Two rotten, nasty tires about to become road gators to be specific. It wasn’t planned but the inconvenience of finding new tires sure as hell beat crashing the rig at full speed on the freeway. We rolled out of Lexington, KY a little late but better for it.

Tennessee was fun! We finally made it back to Adventure Science, which is one of the best science centers we’ve been to so far. On top of an awesome moon-walking deal in the space area and an entire wing dedicated to the human body (complete with a colon slide that lets you become a fart), they have this amazing tower that allows you to climb three stories of tubes, ladders and such to look out across Nashville. It’s a kid’s dream come true!

On our way out of TN we stayed at a state park on the Mississippi river called Meeman- Shelby. Yeah, I hadn’t heard of it either until twenty minutes before we got there, don’t feel bad. It was a really nice place and I was sad that we didn’t get to explore. It’s on the list to visit again later. Mara decided to clean up the playground while we were there. What a girl, eh?

Our next stop was Little Rock, Arkansas. We spent the night on the edge of the river in the midst of downtown. We chose to go to Heifer International and had a wonderful time! Not something that I thought I’d ever say. The kids did a scavenger hunt around their ‘village’ and probably learned a thing or two. It didn’t hurt that there was a prize at the end. In and around their facility they are growing crops and raising animals in hopes to learn new ways of operating farms in developing countries.

A few days outside of Dallas let us breathe for a moment. We did nothing and it was glorious. It geared us up for three nights in Austin, Texas! I think that we’ve always had a ‘thing’ for Austin. We made one attempt to move there a few years ago and failed to launch. I’d like to think it’s still on our short list for permanent residence some day. A magical walk in the park at night, a bat boat ride, underwater bowling at Bass Pro and a trip to the state capitol was just enough. Capitol buildings have been a staple of our travels long before we started this journey. There’s so much history to be seen and felt and learned. Did you know that the same man who designed the Michigan capitol also designed the Texas capitol? The senate ceiling looks almost identical, something that we all noticed immediately upon entering the room. The difference between the two was that the skylights worked in Michigan, letting in warm rays and natural light, and Texas is located on the surface of the sun. They could bake lasagna at their desks before too long and the skylights had to be covered.

Anywho, here we are, in Texas, just outside San Antonio. That’s going to have to be another post because I have too many things to say about deer and deer products.

I have a few new posts going in my head about our actual school work, some RV specific things that maybe we want to remember – like Sir Robert Turdsley the First, our sewer hose attendant – and a few other matters of possible interest. I now have time to think in bursts longer than thirty seconds! I’ve worked my way up to at least two minutes and that is pretty darn good considering the fact that we are all together 24/7. This old thing is really getting some air. Stay tuned, America.

Mara calls him Bob