ALWAYS DRINK UPSTREAM FROM THE HERD

Friday, November 13 – Every so often we will share with you a little Texas humor. Our heading is the first of many to come.

We had an 8:00 a.m. appointment to have the local RV shop take a look at the tie-rod grease boots. I knew these may need replaced so I wanted to get their opinion. This way, if parts are needed they can order them and have them here when we get back from Dallas/Ft.Worth. Yep! Need grease boots on the front end. There's a Freightliner/Motor Home Service Center in Dallas. We'll stop there for a second opinion.

Met at Kelly's place. Carrie arrived around 7:00 p.m. We enjoyed each other's company till about 10:00. We are staying at the A-OK South RV Park. It is really nothing more than a big parking lot. It works for us since all we will do is sleep here. We will be with the girls at Kelly’s most of the time.

Saturday, November 14 – Spent the day with Kelly and Carrie. K. C. and Scott came over to the campground first to see our new home. They were amazed how much room we had with the four slides out. It is really surprising! Then we had a great tour of Tyler, TX with our driver Kelly. This included the Tyler Rose Garden. The Tyler Rose Garden began construction in 1939, and the first roses were planted in 1952. An amazing display of roses. Even in November, many, many were still blooming. The Texas Rose Festival is held the third week of October. We hope to be in Tyler the last Sunday in April for their big “Rose Sunday Celebration and Kick-Off for the Rose Season.” The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is a 14-acre park, making it the nation's largest rose garden. We took in a Wood Carver's show at the garden also. They were having their holiday craft show at the Rose Museum Center. Since they don’t get snow, they created their own snow. The bottom right picture shows kids going down a ramp of man-made snow. What a hoot!! Read more about the Tyler Rose Garden.


Then did some quick grocery shopping and headed back to Kelly's place to watch some college football. After the game we had dinner and then all played a game of Mexican Train – the new domino game we learned at the Escapee Park.

See some more pictures of the Rose Center.

Sunday, November 15 – We are attending church at Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Tyler that Scott, Kelly significant other, attends. Pastor Jerry Calaway is in charge of the Praise &Worship Ministry. WOW, what a voice. The Celebration Choir was wonderful. Senior Pastor, Robert Carter, gave a powerful sermon on “Principals of Stewardship.” They include Sermon Notes with blanks to fill in. Marsha observed just about everyone filling in the blanks. They are a very active congregation. Everyone was very friendly. Paul and I felt very welcomed. It is a beautiful church. We attended the 8:30 a.m. service so we can drive up to Dallas today for our next stop at Hickory Hills Corp of Engineering campground. Scott attends the late service.


Now this is a campground!!! Beautiful sites with privacy between HUGE camp sites. We can even have a campfire. There are hiking trails and a huge lake .....AND....only 30 miles north of Dallas/Fort Worth. Awesome! An additional benefit is we can pick up TV on the satellite and have great cell and INTERNET service. Bella (our cat) definitely approves.....she can't wait to explore (on a leash of course). Pictures to come on next update. Thanks for checking us out.

DOWN TIME IN LIVINGSTON

Saturday/Sunday, November 7-8 - We spent the weekend visiting our Girls. It's been over four months since we've seen them. We've really been looking forward to this!

Carrie is doing wonderful. We spent some quality time catching up on her exciting life in the third largest city in the USA – Houston. She drives like a real Houstonian too......YIIKES! We spent quite a bit of time driving around enjoying each other's company and seeing Houston. What a thriving city. Growth is everywhere. New restaurants, clubs, shopping, housing, condos, and HIGHWAYS stacked on top of each other. As Marsha said, “If you can't buy it hear, they don't make it!” We went shopping for cowboy boots. Exxon awards employees for safety by giving them gift cards. Carrie had enough gift cards saved to get a free pair of boots at Cavender's, a huge western wear outfitter in Texas. As we were driving to Target, we saw these HUGE figures. Carrie quickly turned down a side alley and walla…we were in the heart of the Arts community in Texas. It just so happens they were setting up for the Orange Show, a big fundraising event that evening for the Arts in Houston. We walked right in and started to take pictures. One of the organizers walked up to us and asked if we needed help. Paul asked what was going on, and this gentleman answered all our questions. It  appeared that it would be a beautiful event. About 20 caterers arrived while we were there. Everyone was making decorations or painting, etc. Lots of excitement. One of the better know artists did sculptures of the presidents. Each was about 50 ft. made out of stucco. They were fascinating. Here are a few pictures from the event. Look how small Carrie and Paul look next to the Beatles. They were also playing their guitars. The next is President Obama. The second row has John F. Kennedy and a row of past presidents.

