Mammoth Workhorse, Day 5

 Wednesday, May 20

 Edward and May got accepted at all three houses they applied for. It was an easy going morning. I made bacon and served up some chocolate chip muffins from the grocery. May did laundry.  Molly and I went jogging and then I did some motorhome cleanup work.  I tried to fix the sunshade on the driver’s side window--we will see how good a job I did in the morning.

 I cut up a watermelon for lunch. A Walmart watermelon—horrid, unripe waste of money!

 Then we hung out for a bit; Ethan and I played ball until time to go. The plan was to see their rental house, play on the nearby playground, and eat. But by the time we navigated the horrid almost rush hour traffic to get to the house, it was after 5. So we just reversed course. I believe we ended up eating at Texas Roadhouse.

 

 

Mammoth Workhorse, Day 4

Tuesday, May 19

Edward and May went to more house-seeking appointments, this time at 9 and 11.  Their plan was that when they returned, they would choose three places at which they’d put in applications. Oddly enough, the one they ended up liking the best wasn’t even on their list of tours—they’d driven by it and saw the for rent sign.

View from the RV Park 

So Ed and I did breakfast with the kids again—spam, eggs and leftover quesadillas. The kids ate lots.  After that we took them to Walmart and bought a bunch of food to cook. It was a tiring and difficult trip. The nearby Walmart was immensely crowded and the kids, while well-behaved for their ages, were somewhat frisky. But we survived.

When we returned the parents had come back in time to serve their kids lunch, after which they had to fill out tons of application forms and do some printing.

Our site, right across from the family room

 

So the kids and I played in the family room, having a great (and tiring) time.

When we returned, I helped Ed cook a massive pile of pork chops, gravy, and frozen veg.  It seemed a successful meal: it wasn’t expensive, everyone ate, no one complained, and we didn’t have to tip the wait staff. I didn’t get any of it, but I was too tired to care.

After supper I took Molly to the dog park with Ethan and Elyanna.  Good fun mostly. Then we played ball in the grassy area.

Sounds boring? Yes, yes it is. No birds were seen; no nature observed; no long walks with the dog. But at least we did our job and the kids got their rental applications completed.

 

 

Mammoth Workhorse, Day 3

Monday, May 18

 Edward and May had an 11:00 appointment for rental house tours, so I cooked bacon and pancakes and spam for a long, leisurely breakfast. Sadly, I forgot to reserve Ed's two slices of bacon, so he didn’t get any. The kids ate lots.

The parents ended up being gone all day. Ed and I took the kids to Sunrise park playground. It was nice but not great; still we had a very good time.

 

For a late lunch I cooked chicken nuggets and shells ‘n cheese. And the kids ate lots. Then we walked over to the Marathon gas station and got ice cream at the Mexican ice cream shop next door to it. For reasons unknown, Elyanna totally refused to touch her ice cream bar with real strawberry slices in it.  But their parents returned while we sat outside eating, and they were able to finish the ice cream.

 Then we all had supper at Love Pho 4. It was fast and close by and had very good food—my tofu dish was the best I’ve ever had. Sadly, it was a little too expensive to make a habit of. And of course Ed disliked his fried rice thingy.   No matter—we can’t afford to keep eating out.  I made a quiet vow to cook more meals even though I’m already sick of cooking. 

 

Mammoth Workhorse, Day 2

 Sunday, May 17

I don’t remember what took us so long, but it was 11:00am before we left for El Paso. I guess it was from me cooking breakfast—I probably made bacon and eggs, plus sausage-egg-muffins for Edward and Ed. I don’t remember much of anything of the morning—probably exhausted.

We made good time and checked into the Fort Bliss RV Park in mid-afternoon. It was awesome!  Cheap weekly rates ($126 for military, which was us this time on account of we were supporting Edward); a family room and workout facility right next door; six private bathroom/shower units just across the drive; and three huge dog runs just a few minutes walk away. The runs were equipped with poop bags but also had little shovel/rake combinations.

It was a great place to park, too. Big concrete slab sites with picnic tables and room for two cars to park behind the motorhome. Full hookup, of course. Nice digs!

We went to Kiki’s Mexican, which my research said was very good. It wasn’t good at all and there was a 40-minute wait. There was nothing vegetarian on the menu so I got Huevos Rancheros. They were okay but drenced in cheese. Edward’s taco were very good—he said if he ever went there again he’d just get taco. Fine, but I was not impressed and will not be going back.