Our 10:00am departure time was thwarted. First, a couple of first class Texas 40 degree temperature swing changing thunderstorm lines blew threw North Texas. The rain fall was probably the most Abby has seen in two decades. With 20 windows and an assortment of other penetrations, she was bound to leak after her makeover. Thankfully we only had four minor leaks.

We dried her out and departed around 11:00. I created a checklist before the Dinosaur Valley trip to endure none of the 20 or so steps required to roll out or roll in were overlooked. One of the most critical steps is locking the door. This is because for some strange reason Airstream designers placed the hinge side of the door such that it opens against the direction of travel. This ingenious feature allows the flexible aluminum door to violently burst open and flail around like a wounded duck whilst barreling down the road at 65 mph if not locked down.

At about the hour two mark of our second trip on the way to College Station, TX we stopped in Abbott to make quick sandwiches for lunch, a great benefit of toting a full kitchen around! Unfortunately the outer door was wide open and contorted out of shape. Thankfully the screen door stayed shut so nothing flew out.

Strangely, the dead bolt pin was still in the locked position so the door must have flexed such that it popped open over a bump or high wind. Thankfully it still closed. I secured its with a rope and we finished headed back southward.

On the way we hit terrible traffic outside a Waco reminding me how much I loathe interstate 35. In Riesel we came upon a terrible traffic accident involving the injury and fatality of a local police officer and Sheriff. I wonder if the door incident hadn’t occurred how close we would have been to the incident, if not impacted by it. After about another hour delay we were moving with again.

We made it to Aggieland two hours behind schedule and rolled into the Texas A&M Equine Complex RV Park. Uncle Ronnie graciously allowed us to use his spot to tailgate for the A&M vs. Alabama game. After setting up we enjoyed a wonderful evening with the Gidley family at Longhorn Steakhouse where I gobbled up a Chicken fried steak the size of a west Texas county. Back at the RV Park, we got to meet friendly Aggies and enjoyed the comradirie of former student gatherings. Overall, despite the mishaps it was a great 2nd trip and needed return to Aggieland!!