A visitor from Vermont

We are on our way to San Antonio, Texas. On the drive, we met up with a coworker of Chris' at a restaurant just outside Fort Worth called Villa Grande. We pulled into the large parking lot just behind the restaurant. I walked Smokey before we went to meet Bo and his wife Christy for lunch. We had a very nice meal. It's so nice meeting people that Chris works with that I probably wouldn't have met. They were also the first people we had told about the new addition we added at our last stop. Once done we said our farewell and headed back to see if the truck was in one piece. We peer in through the window and she is just lying down on her blanket in the back. It doesn’t look as if she even moved the whole time we were gone. There was a Petco there so we take her over to grab a few more things we need to get to settle her into her new home. 

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We arrive at Mission City RV park just around 4 pm. Smokey did an amazing job with the over 5 hours she was in the truck. I instantly take her to the dog park to run around for a bit while Chris gets the camper leveled and detached. When back I complete getting the inside in place as he finishes up the outside work. Once we were done we spent the evening relaxing, made dinner, and in bed at our normal 9 pm time.
Sunday I had Chris and Smokey stay outside while I did a major clean of the camper and pulled out the Christmas decorations that I brought with us. It was the week before Christmas and even though we moved again before Christmas I wanted to start getting into the spirit. I loved the extra touch it added to the camper. The rest of the day was pretty relaxed. We stuck around the campground and got things ready for our visitor who flies in on Monday. After dinner, we go grab some groceries so we have a full refrigerator for the week then back home and get ourselves ready for bed.

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Monday morning Chris works for a bit until we have to leave to be at the airport to pick Abby up for noon arrival. I was so excited to see her. It has been the longest we have ever been not seeing each other. Of course, there is FaceTime but just to hug her was what I was most excited for. She had a long day so when we got to her she was hungry and a little grumpy. Once we got to the truck we asked if Abby wanted to stop for some food. She said she’d rather go drop her things than we can go grab something. I was happy about this because we had not told her about Smokey so I couldn’t wait for her to walk into the camper.
When we pulled into our site, Chris grabbed Abby’s bag so she and I could go into the camper. I walk in first, her following, and then Smokey is there at the door, she asks “You guys got a dog?” We told her the story of how it all happened and how hard it was to not tell her about it but we wanted to surprise her. She quickly is on the floor with her giving her all the belly rubs. We get Abby settled then we decide on a place to go grab some food. She and I drive to get some burgers and bring them back to eat. The food wasn’t the best but she at least finally got some food in her belly.
Once Chris finishes his workday we get ourselves ready and head down to San Antonio to explore the River Walk. Parking is stupidly expensive but we find a lot and then begin to walk and explore more.  We find our way to the river. It was decorated with lights and absolutely beautiful. After walking around for a bit we decide to get dinner. 

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Since we aren’t dressed up we go simple and stop at Dick’s Last Resort. If you don’t know the restaurant they strive to insult you and make your dinner experience as rude as possible. The food isn’t anything to rave about and the service is par. He had thought Abby was 16 so he said he kept it PG. He said if he knew she was 19 he would have made sure to make it more fun. Once dinner was done we walked around the town more then headed back to the truck to make our way back to the camper.

We make the dinette table to be a bed and got Abby all setup. She was not impressed with how uncomfortable it was but she did her best to get comfortable and we all are off to bed. Smokey kept jumping up in bed with Abby. We would get her down but in the middle of the night she was back up so we just let her stay. The morning Abby was complaining about how the cushions don’t stay together and the dog slept right in the middle of the bed. She did not sleep well. Chris told Abby she could sleep in the bed with me and he would stay on that for the week. We pull the bed apart and set it back to the table so Chris can work.
​Abby and I got ourselves ready to go back to explore more in town. We drive and find parking close to the San Fernando Cathedral. It is a gorgeous catholic church. She and I take a minute to pray in a pew then continue to the front of the church to see the altar. We are in awe of the amazing handcrafted work that was all around the church. We exit the side door and walk the alleyway back to the front of the church. We look up directions to the Alamo and find our way there. It was about a 10-minute walk but the sun was out and the temperatures were beautiful so it was a very pleasant walk there. We walk the grounds and on our way out we are told it is free access to the church but we still need tickets. We go up and grab 2 tickets at the booth then go to the line. Once inside there are folks that will give you information or answer any question you have. One of the gentlemen gave Abby and me some interesting information about the history of the building. We then went into the sacristy to watch a video giving more history. 

We made our way to the exit and then walked back to find the truck. We got a little mixed up so it took a bit to find it but we finally made it. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing around the park and ended the night sitting around the fire.
Wednesday we took the morning to relax and just chill at the camper. In the afternoon she and I took the Super 73's out and did about 10 miles on the bikes. That evening I made a dinner with some of Abby’s favorite foods and again kept it a quiet night. Thursday was also another day spent around the campground and when Chris finished work we went to a mall to do some Christmas shopping. We grabbed some dinner while at the mall then it was back to the camper to relax for the rest of the evening.
Friday was our last full day with Abby. We spent most of the day chilling as we had plans for Friday evening. I go out and run a couple of errands by myself. One of the stops is to Goodwill where I find a white robe and a hat that I have been looking for. That evening we went go-karting at Andretti Indoor Karting which was a blast. After that, we went to Hop Scotch Art Gallery. What an awesome place this was. It was interactive so each room had a different exhibit. (From their website) About: Hopscotch is an immersive and experiential brand that brings together artists in collaborative environments to create unique, impactful, and distinct shared experiences. They have a bar and unique drinks to enjoy as you walk through the building. This was a place Abby had found. It was exciting to see what was in the next room.

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When we finished our walk playing in each room we drove to Historic Market Square to have dinner at La Margarita Restaurant & Oyster Bar. All of the vendors were closed so we didn’t get to do any shopping but I loved the lights in the market streets. The restaurant had a mariachi band and the authentic Mexican food was delicious. After dinner, we walked back to the truck and drove back to the campground. We exchanged Christmas gifts with Abby and she began to get her bag packed to fly back home.

Abby’s flight doesn’t leave until 3 pm but we have an 11 am checkout so we have to bring her to the airport and be back to be sure we are out on time. Before we start picking up Chris puts the robe and hat on and we go outside to create our Christmas Photo. He has been wanting to do this since we started planning this trip. We put most everything away so when we get back we just need to pull the slide in, put the dog in the truck, connect, and get on the road.
We get Abby’s bag in the truck, she says goodbye to Smokey and we make our way to drop her off. She has been craving Sonic so we leave time to stop and get some. We pull in, put the window down and Abby gives her order. The guy says that they had a staff not be on time so the grill just got turned on and it is going to take 20 minutes to get hot. So we look to see if we can find another on the way. We find one that isn’t far off the path and head there. She gets her order and we are off to the airport.
Since we are on a time crunch we pull to the drop off. We all hop out, it’s the time to give that hug and suck it in as much as I can as I won’t get another for a long time. Chris grabs her luggage and places it down. He gives her a big hug and then I sneak in for one more. She grabs her bags and she is off. As great as it is to see her the goodbye is always hard too. Even though this week was a lot of arguing, miscommunication, and not agreeing on things. I also know Abby is 19 and is having a lot of life thrown at her right now. It’s hard for her that I’m not home but I also know that her finding her way is helping her become the strong woman she is going to be. It still makes your heart hurt.
​Back at the camper we get everything done and connect to the truck. We should have left by 9 am to be at the next place before dark but now we will be pulling in close to 7 pm and we are heading to a dark sky area so this will be interesting.

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