository of family history, and Jo really appreciated listening to her talk about family. Boy, we sure hope that we are as mentally sharp at age 89 as Aunt Helen is!!!!!
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