 

See more exciting pictures.

Carrie has some wonder friends, and we visited with several throughout the day. Carrie treated us to dinner at the Hickory BBQ. Delicious dinner was had by all. We headed back to Livingston about 7:00 p.m. but not before a detour sent us through the heart of Houston....in the dark. Wonderful driving experience (LOL), but a chance to see a beautiful city all lit up. Livingston is only about an hour and fifteen minutes north of Houston, so it wasn't a bad drive at all.

Sunday morning we were back on the road to Tyler, Texas to visit Kelly and Scott. We checked out several campgrounds we are considering staying at next week. We chose one about 12 minutes from Kelly's place. It doesn't really have that “it” factor, but it will do for a few days stay at Kelly's next week. We went to eat at the Purple Pig. A barbeque place on the outskirts of Tyler. Very good! Scott graciously picked up the check....thanks Scott. We returned to Kelly's and visited the rest of the afternoon. Kelly seems to have adjusted well to her move to Texas. She's happy! Tyler is another thriving and growing Texan city. With a population of about 84,000 it is not near has big as Houston, but a very nice town. It is located about two hours southeast of Dallas or about four hours north of Houston. At about 4:00 p.m., we decided we should head home so we didn't have to drive the entire way in the dark. It's only about two and a half hours from Livingston, but it's a tough drive. Numerous small towns that require you to slow down and deal with local traffic. After arriving back in Livingston, we relaxed and watched a football game on TV.

A nice weekend visiting with Kelly and Carrie. Glad to see they are both doing so well and seem to enjoy their lives here in Texas. We will be spending additional time with them during the upcoming holidays. That's a big reason we chose to begin full-timing. We would like to see them several times a year.

Monday, November 9 - Marsha did house work today. She cleaned the MH from front to back. I went to the grocery store, tried to get a haircut (and failed), and did a few “outside” jogs. Did some future campground planning and getting reservations. One of those slow days

Marsha and I have talked to several Canadians about their universal health care system. Each and everyone of them say they would not trade it for the American health care system. They are very happy with the care they receive and express no truth to the idea that they have to wait for long periods before receiving care. They chuckle when asked about many Americans fearing a similar health care plan. Hmmmm.....straight from the horses mouth!

Tuesday, November 11 - First thing this morning I went to town to get my hair cut. $5.00! That was the total cost at Miller's Barber Shop. I had to wait about an hour. The place was packed. She is a small black grandma that just loves everyone. She DOES NOT accept tips. WOW! Didn’t know anyone did that now a days.

I installed a Progressive EMS electrical monitoring system today. Many campgrounds have faulty electrical system that could do severe damage to your motor home electrical system, air conditioners, microwaves, TV, and other electrical components. The EMS monitor shuts down the MH electrical system automatically if it senses faulty current. It also displays your voltage, amps being used, and checks to see if you have 60 hertz. Manufactures should install these on all RV's but of course they don't. The installation went well.

Wednesday, November 11 - After supper we went up to the activity center to learn how to play Mexican Train. It's a domino game played at many RV Parks across the country. I guess each area of the country has their own version of the game. It is really a fun game. You'll never guess who won?????? I did! Marsha came in a close second (10 points behind me). The newbies win....LOL Not sure if they will let us come back again….HAHA

Thursday, November 12 - We'll be closing up shop here at Livingston with plans to pull up the stabilizers and hit the road tomorrow morning. We'll be driving the MH up to Tyler, TX (Kelly's town) for a mini-family get-together. Carrie will be coming up Friday evening after returning from a week in New Orleans on a work assignment. From Tyler, we'll drive up to the Dallas/Fort Worth area on Sunday for a week of sightseeing. Then back to Livingston and the Houston area for Thanksgiving.

