Day 8 - Day 10: Midland, TX to Abilene, TX to Aledo, TX

 Saturday 10/10 - Monday 10/12

Its always fun to put the TV antenna up to see what local channels we can get on the TV. This morning we found gold with the local Texas quilting channel! Usually its just a bunch of home shopping networks and a news channel here and there. The quilting channel was too funny. Perfect start to our next leg of the journey which is to drive from Midland, TX to Ted and Kate’s house in Aledo, TX with a stopover in Abilene, TX to see Grandma Parker, a quilter. I was able to convince Kyle last night to let me drive today. So after we fueled up I drove us the short drive to Grandma’s house in Abilene. I’ve driven the RV a lot already before our trip and felt pretty comfortable with it. But I’ve never driven it towing the car. It was a piece of cake. In fact driving the RV with a car in tow is easier than driving the 4Runner with the PUP in tow. Trailers can blow around more and sway a lot. If the car dolly is swaying, the RV is such a beast you would never know. Also the dolly isn’t any wider than the RV mirrors so if my mirrors are in the lane, so is the car and dolly. 

Once in Abilene, we had a very nice visit with Grandma Parker. We wish it were a longer stay but are thankful we were able to stop by. Hopefully next time will be under safer circumstances. Toby was very impressed with her wonderful backyard. I think he explored every inch of it! I also think he was just thankful to be out of the RV and have some grass to run around on. We wanted to keep our visit as safe as possible so we socialized on Grandma Parker’s back patio. I could lounge out there all day, she has the nicest patio and it shades you well from the Texas sun! She gave Kyle a handful of instruments which were so fun to look at and play with, I’m excited for him to test them out for real and bring them back to life. We still have a few hours left to our drive today and we wanted to get into Ted and Kate’s before the sun went down so we had to leave Grandma and get on the road once again. 

Grandma Parker's beautiful house!

Chatting on the patio with Grandma Parker

Thankfully we did make it into Aledo before dark. We were also able to finish dinner with the Reynolds, something we both have been looking forward to, Kate’s cooking! Its been a few years since we’ve seen Evie, but we’ve never met Pearce in person so that was so fun seeing the kids. Evie is just as lovely as ever, but taller than the last time I saw her! Pearce is a very happy kid, who loves to eat! They have a lot of really fun toys and are very good at sharing. We got to see how their awesome train set worked too before they had to go to bed when we first got in. Luckily we will be here a full day Sunday so we can play more then. I’ve been to Ted and Kate’s house in Aledo before but this was Kyle’s first time. He was very impressed with their kitchen and living room! Just like at Grandma’s house they have beautiful stonework all over and large spaces. Everything is bigger in Texas! Like old times in Maryland, we gathered around their fire pit in the yard before bed. Its so nice having all of us together again!

Reading Go Dog Go to Pearce and Evie

On Sunday we got to explore their beautiful garden and pick food for dinner! The garden consists of 4 large planter boxes Ted built and they filled them up with all sorts of yummy plants. Their kids are so good and adventurous, it was very fun watching them go up to plants and tell you what they were or take a taste. Pearce loved the tomatoes and even at 18 months he knew which ones he could pick to eat! We loved it. Those kids are very lucky to have a garden like that and a mom who is an amazing cook! Kyle and I were so well fed for the short time we stayed with them. We really were spoiled this trip; steak, fresh bread, biscuits and gravy, pizza, pancakes, everything homemade of course! Kate even made sure to send us with leftovers which was so helpful for when we got into our next campsite we were able to just heat those up instead of fussing over dinner!  So thoughtful. 

Cucumbers, banana peppers, basil, kale and broccoli, green beans!

With the kids in their garden

Ted built those beautiful planter boxes. Lots of tomatoes!

Everything is edible, even the flowers!

Kyle and Ted went off on an adventure to the stockyards and some breweries while I stayed with Kate and the kids. I mean I came to Texas to see them, not Texas! I love these kids, they are so well behaved, so curious, creative and intelligent. Its a delight spending time with them reading books or playing with toys. Even watching them help in the kitchen or in the garden. They will grow up to be amazing adults, the apples don’t fall far from the tree in this house. We did take an adventure over to the local farmers market which was in full fall swing with pumpkins galore. I loved it! There were pumpkin of all shapes, colors and sizes. I bought a small white one and a small orange one to add some fall decor to the RV. Maybe I can cook them in our tiny oven when we get to Virginia! We stopped for ice cream after the market, now this is how you know these kids are amazing. All kids love ice cream right, but most are going to stick to your standard, chocolate or vanilla. Evie got pineapple and Pearce shared Kate’s peach with delight! Again, these kids are going to be amazing adults! I got the cherry ice cream, it was delicious. 

Ted and Kyle went to the stockyards

The weather was typical Texas, it was hot and humid when we got in, sprinkled for a bit, was pleasant for a bit, and was cool and refreshing by the time we were packing up to leave. Thankfully no golf ball sized hail this time. Kate picked a handful of basil for us to take on the last day and Ted scooped a handful of sourdough starter for me to put in the fridge and feed when we get to VA. Again, we are so spoiled. I spent the morning with Kate and the kids in the yard, they showed me their play set and their fun new car toy! Evie is such a genius she already is a better driver than I am, backing up and making turns in that car like nobodies business! We didn’t want to leave but we did still have to drive to Oklahoma today. So we spent as much of the morning as we could with them then got on the road once again. I hope its not 2 more years before we see them again, those kids are growing so fast they will be bigger than me before I know it! 

Pumpkins from the farmers market for the RV.