Snug as a Bug in our Rig -- Tues., Jan. 8

Yes, we had rain today, and more rain and more rain...no downpours, though. I ventured out at 11:50 to meet other RV ladies for lunch at Cheddar's Restaurant. MapQuest said it would take 28 minutes to reach my destination.

Before leaving the rig, MapQuest AND Google Maps were consulted for the best way to the restaurant, this being an unfamiliar area to me. What a disappointment. Google maps dumped me in the middle of northbound IH-35, no exit number given or any further instructions. Mapquest had me exiting at Forum Parkway and doing a U-turn, going under I-35 and under 1604 where it showed Cheddar's as being on the other side of I-35. Epic fail. Wrong-o on both counts. Are you lost yet? I was.

I ended up exiting at 1604 going south, exiting that, and using the "turnaround" that Texas frontage roads have. At that point I was on the frontage road that would take me to Cheddar's. When I saw Cheddar's, I turned right into a driveway on that side of the road only to find out I was in the parking lot for an athletic store with no way to go through to Cheddar's. I hopped back out on the frontage road and made sure I was pulling into Cheddar's lot on my next turn.

To add insult to injury, there was a major wreck on I-35 north (the direction I was headed). A semi truck had jack-knifed in the fast lane. The cab of the truck was facing back toward the way it had come and was wedged against the center concrete divider. A pick-up truck was on the right grassy shoulder, spun around facing back toward the way it had come. Traffic was backed up about a mile but was barely moving. I exited at the frontage road and was able to get around the accident and a lot of the back-up.

I ended up being about ten minutes late. Four other ladies were there: another Susan, Peri, Colleen and Margareta. 

Susan A., Peri, Colleen, Margareta, me.

Lunch was ordered and we had lots of time to talk. (We were there 2-1/2 hours!) Quite a discussion was held regarding picking up hitchhikers. Margareta used to hitchhike, so she has picked up hitchhikers in the past (not currently). It should be noted, she has a German shepherd who rides in the front. If the dog doesn't like someone, she won't let them ride. We also discussed our fur-kids, world travel, upcoming travel plans, feral cats, fresh-water spring-fed swimming holes, different campgrounds, and the cost of propane. How's that for a variety of topics. We want to meet once a month and include other women RVers who are in the area. For our next lunch, we discussed going to Zio's Italian Kitchen in Universal City.

By the way, lunch was very good at Cheddar's. Margareta and I had tilapia with shrimp on top, rice pilaf plus two sides; I opted for mashed potatoes with gravy and coleslaw. When the food came, I had mashed potatoes and broccoli. I mentioned to the waitress that I ordered coleslaw. She looked at the ticket and said, "That's what I wrote down. You can keep the broccoli, I'll bring out your coleslaw." Nice. 

By the time we had talked for two hours, we decided to order dessert. Cheddar's has little 99 cent desserts served in shot glasses. I got Chocolate Trifle and Red Velvet Cake. The other choice was Key Lime, which a couple of the other ladies ordered. They were very good and not over the top on size like the bigger desserts they had.

I headed back to our rig, picked up our mail and settled in until Bob came home. Mom called me and we chatted for a little while. Then Bob asked if I wanted to go see, "Lincoln." Yes, I did. Off we went. 

We headed to the Santikos Bijou Theater at Wonderland Mall. The entire food court in the mall was already closed (7:30 p.m.). Not to worry, though, the Bijou Theater has a restaurant. You can order at the snack counter or you can order from your seat and they will bring the food to you. We opted to order a Greek pizza at the counter and wait for it in the lobby. The theaters have long tables for your food and drinks. So we ate while the commercials and previews were on. The pizza was excellent and just the right amount for two.

"Lincoln" is a very good movie. Unfortunately for me, I slept through about 1/3 of the movie (the first part). It's rather slow-moving, talky and had quite a bit of nice music. Lala land for me. Bob woke me up a couple of times. By the middle, I stayed awake through the rest of it. I will have to rent it to watch the whole thing.

Through the years I had never fallen asleep at a movie. However, in the last 8-10 years I'd say I've fallen asleep more and more. Not for long, but enough to miss some interesting stuff. Is it just from getting older? I love movies!

When we exited the movie the rain was coming down harder and the wind had picked up. Driving home, we encountered a few spots of deep water near on and off ramps and on the side streets. It's still raining, but not a downpour.

That's it for today. Tomorrow promises to be a quiet day for me. Thursday is my dentist appointment. Yay, it's finally here. I'll find out what has happened to my teeth and upper jaw; then what will be needed to fix it all.  

It is midnight and the thunder has arrived along with the promised downpour. Wow. The rain pounding on the 5er roof sounds so dramatic.

P.S. Today's title brought to you by Bob. Isn't he clever?

Travel (snug as a) Bug out.