Anyone from TX have a driving trip report?

[LONE-STAR]

Come to think of it, IH 10 isn't much better from Houston through Beaumont into La.

So true

 

[bxtx]

We just towed our TT from Katy (just west of Houston) to FtW - 948 miles.

Best advice I got/will offer - Buy a copy of THe NExt Exit.

DH and I went through and made our own list of every 24 hours gas station between home and FtW, and then I also added rest stops and Cracker Barrell locations. It was a god send.

We left Friday night around 7:30 and stopped just inside Mississipi at their welcome center about 1:30am. There are signs posted everywhere saying "no overnight parking" and then little pull thru's are provided, and its patrolled 24 hours. We left around 8am and made it to the Fort around 9pm.

On the way back, DH decided if we left at 7am he'd just drive til we got home. BAD IDEA. Baby cut a tooth en route, kids slept but man, that was hard. I got to drive through Bumpyville aka Louisiana. Finally got home around 4am.

It's fun but take it easy and definitely spend 2-3 days geting there. That's our plan next time anyway!

Bex

 

[LONE-STAR]

We just towed our TT from Katy (just west of Houston) to FtW - 948 miles.

Best advice I got/will offer - Buy a copy of THe NExt Exit.

DH and I went through and made our own list of every 24 hours gas station between home and FtW, and then I also added rest stops and Cracker Barrell locations. It was a god send.

We left Friday night around 7:30 and stopped just inside Mississipi at their welcome center about 1:30am. There are signs posted everywhere saying "no overnight parking" and then little pull thru's are provided, and its patrolled 24 hours. We left around 8am and made it to the Fort around 9pm.

On the way back, DH decided if we left at 7am he'd just drive til we got home. BAD IDEA. Baby cut a tooth en route, kids slept but man, that was hard. I got to drive through Bumpyville aka Louisiana. Finally got home around 4am.

It's fun but take it easy and definitely spend 2-3 days geting there. That's our plan next time anyway!

Bex

Yes buy the next exit very helpful when looking for diesel

 

[Anne's Family]

I have a current copy of The Next Exit. It's fabulous! I think I'll get a new copy every year for all our trips.

Thanks for all the advice guys!

 

[Familyofsix]

It's no joke about La roads . We live just east of Shreveport and have found the quickest route is to take I-20 east to Jackson Ms then south on 49 in Ms and come in on the northeast side of Mobile to pick up I-10. Smooth sailing through Mississippi but be warned I-20 has some construction on it and can back up between Bossier City and Minden and then again around Monroe (just try to hit non rush hour and should be fine). Ran the route to the Mississippi gulfcoast in Feb and didn't have any trouble and now the wife says we need to look at going back to the Fort in June/July for two weeks with our hybrid . Needless to say I didn't argue.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

FamilyOfSix....you guys ever camp at Lake Claiborne St Park?? Thats our favorite LA camping spot....we're about 5 hours from there and do it at least once a season. Lake D'arbonne is nice too.

 

[poohbearwithme]

We tend to do our side trips on the way home from WDW. One year, we spent a few days in Destin. Another year, we spent several days at Fort Pickens near Pensacola Beach and spent the 4th at Pensacola Beach. This last year we went to Jekyll Island Georgia. We prefer the Florida west coast/panhandle beaches.

It's a nice way to lessen the WDW post trip blues.

Unfortunately, Fort Pickens is still closed from Damage caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2005. It's not expected to reopen until some late in 2009.

 

[kc5grw]

Good Luck!

Did you guys survive the weather okay early this morning? It sounds the northern part of that squall line that blew through was pretty bad. It got me out of bed about 3:45a here in Mesquite. Nothing significant here though. Lots of wind, rain, maybe a little hail. Didn't actually get up and look out the window.

 

[Millermouseketeers]

Did you guys survive the weather okay early this morning? It sounds the northern part of that squall line that blew through was pretty bad. It got me out of bed about 3:45a here in Mesquite. Nothing significant here though. Lots of wind, rain, maybe a little hail. Didn't actually get up and look out the window.

Yes, thank you we are fine! What a storm! We woke to our sirens at 4 a.m immediately followed by power outage so no radar. Even being a native Texan it was frightening to wake to the sirens and then an announcement saying tornado warning. My 2 older girls ran downstairs to the bathroom but our 9 year was really hard to get up and downstairs. That is the 2nd time we have had siren warnings and it is only April! Thank you for asking. Time to go to the Fort. Glad all was okay in Mesquite.

