Made it to the lake

We started the day off looking at the weather in Louisiana. There was a forecast for rain coming out of Texas that could prove to be bad come Friday. We had not planned on leaving Marksville until Monday but with this new weather report we made the decision to go ahead and leave Thursday. 
I headed to town to buy diesel and mail some letters and Sherri started the packing down for our trek West. With all my assignments complete I returned and backed up to the RV and made ready the outside for our departure. We have reduced our "Get Ready Time" down considerably since we got the new RV. With the auto level and all the fancy things we have on the new rig we can get ready to go in record time.
The weather was great when we pulled out. The sun was shinning and there were no clouds in the sky. Not hardly a breeze was blowing. This would work out to be a good decision on our part to pull up jacks and get out of dodge while the getting was good.
Our trip to the lake went off without a hitch...I mean we did have a hitch...well you know what I mean. 
We backed into our port without too much trouble. Arriving at 5:30 we did have the coming home traffic in the neighbor hood so we held up traffic for a bit while we maneuvered in.
Once we were settle in we got a bite to eat and then kicked back to relax for the rest of the evening.
We love it when we are on the road but getting back to our little spot is nice for a while. We have a lot to get cleaned up here and plenty to keep us busy until we head out to Colorado in two months. 
It will be nice to have time to paint some of my sketches I have made while away. And then there is the lake and my favorite fishing spots! I will have plenty to do here...

Somewhere in Time   

Dodging the rain and did a little fishing

We settled into our new site here at Grand Bayou Resort. It is a wonderful place to come and relax for a time and works out real good for our family reunion once a year.
We have always tried to stay in the full hook-up sites and this year was no difference. We stayed in a new site this year only to find out that it might be a little too tight to pull out of. Oh well we will just have to manage. After getting set up and surveying out new location we got to noticing that the way out was a little too tight for our 43 foot 5th wheel. Besides being a little too tight our hydraulic jacks will for sure hit the hight spot at the end of the drive. Of course we spot all this after we have parked and set up. The site was so nice that we did not notice all the pitfalls. 
OK so we will have to back out...I'll let you know how all that turns out when we leave. We will be here for 4 days and then it is off on another adventure.
I will be walking some while we are here. I have to walk and exercise as much as I can. I have been trying to lose weight for some time. It is a very slow and rigorous ordeal but I have lost 5 pounds and I need to lose another 45. I am exercising as much as the weather allows. I have cut back my intake of food which is not the easiest thing to do. I am hungry all the time now and try to make excuses to go back for more. So far I have been a good boy but I don't know how long it will last.
I am going fishing in the morning. I am just going down to the marina and fish. The rain has been off and on here so going out on the lake is not in the cards this trip. Sure would like to have some catfish to fry up before we leave. Maybe I should say bake not fry. Well it is time to head to the cemetery and place our flowers on the grave sites. I wonder if there will be anyone to do this for me...

Somewhere in Time    

Arrived in Louisiana

Sherri's SIL came by to visit

We had two picnic tables

What is a campsite without a nice fire

Sherri did her own arrangement for the cemetery. 

We were up early and I could hear the sound of the seagulls flying around outside. I knew I would miss that sound. We were getting ready to load up and head to the family reunion in Louisiana. 
I would have to replace the seagulls sound with the wind blowing through the pines. I love that sound too so it wont be all that bad. 
Sherri and I finished our last cup of coffee on the beach and started hooking up for our travel day. 
We have plans of stopping along the way to pick up our 7 year old granddaughter. She loves to travel with us and she loves to run with Kris. They are best of friends and really enjoy being with each other.
We arrived around 5:00 pm and pulled into our assigned site. The office was closed so we would have to go the next morning to pay our rent. We pulled into the site with no problems but then noticed that to get out we would have to back out. I don't think that will be a problem but going forward to leave would not be easy with our 43 foot house on wheels.
Our site is really pretty and we are close to all the other families that have RV's. We will have dinner on the grounds and then visit the cemetery later in the day. 
I am hoping that I will have time to do some painting while we are here...

Somewhere in Time 

Did someone say rain?

I woke up this morning to claps of thunder and rain like I have never seen before. Being on the Gulf coast is different than being in the piney woods. Boy are we having a Noah moment here. 
It started about 2:00 am this morning and it is still going strong here. I am not sure what the total is so far but it sure has to be over a couple of inches. 
Plenty of lightning too and some heavy bangs of thunder have kept me up most of the night. I guess it was about 4:00 when I finally gave up on getting any sleep. I just got on up and came down to the living room to catch up on my Facebook and emails.
It is 6:45 now and I think Sherri is stirring in the bedroom so I guess I better get her coffee going. I hope we don't float away later but then only time will tell...

