san antonio – Own Less. Do More.

We are back at Home Base San Antonio for a few weeks, reconnecting with family and friends, and generally just gettin’ things done: medical appointments, vehicle inspections, registration renewals, returning our sophomore to UT-Austin. That kind of thing.

But today felt like vacation! Although Tim would disagree, I believe that better than having a boat is having friends who have boats, and we were treated to an afternoon on the lake by our friends Jay & Kris, who we met last year, thanks to this RV lifestyle.

Medina Lake today: it's 100% full. This is significant. Last time we were here, only 16 months ago? 3-5% full. — Medina Lake today: It’s 100% full.
This is significant. Last time we were here, only 16 months ago? 3-5% full.

See? This is a photo I took of the "lake" in April of 2015, when it was down to just a few puddles after 4 years of drought conditions. That "road" over there on the left is in fact someone's boat ramp. — See? Not kidding.
This is a photo I took of the “lake” in April of 2015, when it was down to just a few puddles after 4 years of drought conditions. That “road” over there on the left is in fact someone’s boat ramp.

Today's mission: water skiing! Jay & Kris are experts, with decades of experience to share. They've taught many, many people how to ski over the years, and today they taught Dane! — Today’s mission: water skiing!
Jay & Kris are experts, with decades of experience to share. They’ve taught many, many people how to ski over the years, and today they taught our kid!

Tim's up! It's been 3-4 years since last time, but before that it had been a decade or three... — Tim’s up!
It’s been 3-4 years since last time, but before that it had been a decade or three…

Jay showing Dane a few tips before his first time on the skis. Fun fact: Dane is 19. Last time I went water skiing was the summer I was 19. — Jay showing Dane a few tips before his first time on the skis.
Fun fact: Dane is 19. Last time I went water skiing was the summer I was 19. Please don’t do the math.

After showing Dane how to do it, Jay showed us how it's done. — After showing Dane how to do it, Jay showed us how it’s done.

And yes, after much waffling and psyching myself up and deciding that what I really needed on this day was for my child to see me get over myself, I took a deep breath, got in the water, and muscled on those skis.

After inhaling a fair amount of lake on my first try (see title above), I got up on the second attempt, after a 28-year hiatus, y’all.

Oops. Guess I did the math.

In my mind, I was the Go-Go's, and I. was. fabulous. — In my mind, I was the Go-Go’s, and I. was. *fabulous*.

We couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend this last day here with our Longhorn. Tomorrow we move him back into his school-year home!

Job 1:

It all started when Tim said, “Honey, I’m ordering a new antenna, and it will be the solution to all our internet connectivity problems, and by golly, you will never suffer service interruptions again!”

OK, that’s not what he said. It’s just what I heard, because I didn’t understand a single word of all the techno-jargon he used after “antenna.” Also, he never uses the phrase “by golly.”

New antenna means wires. Wires need a place to go. And there's a void on top of this cabinet, which makes it a perfect place to drill through the roof. I can now say that Tim has drilled through walls in every home we've owned, for the sole purpose of boosting our connectivity. — New antenna means wires.
Wires need a place to go.
And there’s a void on top of this cabinet, which makes it a perfect place to drill through the roof.
I can now say that Tim has drilled through walls in every home we’ve owned, for the sole purpose of boosting our connectivity.

Taping the wires to the roof... — The new antenna is in the foreground. We used aluminum tape to affix the wires to the roof, and you can see the entry point behind him. It’s now all sealed up with two different kinds of caulky stuff to keep moisture out.

And now our router sits right there on the shelf above my cookbooks. Don't worry. He'll find a way to make those wires less obtrusive. Or else. — And now our router sits right there on the shelf above my cookbooks.
Don’t worry. He’ll find a way to make those wires less obtrusive.
Or else.

Job 2:

Mother Nature slammed San Antonio with an intense hail storm late Tuesday night. We’re talking national news-worthy baseball-sized stones, and those babies were loud from inside this here tin can. More than 16,000 damage claims were filed with our insurance company alone.

By the light of Wednesday morning, Tim and I went outside to inspect the BFT & the Toad, and were relieved to find only a small cluster of dimples on the roof of the truck, and a couple of cracks in the skylight above our bathroom. Nothing had shattered in the night but our nerves!

Knowing it’s far better to prevent a leak than to wait for one to surprise us at a more inconvenient time, Tim ordered a new skylight, and we got to work today, since rain is predicted for tomorrow, and we’re hitting the road on Tuesday (more on that next week).

I don’t appear in any of these photos because I was taking them, but I assure you that in between all the clicks, I really was helping (and sweating, and swearing, and wishing one of our kids were here so that it could be Rohrer & Son RV Repair instead of Rohrer & Wife RV Repair).