Nov 12 - 17 Leaving Austin and staying just north of Houston.

Nov12
It's chore day. We have been having a ton of fun with Sam & Richard for a few days but today we need to get some work done before we leave this nice RV park. We took it easy in the morning and worked on the blog and cleaned up inside. We need a few groceries so we got in the truck and found a mini mall with all the stores we need. A grocery store, liquor store and a pet store. We ran out of dog treats, a crisis situation for Margaret. Short drive back to the RV park and a trip to the very nice laundry room. Once laundry was done we just took it easy the rest of the day. Travel day tomorrow.
Nov 13 - We had found another state park to our east along the way to The Woodlands just north of Houston where we will be visiting a lady that I worked with many years ago. More about her in a little bit. It's been years since I have seen her but found out where she lives from another past co-worker. 
We don't have far to go today, less than two hours road time. Our next stay is Lake Somerville State Park, Nails Creek Unit.

Long name but a beautiful park.

It's a long name but it's a fantastic place to stay and yes it can handle big rigs. They used to have two RV areas but they had some flooding and they closed the one area. The satellite picture actually shows the second loop underwater but it's not anymore. The park is about 14 miles off the highway, all on paved roads. They are narrow, just no shoulder, but a good road all the way. We had reserved a site so check in was brief and we found our site #27. We have a double horse pen if we need it and a separate parking spot for the truck. Huge sites with 30 amp and water, dump station is on the way out.

Massive site with horse pens and a parking spot.

The forecast is not good for the next day or two but it's okay for today. It maybe a little cool but we'll get set up and go for a walk to check out the lake. Because we are here mid week there is only one other site taken that we can see. There is a truck with a tent four sites away. This is going to be spooky quiet compared to Austin. That's a good thing.
We hooked Margaret up and walked through the camp loop and then on the trail to the lake. What a beautiful spot! I'm going to try to get a run in on the trails before we leave. There are some large birds by the shore of the lake but they fly every time we get close. I think they are Egrets from other pictures I have seen.

It's a cool day, even Margaret has a coat.

A little windy and cool but a great walk.

The white spot in the middle is an Egret I think?

Dead tree from the previous flood damage.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening indoors. There's another cold front coming in and it's starting to rain. We have six TV channels to choose from and we can plug in the electric heater so we're good.

The phone signal is good too so we got on the laptops and booked some sites along the way to our one month stop in Harlingen, Texas. We are booked all the way through to January 1 now. We got four days in Goose Island State Park by Rockport, Tx and we treated ourselves to a couple nights at the KOA on South Padre Island. The KOA is not cheap but being on South Padre was a must see for us for this trip. Looking forward to all of it.

Nov 14 - Happy Birthday Dan!! It's Leslie's oldest brother's birthday today.  Dan & Celia retired this year and they are touring Europe so Leslie just posted a birthday wish on Facebook. Have a great day Dan!

We aren't doing much today that's for sure. It is 8C/ 46F and pouring rain. We heard the rain hitting the roof overnight and it's really coming down. I'm working on the blog catch up and Leslie is baking, doing dishes, cooking, more dishes and she vacuumed the rig lol. When we couldn't stand it anymore we all put on rain gear and went for a short walk. It is nasty outside. Margaret is soaked from underneath and shivering so we just went back inside and relaxed for the evening. This is still a beautiful place. It's so quiet. The truck and tent packed up last night so we are the only ones here other than the staff. Awesome!

Took this out the window, puddles everywhere.

Nov 15 - Happy Birthday to my brother, John! Have a fantastic birthday bro from both of us. We waited until a nicer time in the morning and called John to wish him a good day. Shannon and Dan are taking him to a hockey game tonight to celebrate which is really nice. Have a great time all of you.

I found out after the fact that it is Ray's birthday on the same day so happy birthday Ray as well!

Good news for us today because the rain stopped overnight and the sun is out again. Yay! It's not hot outside but it's good enough to get out for a run/walk this morning so after some breakfast that's exactly what we did. There is an unpaved nature trail that I want to run here in the park. We heard lots of gunfire as we were waking up this morning. Hunting season is on and there is a pond on the north side of the park that is accessible by hunters so we think that's where the shots are coming from. We'll go the opposite direction towards the marina and Rocky Point.

A park map to help explain. Rocky Point is top right.

I'm going to hit the Cedar Creek trail out to Rocky Point and back around. I wore my trail shoes which was a good thing because with all the rain the trail had lots of muddy wet sections. The trail follows the park boundary fence for a little bit and I got a little uneasy when I jogged past a hunter in camo checking a deer feeder that was set about 50 yards outside the fence. I saw two more feeders along the fence on that trail so the first chance I got I turned left and got further in the park away from the feeders. I know that most hunters wouldn't shoot towards the park boundary but there is always the one that will take the shot and not look beyond the scope. It was good, obviously, and I heard no shots even though I know I spooked a couple deer over the fence as I was jogging. 

Had to walk some of this, pretty slick.

How nice is this though? Lots like this.