LAID BACK IN LIVINGSTON

Tuesday, November 3 -  DRIVER TEST DAY….That was a cinch! The driving portion of the test was much simpler or should I say realistic than the written part. I arrived at the license office and picked up the lady test officer. We drove for about fifteen minutes and at the end she informed me I had passed. I didn't see any errors I had made, but she only told me I passed nothing about mistakes. So......I now possess a Class B Texas License!

Just a note of interest. Unlike Ohio were the sticker is put on the plate, the stickers are put on the inside windshield. Go ahead and try to guess why……. Well, it is because there are so many illegal Mexican who either steal the plates or peel off the stickers and then enter the states appearing to be legal. What will they think of next.

Check out the plates!
    

The weather has been fabulous! High in the upper 70's during the day and low 50's at night. Low humidity too! Sorry folks back in Ohio.

Wednesday, November 4 - Marsha had an 8 a.m. hair appointment this morning. Her first one since leaving Ohio. WOW! Everything went well with the hair appointment, she looks great. Thanks, Paul.
Really if you are in need of a color and cut, Edna’s the place. I have Brenda. She was wonderful. They were so nice; they even invited me to eat breakfast with them….TACOS! YUM!

     

This afternoon, we went looking for a bridge. We read a book about a fellow getting into a car accident and having a near death experience. Many of you have probably read “30 Minutes In Heave” by Don Piper. Well, it so happens, that the accident was on a bridge near Livingston, TX. So off we went in search of the bridge. We found it and enjoyed seeing Lake Livingston, the second largest lake in Texas and the source for Houston's water supply. The rest of the day we just chilled out around the motor home.
First picture is the old bridge. It was very narrow, and it was easy to see how an accident could happen on a rainy night. The second picture is the new bridge.

  

See more exciting pictures.

Thursday, November 5- Marsha and I went on a tour of the Escapees Headquarters this morning. They take you on a trolley to the mail service building, and a trip around both parts of the campground.



It was very informative. Escapees started in 1978 with 13 sites and today has about 250 sites. It was started by Joe & Kay Peterson, who still live here.....we met them! Their close friends and current neighbors, Bud & Kathy Carr, are still full-time travelers. Their daughter-in-law, Angie Carr is now the Executive Director of Escapees. They have a beautiful serenity garden in their front yard. Below is a picture of Joe and Kay Peterson, a picture of their lawn ornament at the entrance to their driveway, a picture of one part of the garden and Bella’s new sleeping spot. Click on the link below to see other pictures.

     
     

We also visited the Escapees Mail Service. WOW! There are over 10,000 members receiving their mail through the Escapees forwarding service. Livingston, TX receives over $7200 in Federal and State funding for every person with a PMB (personal mail box) at Escapees. Even though our address is Livingston, TX the mail does not come through the Livingston Post Office. Since Escapees has their own ZIP code, the mail is sorted in Houston and sent directly by truck each day to the park. Simply by calling Escapees, we can have our mail forwarded to us anywhere in the world.

This evening, we are heading to the activity center for a meatloaf dinner. I love meatloaf! They have dinner every Thursday, lunch every Tuesday and breakfast every Saturday. Pretty nice deal too.

More exciting pictures.

Friday, November 6
We headed to Lufkin, TX today. Big town business to take care of. We stopped at Bank America to open new checking and saving accounts. That really took care of us. We found a Pet Smart to buy Bella's “special food” and a Target to buy a few items the Livingston Walmart didn't carry. Lufkin, TX is a thriving and growing town. Everything seemed to be new and a lot of road work was taking place. That done, it was back to Livingston. We spent Friday evening hanging around the MH watching football and believe it or not……the CAVS.