 

[4daubers]

Turned black as midnight, lightened and cleared out. We didn't even get rain. We're northeast of Austin. Friends in Breckenridge had heavy damage though.

 

[kc5grw]

Yes, thank you we are fine! What a storm! We woke to our sirens at 4 a.m immediately followed by power outage so no radar. Even being a native Texan it was frightening to wake to the sirens and then an announcement saying tornado warning. My 2 older girls ran downstairs to the bathroom but our 9 year was really hard to get up and downstairs. That is the 2nd time we have had siren warnings and it is only April! Thank you for asking. Time to go to the Fort. Glad all was okay in Mesquite.

Glad to hear everything was okay. Hopefully things will settle down a bit, but as you said, its only April.

 

[DisnyMama]

Yes, thank you we are fine! What a storm! We woke to our sirens at 4 a.m immediately followed by power outage so no radar. Even being a native Texan it was frightening to wake to the sirens and then an announcement saying tornado warning. My 2 older girls ran downstairs to the bathroom but our 9 year was really hard to get up and downstairs. That is the 2nd time we have had siren warnings and it is only April! Thank you for asking. Time to go to the Fort. Glad all was okay in Mesquite.

Hi neighbor! I have only been here for less than 2 years (from So. Calif.) and it woke me up this morning too. DS and I had no idea what to do and at what point we should head downstairs to the bathroom. We heard the sirens go off and then after about 15 seconds they stopped and an announcement was being made but the thunder and rain was so loud we couldn't understand what he was saying. All I know is I was pretty scared this morning.

At what point are we supposed to head for the downstairs bathroom which is the lowest interior point in our home? DS is 16 and thinks I over react with these storms.

Thanks,
Shannon

 

[Anne's Family]

Two nights in a row of that mess was enough for me for awhile. Cramming the four of us and a neurotic cat into the pantry under the stairs just isn't fun. We had one shutter fly off the house and we're getting an estimate on roof hail damage next week. Might have to file a claim for car hail damage as well. Isn't Texas lovely?

Dreaming of the Fort.

 

[kc5grw]

At what point are we supposed to head for the downstairs bathroom which is the lowest interior point in our home? DS is 16 and thinks I over react with these storms.

Thanks,
Shannon

Usually if you hear the sirens you should be seeking cover. If you don't already have one, you should make it to your nearest Fry's, Best Buy, Radio Shack, etc and pick up a Weather Radio with SAME. You can program the SAME radios for your city/county and get warnings when they are issued by NWS along with the location information.

 

[4daubers]

Two nights in a row of that mess was enough for me for awhile. Cramming the four of us and a neurotic cat into the pantry under the stairs just isn't fun. We had one shutter fly off the house and we're getting an estimate on roof hail damage next week. Might have to file a claim for car hail damage as well. Isn't Texas lovely?

Dreaming of the Fort.

Yikes! Glad y'all are OK. kc5grw is right. If the siren is sounding, should take cover immediately.

We have a weather radio but also have a emergency scanner (Uniden Bearcat)that gets several bands, police, fire, weather, ham radio, air. It's been a big help during bad weather.

 

[DisnyMama]

Thanks kc5grw and 4daubers. I hope there is no next time in the near future but if and when those sirens go off (and it's not a test) I will have to snap DS out of bed and into that downstairs bathroom.

Also, great idea about getting the weather radio. I did not like having the power out and no way to get any info. That was what scared me most. I'm one of those people that if I know what to expect and have the necessary information I can deal. It's the not knowing that drives me crazy.

Shannon

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

We have a weather radio but also have a emergency scanner (Uniden Bearcat)that gets several bands, police, fire, weather, ham radio, air. It's been a big help during bad weather.

See if you can find the frequency used by the local ham radio weather spotters. Here around central Ohio it's 146.76. These guys are spread out all over the area and give real time reports of what's happening at their locations. Here in Ohio it's coordinated by the National Weather Service.

 

[4daubers]

Are the frequencies listed somewhere or do I contact a ham radio club? Sorry if off topic.

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

I see you're from TX. See if this list helps.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/repeat.html

 

[4daubers]

Thanks!!