Somewhere in Time 

A day at the beach

Kris and I ventured into the water 

Kris found some kids to help with the sand castle

It was really warm and I enjoyed the surf

Sunday morning we got up and met my Sister and BIL at Church. Services were at 11:00 am and we actually made it there in time. 
After Church we went out to eat at America's Kitchen. It is located down at the harbor. They have real good food. Sherri and I shared a Chicken Fried Steak...which by the way was out of this world. The green beans were tasty.
We enjoyed our meal and once we were through we headed back to the RV.
I had a quick nap and then Kris said it was time to hit the beach. We saddled up all our gear and walked down there to finish off the day. Kris...as usual...made friends and they built sand castles for several hours. Sherri and I got some sun and then retreated under our umbrella for the rest of the day. 
We try our best to shy away from too much sun. We have in the past partook of too much and suffered for some time. 
What a wonderful day. I even spent some time out in the surf. By the way the weather here has been so warm that even the Gulf is warm this time of year. We could not have asked for a better month to visit here...

Somewhere in Time  

New RV park on the Gulf in Galveston

I woke up this morning and lay there in bed listening to the gulls talking to each other. They are telling one another where the silly human is giving the food away. You can tell when they find it they go crazy trying to beat each other to the food.
Well I laid there until Sherri got up and then we both headed down to the kitchen for that first cup of coffee. It came to our mind that a friend of my BIL told us about a new RV park going in just down from where we are staying. We talked about it and then decided to drive down and see what it was like.

Stella Mare is the name

They have most all of the sites poured. 

The sites are a little too close together but I think you would have room.

We drove around to see what it looked like and could tell that it was not too far from completion. It will be nice to see some advertising about the rates and the amenities. 

This was once a housing area and the developer was going to build spec homes. As far as we can tell the houses did not go over for whatever the reason. I am guessing someone bought it and decided to make it into an RV park. 

Maybe it will turn into a nice park...

Somewhere in Time 

RVing goes to a new level

While shopping today Sherri and I ran across something that tells us that RVing is going a step further.

As you can see parents have the opportunity to get the kids thinking about an alternative lifestyle early on. This one might be a little cramped but there is room for improvement when they learn that they can get longer units...

Somewhere in Time

Spent the day at NASA Space Center

This is Kris's Birthday present from us. We took him to NASA to see all the space stuff that he never gets enough of. I think he enjoyed the trip and the many things there to see.
We got there just as it opened up. The security was really high there which I am thankful for. With all these teariest running amok we have to be on high alert to keep from getting blown up. 
They had several schools there and they made some of the lines rather long.
They had added some new exhibits to the center since we were here 3 years ago. They have the 747 that carried the last space shuttle to California. They have the shuttle mock-up on top to show you how large it all is! 

We stayed for the whole day and left just before closing. We were afraid that we would get caught in the going home traffic but it was not bad at all. 

It was a wonderful time together...

Somewhere in Time    

The calming Gulf Coast

It does not get any better than this. The Gulf Coast of Texas is the place to be. Sherri and I have spent many an hour gazing out across the water enjoying the cool breezes and the warm sun. We return here every year as many of the migrating birds do.
This time we are only here for a month but we will make the most of it and then we are on to the next adventure.
Kris has Internet here so he is in heaven. As long as we have an Internet connection for him he is ecstatic! He also loves the beach but playing on the Internet is his number one love.
I like to be able to update my journal and read my emails. Once and again I go on Facebook to see what everyone is doing...

Somewhere in Time   

Down by the Gulf

This is our site at Waco Lake

We are at Lake Conroe National Park

We had a nice fire at night and listen to the winds blowing through the pines

One of the many view across the lake 

Kris and I checking out the water

We made us a sand castle...I haven't lost the touch

What a view of the Gulf

And I have to put up with the view for a month!!

We hopped down south to warmer temps. We broke up the trip in short drives so as not to get too tired. We had some National Parks to stay at and some private campgrounds we had made reservations in. 
The night before we left we had some rain and the wind kicked up a little bit. By the morning when we were hooking up the sun came out and we were happy about that. 
The drive to Conroe was not too bad and the camp ground there was really nice. We had stayed there before and really enjoyed the big pines. It also had real nice trails to walk and we made several rounds to stay in shape.
Now we are down on the coast soaking up the sunshine here. Yes the sun is shinning and the temps are in the 70's. We took a walk on the beach and Kris and I made a sand castle. All is well now that we are back on the road again. 
We will be down here for the month visiting with my Sis and Bro. They have a list of things for me to fix for them and I brought plenty of tools to help them out...

Somewhere in Time 

Moving Day

It was early when my eyes popped open this morning. We have a little highway noise here at this park so I guess one of those big trucks came by. Or maybe it was just time for me to regain consciousness after a good nights sleep. 

The temp this morning when I woke up was 35 degrees. They said it would be in the 30's this morning and so far they have been correct on their predictions. It was real snug and warm inside the RV and so far we have had no complaints on the quality of our new home.

Today we are headed south. We have been staying at COE parks when we can to get the most bang for our buck. With our Senior pass our sites are 1/2 price and that is real easy on the budget. We are planning a trip out east which will have us staying at all the COE parks along the way. 

The sun is not up yet but as soon as it comes up I have to start my ritual of packing everything away. I don't think we will be on the road 2 hours or so. I like breaking up my driving time so I am not just worn out when I get to the next destination...

Somewhere in Time