Okay, so it’s only minor calamity and mayhem. When on the road, little life annoyances seem magnified. It’s partially due to the need to do a full on research project to find a mechanic, a tire place, a veterinarian, a whatever. You never know if you’ll find someone honest or someone who will take advantage of a stranded road weary traveler.
On the last full day in Florida Mr. Dog (not his real name) decided to fall ill. Waiting a couple days would be my response in an established location, but a journey loomed in the morning and we went to a vet right away. We got a family referral to vet and they set him up with many potions. After a few days his little tail started wagging again.
He felt so lousy he stole his friend’s tiny bed and did not want to leave
The next morning we boogied through the pan handle, whipped across Alabama and collapsed in a rest area in Mississippi. Crossing the border just before sleep, for the simple joy of saying we did.
The Moss Point Welcome Center has cool sculptures made from trees destroyed in a storm
We tried for Texas the next day, but alas, so very tired. We found A Plus Motel and RV Park in Sulphur Louisiana. It was more than our usual limit of free, but quiet with wonderfully hot water showers… pure bliss.
And fun names for things… this was along an 18 mile bridge (The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge)!
New Texas Plan: Make the 4-5 hour drive to Waco TX and stop by Magnolia Market at the Silos (shout out to America’s Sweethearts, Chip & Jo). Our plans were quickly dumped when we discovered a low tire.
Mavis Discount Tire, a gem, found right around the corner from our campsite. The outside tire looked low, but it turned out the inside tire was the culprit. Our new friends at Mavis attempted to fill that pesky inside tire. There I sat, minding my own business, inside the RV, when I heard a gunshot! That cacophany actually turned out to be our own exploding tire! Thankfully our new friend scrambled out from under that rig just before the explosion and no one was hurt in making of that particular movie (phew!)
We lounged in the camper, while the guys worked in the 100+ heat index without a lift, (the camper was too tall for their bays). Four hours later, we were good as new and on our way. An hour into the drive to Texas and we realized, we would never make it before closing. On we pressed with a new plan to boondock and check out Chip and Jo’s place in the morning.
Another hour in and it hits me: tomorrow is Sunday… in Texas… there’s no way those shops will be open tomorrow. A peak at the wide world of web confirmed this little bit of sadness. Plan C: Reverse course and headed for Austin. Food trucks for dinner, woot woot.
Another helpful solution in the kitchen was base cabinets with drawers. It’s fairly conventional and allows so much more useful storage than the more typical doors and shelves. That set up ends up involving squatting or kneeling and dragging things out from the back at times. With drawers, even the lowest ones let you see what you have and access it easily. We used the four lower drawers in this set of cabinets to hold food, pots and pans, mixing and storage bowls, and tea towels. It’s a little more money for drawers, but so much more functional. 
In the living room we found a little second hand toy storage chest. It allowed extra seating and storage without shrinking the room too much. A remarkable number of things ended up in that bench– paper, the scanner, the printer, blankets, and little odds and ends. 
American Tiny 