Rocky Point? Why yes it is lol. Lake Somerville is quite big actually

As expected I hit some really muddy sections but for the most part it was great trail. I can tell I'm at lower elevation because my lungs are taking me further than normal. Rocky Point was a fantastic view and then I headed back towards the rig. Good start to the nice sunny day.

Leslie put the leash on Margaret and took her for a walk to start. Margaret stops a lot to sniff stuff as it's her best sense left functioning so it's not a workout taking her for a walk for sure. Margaret got a good walk in and then Leslie dropped her back at the rig and did another walk at a brisk pace. Leslie got to be the first to see an Armadillo in Texas! I saw tracks but not the animal. I know that doesn't seem like a big find but we have never seen a live one before. Cool! She got in a good bit of exercise and met me back at the rig to show me her find.

Walk with Margaret by the boat launch.

Super nice park! Would definitely come back here.

Our first Armadillo sighting!! It's a big deal for us.

We showered and got packed up after our nice morning. No big rush today as we only have to drive a couple hours to Lake Woodlands RV. Sommerville Lake was a nice park and we hope to come back someday.

The GPS got us to The Woodlands just north of Houston even though I missed a turn and we had to "recalculate".

Back into the heavy traffic closer to Houston :(

We drove through Tomball, Texas to get there and boy are these ever nice communities. Some of these places are worth a few bucks. A good detour with lots to see.

Nice park but only the Good Sam discount so it was a little pricy.

Our site #222. A nice pull thru with full services.

Pond at the entrance to the park.

This pond is across from our rig with lots of ducks.

We checked in to the RV Park and got set up quickly because we are starving. The lady at the front desk recommended a Mexican place not far away. Perfect. They have happy hour at 3:00 as well and that's even better. The food was incredibly good and there were only a few people in there so it was quick. The drinks were good too of course. Cheers to John and Ray's birthdays!

Great food and drinks close to Lake Woodlands.

Cheers to the birthday boys!

We drove back to the rig and finished our setup then went for a short walk about to get the lay of the land. Lots of other dogs in this place. Margaret will have nothing to do with them, of course. Another good day. It's nice and warm again and we messaged Tera to organize our visit. We'll see her and meet her kids tomorrow. That will be really cool. I'm excited to see her again after many years.

Nov 16 - We had arranged to be at Tera's place between 10:30 and 11:00. The drive to her house is through some of the most well planned neighbourhoods you can imagine. They left as many trees as possible, everywhere. Even the businesses are in behind a wall of trees with just very nice signs on the road. It is beautiful. Then just to make it even nicer they put in a cement path so you can cycle or walk/run all through the trees. Really good city planning.

We're in The Woodlands community, how nice is this?

Let me explain who Tera is real quick. Someone told me once to be nice to the young engineers at work because one day they will be your boss. That has come true for several of them over my 30 years there. Tera started her engineering career at the plant I was working at. She grew up in Bonnyville so she knew all about the oil patch and she was excited to make her mark. That was about 2003. Fast forward to now and Tera and her husband Troy, also an engineer for Imperial, have worked their way to a level of management that I only read about. Troy is a senior manager for drilling and looks after the oil wells and, in general, the field facilities. That's a very general description. Tera's last assignment was in charge of Imperial's offshore platforms at Hebron and the production facilities onshore (I believe is what I was told). She is now a Projects Manager at Baytown Refinery in Houston. Yeah, she's a big dog now for sure. She's just way too cool to let it go to her head though and invited us over to her house for lunch. Nice. A trip down memory lane and Leslie gets to meet her for the first time. Unfortunately, Troy is in Alberta this weekend hunting with his dad and family. Go figure that he would be in Alberta when we're here.

The GPS got us to their house and with a big hug I said hello to Tera after many years of not seeing her. (I have only seen her once in 16 years) I introduced Leslie, and Tera introduced us to her kids. They are 8 & 6, both girls and super nice kids but understandably a little shy. Margaret helps to bridge that gap. They thought she is cute and soft lol. Their house is amazing! Everything is bigger in Texas haha. 

A pond close to their house, beauty!

They chose to buy this house, it is umm....spacious lol.

Me & Tera with some sneaky photobombers lol.

She's still super nice and it was great to catch up.

So of course we toured their fabulous place. They got a bunch of work done after they bought it and it looks fantastic. Tera was apologizing for stuff being out of place but we thought it looked awesome. We talked non-stop about people we both know and some of the places she has been for work. We laughed about our co-worker Dennis and I being the two grumpy old guys in the control room back then. We really weren't grumpy but we put on a show sometimes so people would avoid bugging us haha. Tera would come hang out with us anyway. Leslie got a few words in but it wasn't easy lol. Tera's girls were great. They worked on some school stuff and we got to see a home made slime collection! I didn't know you could make slime. Not that I will, but you can.

Tera made tacos for lunch which was really good and very much appreciated. We chatted a little more but they have an appointment for pedicures this afternoon while Dad is away. Girls afternoon at the spa. Nice touch. We agreed that they would stop by tomorrow at the RV park for another visit before Troy flies in around 3:00. It was so good getting a chance to visit with them.

