R-V There Yet?

In an effort to improve schooling options for Ayden, Lance has been in search of new housing.  He settled on Red Oak, TX.   The Red Oak Independent School District is on of the best in Northern Texas and Ayden’s new elementary school has been rated Exemplary by the state.

Lance has just purchased his first home, located on a quite street within a few blocks of the school.  Here, Rick tours the outside of the house with Lance.

They have a gigantic back yard that will be perfect for pets.  We’re thrilled for them and look forward to visiting after move in day.

We highly recommend a visit to The Old Monk, an Irish pub located at 2847 North Henderson Avenue, Dallas, TX. (Don’t try to get there in a large rig.  The streets are a little tight.)

Located just north of downtown Dallas, this pub is one of our favorite places to go for lunch.  They have outside dining and inside bar and tables.  The indoor area is fairly loud.  I’m not sure how the small crowd generates the noise, maybe they run a crowd noise tape through their speakers.

They are known for their Mulligan Stew.  Apparently they have a sponsor for it because it is now called Guinness Beef Stew.  Whatever it is called, it is great.

They also have some great sandwiches.  We normally order a few beers, two cups of the stew, a Reuben sandwich and a Turkey Club.    We split the sandwiches.  It is really more food than you need.  But, we only get here once every year of two.

To allow ourselves greater access to the kids camps for our week with the granddaughters, we moved to the west side of Fort Worth.  We’re staying at the Cowtown RV Park, where we stayed when we started full time RVing over 3 1/2 years ago.

One problem with traveling on Sunday, if you have a problem, you pretty much have to make do.  This was the day that a transmission hose decided to relieve itself.  After checking around, we decided to persevere. We made it, using about a quart of transmission fluid every 10 miles.  Nine quarts used in all before getting the truck to the Dodge place.

Despite the truck issue, the kids were able to make good use of the swimming pool at Cowtown.  Rick even got in the pool to give some technical instruction.  After all these years, his swim stroke is still pretty good.

Since our last visit to Cowtown, several improvements have been put in place.  The playground has been expanded, broken cement has been repaired on the interior roads, and their store is very well stocked with RV stuff.

There’s no limit to our efforts to entertain.  We were able to enroll our charges into cooking classes at the Young Chef’s Academy in Fort Worth, TX. They spent a couple of hours preparing a meal consisting of:  Salad with Olive Garden’s Salad Dressing, Californian Kitchen BBQ Chicken Pizza, and Applebee’s Blondie Brownies.

First off, the uniform. Custom Aprons.

Class begins.  Regular school teachers work as instructors.  Apparently they are trained to maintain their sanity.

The preparation begins, one more enthusiastically than the other.

And the final results.  Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

These various little “camp” sessions are going to be a staple in the future.

Entertainment for the kids has taken on a wilder look.  Monday and Tuesday, Ayden and Gracie took some riding lessons at the Benbrook Stables.

A pretty large group of kids showed up for beginning instruction.

The girls are anxious to begin.

First things first, – grooming lessons.

Finally, their ready for riding.

Benbrook Stables offers a wide variety of services, everything from beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes to hayrides, special parties, and trail rides.

On Friday, Gracie opted for a trail ride.  It turns out that she was the only one on the ride so she got some one-on-one instruction from her trail boss.

And off they headed into the sunset.

And returning in one piece.

This place was a real find.  The girls had a blast and we got a slight break.