Texas (07-05-21)

 As we entered the state of Texas, we got out a map to take a look and see where we might want to go. Hill Country was high on our list of options, and we reached out to friends to get some recommendations. And then we realized that we would be traveling quite near our “home” of Livingston TX, and we began to think.  It has been 11 years since we updated our wills etc and this was a good opportunity to take a look at them and make any changes we need.  So we detoured just slightly out of our way, and spent two days in Livingston, updating our “Life Documents”. Our attorney had retired so we needed to hire a new one.

These days  so much is done electronically that we discussed what changes we want and then went on our merry way.

Our first “fun” stop was Kerrville Texas, hill country, but we were slightly delayed in arriving.  As I was navigating, I realized we would literally drive right past the Blue Bell Creamery in New Braunfels.  Blue Bell is Paul’s favorite ice cream.  Lucky for us there was room in the parking lot for our rig (the small print on the sign says "We eat all we can and we sell the rest)!

The company formed in 1907, buying excess milk from local farmers to make butter.  In 1911 they added ice cream to their repertoire, and the company grew from there.  There are no tours anymore but you can buy ice cream and trinkets in the store.  Each scoop costs just a dollar, so I assumed they would be small, and I bought two for myself.  Ooops.  I couldn’t finish them, oh well.

The RV park  where we stayed in Kerrville (Buckhorn Lake Resort) is now one of my favorite ones we have stayed in over the years.  They just do a good job, and it helped that we were in the Adults Only section, complete with adults only pool, laundry and fitness room.

We took a day trip to Bandera- the Cowboy Capital of the world. It was the staging area for the last great cattle drives of the late 1800s, which gave it that title.  

There is a small museum there, so that’s where we started.  It showcased many of the famous local cowboys and cowgirls, like Stephanie Byrd, who began competing at age 6. We meandered around downtown before heading home.

There was one other thing we wanted to do before moving on from Kerrville.  See the bats.

Old Tunnel State Park, in the summer, is home to upwards of 3 million bats. At this time of year the pups haven’t been born so there are only about 800,000 bats.  They roost in what remains of an old tunnel, hence the name.  At around dusk each night, they emerge from the tunnel to look for food.  All of them, in a span of about 15 minutes. 

The volunteers do a short, but informative program describing the bats, their habitat, and their habits.  The colony can eat 25 tons of moths a night! While we listened, we watched the wildlife.

How well you can see them depends somewhat on how far past dusk they emerge- they were late tonight which made them hard to capture on camera, although we could see them better with the naked eye. You can see  a swarm of them in the sky.

Nearby Garner State Park had a spot available for just two nights, so that’s where we headed next. This park is so popular with families, I think the fact that it had any openings was a fluke. When I booked online it said the spot had electric and water and was 43 ft long, but when I put in our equipment, it said only tents were allowed. I called to confirm that our rig would fit, and booked it.

The Frio River (luckily the name is a misnomer) runs through this park, creating an enormous, nature made water park. Families have been coming here every year for decades, and some have plaques at their site, bearing their inaugural year.

We were pretty clueless, but we got the hang of it quickly and bought a tube for floating down the river. We only needed one because two weeks ago, a tube was our T-Mobile Tuesday freebie.

The weather was perfect for floating, and Paul and I spent a couple of hours in the water.  We walked to one end of the park, put in, and floated to the other end, where we got out, feeling we were done for the day.

There were a half dozen rope swings along the way- most of them in use pretty regularly.

The park also has several hiking trails- we chose to hike to Crystal Cave- about 2.5 miles round trip, before we left. Unfortunately, if the cave ever had crystals they are long gone, and what remains is thousands of daddy long legs.  I waited outside.

Habitat for Humanity (11-30-11)



Paul works on the caulking



    One of the goals we’ve had since we went on the road full time was to work with Habitat for Humanity on a house build.  We finally realized that goal here in Livingston, and now that we have gotten our feet wet, so to speak, I hope we continue to seek out opportunities to work with other chapters as we travel around the country. It works well for our lifestyle that no commitment is needed, and if we can only work for a day or two, that’s fine.. Habitat has built or rehabbed over 500,000 homes all over the world, since it began in the 1970s.  Pretty impressive. I’ve always thought it was a great program because people can donate their time and effort instead of money, and have the satisfaction of seeing the progress on a house that will go to someone in need.  The new owners are also required to volunteer a certain amount of hours before they can move into the house.  Recently, in the Livingston area,  a woman whose house was finished couldn’t move in for a month, because she hadn’t put in enough hours volunteering.