We drove back to the rig. Margaret and I are staying put and doing some light chores while Leslie goes to Costco. We passed one very close to the park on the way home. I want no part of Costco on a Saturday afternoon, thank you very much. It was insanely busy for Leslie as expected. She made it back to the rig though with a few bags of groceries and more boxes of red wine. Nice!

We put together a fantastic dinner of greek salad, pork chops and fried mushrooms in a white wine reduction. Fancy finish right? It was delicious. This was another great day!

Nov 17 - We got out for a run/walk this morning and when I got back I saw Les struggling to walk back to the rig. Her back started spasming again today. Man, we really need to figure this thing out. She's just totally in pain and it is so frustrating because there isn't a pattern or specific reason for it to hurt. She's doing Robax again and we rubbed in some Icy-Hot but she can hardly move again. 

Tera is coming over around noon so Les is trying to stay moving if possible.

Tera and her girls arrived around noon and we gave them a tour of our house. Took far less than time than their house as our "house" would fit in their kitchen/dining area. There is an elementary school across the road from us and I thought it would be a good spot for the girls to play while we visited. What I didn't check was the fact that they close and lock the gates to the fields and playground on the weekend. I guess that's a thing here? Anyway we just slowly walked back to the rig for some ice tea and lemonade. Leslie is moving but it hurts, she's putting on a brave face, mostly. It was another fantastic visit with Tera and the girls; lots of laughs while they tested our knowledge of Spanish. They are taking Spanish as a second language at school. We can't order beers/wine or tequila from them so our Spanish is pretty limited lol. Soon we had to say good bye so they could be home when their dad got back from Alberta. They're excited to see him. Big hugs for Tera and adios amigas to the girls and they headed home. So great to get the chance to catch up. Just another benefit of being able to travel around.
We just sat still for a bit. Leslie had a little lie down to help her back relax. It's tolerable pain now. We decided to go out for supper tonight. Leslie found a pizza place not far away that offers a keto version and I am always up for good pizza so we headed out to a place called Mod Pizza. You order at the counter and then seat yourself but all their seating was hard wood and steel chairs. No way Les can sit here to eat. We got it to go and went back to the rig.

Never been here before but it's a great pizza.

The cauliflower crust was really good for Leslie and my pizza was really good too. We got 13" thin crust pizzas and even though we were stuffed at the end we ate all of it! Yeah we paid for that move but it was worth it. Of course we didn't do much after that feed. We watch TV and call it a day. A travel day tomorrow but not far.

Nov 18 - We are moving to Victoria, Texas and Dad's RV Park. Yes we are staying in Victoria on purpose just because of the name. They have UHV (University of Houston, Victoria) there so I want a new hoodie to go with my UVIC hoodies from BC. 

While we were getting packed up an ambulance came ripping into the park. A fella up the road was having chest pains it seems. I noticed the EMT tell him to toss his cigarette! C'mon man. You called an ambulance and you are outside having a smoke? They loaded him up and left without sirens so we assume not critical.

Went right past our site.

We were on the road by 10:30. I'm hoping the timing will be good for traffic going around Houston. Not looking forward to that little piece of the trip but hopefully we get to see Houston.

Still quite busy, this is 1 of 4 Houston ring roads!

This is as close as we get, I'm okay with that.

Not every day you see a Ferrari, let alone pass one with the trailer on!

This guy was doing 50 mph and looked pretty nervous.

We got out of the city and headed southwest on Highway 59 towards Victoria. We drove through a city just outside of Houston called Sugarland. Now that's a great name for your city lol.

Love the name of this city!

There was a long section of highway construction so we took longer than expected but after a couple hours we exited to Victoria. I got Leslie to text my brother and say we were just pulling into Victoria haha. He said he would have coffee ready ;)

Close to 3000 miles from the other Victoria!

We pulled into Dad's RV Park and got checked in. It's a very nice, clean park with lots of pull through sites good for big rigs to get into easily. We got site 117 with 50 amp and full services and free cable TV. Bonus. 

Nice place across from a small city park.

I'm going to 'fess up to a mistake I made. Yes, it's rare, but it happens ;) Leslie had looked up another RV park that was right by Riverside Park in the city. It's a college town of about 60,000 or so people and I said "No way" to the city park because "it's probably full of drunk college students partying all night". This turned out to be a huge mistake that I'll show you in the next blog. If you are looking to stay in Victoria Texas, check out Victoria RV Park which is city run. I think it's 50 amp water/sewer but for sure 30 amp for $12.50/ day!! Yes it's big rig friendly.  I saw a Landmark and a Mobile Suites parked there. It's a beautiful location not that close to downtown or the college on a little creek that had a couple Herons hanging out. Yeah, I totally regretted that one. Leslie didn't rub it in hardly...well maybe a couple times but I deserved it. 

The only thing that might drop it's ambience is the fact that it is about 200 yards from a large cemetery so don't stay there during Halloween or Day of the Dead. The park path that I went for a run on has a bridge that connects to the RV Park even. We are paying $47.50/day at Dad's but hey, we have cable! Major faux pas! That's French for "Dave's bad".

Till next time. Cheers everybody.