On The Road Again
Unlike some tequilas, most of my moves have never been smooth–or without incident.
For the better part of 18 years, I lived in New Mexico. After a year long stay in my home state of California, I moved my personal residence and headquarters to San Antonio, TX to helm the newly revamped Tequila Aficionado Media almost two years ago. In all that time, I’ve spent hundreds of dollars in storage fees.
So, when my partner, Lisa Pietsch, suggested an RV road trip in late May/early June to get the rest of my possessions in Albuquerque, I was hesitant.
The plan was to rent a Cruise America RV and to take her two home schooled boys with us, along with the two cats, the dog, and turtle, on a 7-day trek through parts of west Texas and southern New Mexico.
Since Lisa would be doing all the driving, she would break up the trip to no more than 5 or 6 hours before stopping at a reputable and clean RV park for a day or two. We would simply retrace our route on the return trip, as well.
I’m not going to lie. Visions of the ill fated Donner Party crossed my mind.
Apart from the usual concerns about cost and current gas prices (which Lisa will tackle in blog posts of her own), my more pressing questions were–
Could the cats get along with the dog? Would the boys freak out without wifi? Would we even survive the first night together in the close quarters of the RV? Could we all just get along?
Luckily, the good folks at Del Bravo tequila supplied us with bottles of their Peñsaco, Diva and Route 66 tequila to calm my nerves. Brand Of Promise(TM) winner, JLP Craft Margaritas also came along for the ride.
#TheDreamIsReal
Undaunted (and armed with a hashtag), Lisa pursued her dream of taking the kids and experiencing part of the Desert Southwest on the open road.
After a couple of hours outside of San Antonio, we stopped for lunch and took stock of our surroundings inside the RV. So far, the ride was quite comfy.
The Crossroads of The Texas Mountain Trail
We arrived tired and hungry at our destination, the Good Sam campground in Van Horn, TX, just in time to catch a desert sunset.
Dinner in the RV and generous pours of Route 66 reposado tequila were on the menu after a long drive. Later that evening, the campground’s flawless wifi kept us on top of our personal and Tequila Aficionado duties.
It wasn’t until the next morning, though, that we were able to appreciate the stark beauty of this historic west Texas location.
Tequila Road Show
A short two hours or so later, we entered the El Paso, TX city limits. Here, Lisa Pietsch and I reveal our desires for the Tequila Aficionado Roadshow that we were planning for late summer/early fall 2015.
Old Stomping Grounds
We made great time into the Duke City area and settled into the spacious Albuquerque North KOA campground in Bernalillo, NM.
Later that evening, accompanied by a full moon rising above the Sandia Mountains and some JLP Craft Margaritas, along with a celebratory cigar for me, we hopped onto the park’s wifi for a little social media fun.
How to Shop for Your RV
With the idea of shopping for a bigger RV still fermenting, we weren’t too keen on dealing with pesky and persistent salesmen. Lisa and I decided to take a walk around the KOA park to see what Americans were RVing in.
That’s when we ran into this beauty–
Meanwhile, Back in Van Horn…
After a couple of days in New Mexico, we mounted into the Cruise America RV and made our way back to Van Horn, TX to spend a restful two days recuperating from driving and moving some of my possessions.
The outpouring of well wishes and the sharing of family vacation memories from our friends and followers on social media, made us pause and reflect on our own individual family outings.
The pros of being location independent far outweighed the cons of what the open road had in store (besides rush hour traffic).
And, had we not returned to the campground in Van Horn, we would’ve missed the opportunities to bond over these gems…
Living The Dream
Stay tuned to Tequila Aficionado later this month for a special announcement about our first ever Tequila Road Show to the Windy City of Chicago and how you can come along!
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