I had contacted the local chapter before we arrived in town to find out what, if anything, they were building and it turns out they are working on a house in a nearby town, but are mostly just working on the weekends.  The Saturday after we arrived in Livingston, we headed out to help.  I spent most of the day painting the outside of the house, while Paul helped with the caulking and a variety of other projects. (The man in the bright yellow shirt is the man who will be the new home owner. )   



Mike works on the interior



Kathi stains the kitchen cabinets



There was a great sense of camaraderie and cooperation among the workers, and at about 10 am, a separate crew arrived from a local church, and began putting lunch together for everyone.  There were about 20 people there that Saturday, but the project leader, who happens to be a fellow Escapee living in Livingston, mentioned to me that they hadn’t had much of a turnout lately and really wanted to step up the pace if they could.  Its the nature of the beast that they are never sure how many people will show up on any given day.  Since they weren’t planning on working the week of Thanksgiving, Paul and I decided to stay a few days beyond that to give them a hand.  This past Monday we went back to the house, and this time brought our friend Mike with us.  His wife was still in Omaha visiting their new granddaughter.  Mike worked at caulking the interior of the house, while Paul installed most of the light fixtures, and I spent the day staining the kitchen cabinets.  Before leaving for the day I had committed to coming back on Tuesday to help two other women polyurethane the cabinets so that they won’t have to be done on the weekend when there are more people around.  The whole experience was a really great one, and one I hope we can repeat with some degree of regularity!

Happy Thanksgiving!

   “Home is where you park it” is one of the mottos of the Escapees RV Club that we belong to.  I love that motto because it so aptly describes our lifestyle.  We usually feel like we are home wherever we happen to be, because we come home to the same trailer, same kitchen, same bedroom, same cat, etc., every night.  There are times however, that for me,  home is where my family is.  Thanksgiving is one of those days.  I miss my family and my kids.  Of course, our daughter is in Michigan and our son is in Massachusetts, and Paul’s mom is in West Texas, so its not as though we would all be together for the holiday anyway.  I think it’s partly a nostalgia thing.  I remember all the great holidays we had with the kids when they were younger. There was even one Thanksgiving  that we voted and all decided we didn’t want the traditional turkey dinner, so instead we made turkey enchiladas (with a side dish of potato puff and cranberry sauce).
    This year was completely different for us.  Not in a bad way, just different.  We had Thanksgiving with “100 of our closest friends”.
     We are parked in Livingston, Texas, at an Escapees RV Park. It is their national headquarters and in fact, its the RV Park that we call “home”.  Both of our drivers licenses now have this address listed on them.  It has been so odd to be able to walk over to the office every day and see if we have any mail.  Usually getting mail requires more effort and forethought. We’ve actually been here about  a week, and let me tell you, I have no idea where the days have gone.  Paul ordered a weather station, and a Wilson Cell Phone antenna, both of which have already arrived.  We also received a new TV antenna because ours stopped working, and he already has the new one installed. I have a new cell phone, although I hate it so I’ll probably send it back. He’s spent the last few days installing his new toys and rearranging some wiring in the trailer.  I have just been researching different things, doing laundry, and chatting with neighbors.
    We have had our friends Julie and Mike parked next to us since we got here, which is making this a fun place to be.  We went out for Mexican food one night and cooked Jambalaya another night.  Julie left a few days ago to fly  to Omaha to visit their new granddaughter, so Mike has spent the last few days washing and waxing their 5th wheel, and of course, hanging out with us. 
          So, the way they do Thanksgiving dinner here is like this.  There are sign-up sheets in the activities room for anyone who wants to attend the dinner. There are about 15 tables that can each hold 10 people. You sign up for whatever table you want to sit at, and one person at each table is the Host or Hostess (me, in this case) and that person organizes the food etc. The turkey and gravy are cooked in the commercial ovens and everyone pays $2 for that.  Then each person at the table brings a dish to share, just with the tablemates.  Since I was the hostess, it was my job to make sure we had a variety of dishes and not 5 different kinds of stuffing.  It turned out great, and we had an awesome variety of delicious food at our table, including homemade rolls. I had a great time but I had also taken the time to meet and chat with everyone who was going to be at our table, so I already knew them a little bit.  In fact, one couple is from Massachusetts, and one is from New Hampshire, so we had a lot in common.
      Now the day is almost over and we are trying to get over that “completely stuffed” feeling that comes with Thanksgiving every year.