HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL FROM DALLAS TX!!!!!

 

11/18 – 11/21/2014 – Kingsland TX, Lake LBJ, and Fredericksburg – We were the first and only campers at a brand new campground on the North Point Landing at Lighthouse golf course just off Lake LBJ.  Nothing like a view of a golf course not to mention the beautiful Packsaddle Mountains every day.  We really enjoyed touring the Hill Country of Texas, especially the LBJ ranch which is now a national park and the town of Fredericksburg which is west of Austin.  Fredericksburg is not just a beautiful historic town of the Hill Country but also home to some 40 plus wineries in the area and very unique shopping.  We spent many hours at LBJ ranch which is really a must visit destination full of memorabilia from his presidency including an Air Force One jet used to shuttle back and forth from Washington as he spent ¼ of his presidency at the ranch.  We will surely stay in Fredericksburg the next time we are in the area as there is so much more we would like to see in town and the surrounding area.

Kingsland

Lake LBJ

LBJ Ranch

Fredericksburg

11/11 – 11/17/2014 – San Antonio TX, Braunig Lake RV Resort – What do you know, we have arrived in San Antonio at the same time as the Arctic front.  We have temps 20 degrees below the norm with high winds, can you say BRRRRRR, low 50’s in the daytime and overnight we are in the high thirties.  We need to dig out our woolies.   Decided to take a tour of San Antonio, a wise decision, had an amazing day facilitated by our great guide Curry who was a walking encyclopedia.  The “Grand Tour” included the Alamo, Mission Trail missions, Market Square, Buckhorn Saloon and Museum, Texas Ranger Museum, Japanese Sunken Gardens and a Riverboat ride through the Riverwalk.  Spent several days in San Antonio just wandering around enjoying the Riverwalk, eating Mexican, good bakery treats and taking in the history.  Took one day to ride to New Braunfels but was rainy and cold when we got there so we just drove around town and took in the historic homes and buildings.  Other than the rain and cold San Antonio was AWESOME, a close second to New Orleans. 

Alamo

Missions

Riverwalk

Japanese Sunken Gardens

Buckhorn Saloon

We received some very sad news on Sunday 11/9/2014, our dear friend Frank Corma passed away at the age of 93.  We were so very fortunate to be able to share a small part of Frank’s life and will cherish the memories of our times together and the integral part he played in our lives and the lives of our entire family over the past several years.  Frank made this world a better place with his infectious smile, quick wit, nostalgic stories, and of course his culinary wonders.  No one that ever tasted his strawberry shortcake or pineapple cake could ever forget them, and his roasted peppers, gravy, meatballs, sausage and eggplant dishes were five star.  God Bless you Frank, we will miss you and carry you in our hearts forever.  All our Love, Chippy and Brian.

   

11/4 – 11/11/2014 – Portland TX, Sea Breeze RV Park is situated right on Nueces Bay with a view of the Corpus Christi skyline.  Dropped the RV off at CCRV for the hydraulic line repair and set off with a day with the dogs which of course limited our choices of venue.  We visited Padre Island National Seashore which has 60 miles of unspoiled/uninhabited shoreline with the biggest dunes we have ever seen.  We checked out the two campgrounds (dry camping) right on the beach, on Malaquite Beach (Gulf)  and Bird Island (Gulf Intercoastal Waterway) for future consideration and found Malaquite Beach more to our liking with sites on gravel as well as asphalt .  The water was extremely rough but it didn’t discourage the white pelicans who were fishing vigorously.  Then we were off to Mustang Island, Port Aransas and Aransas Pass.  Stopped at What-a-Burger, a Texas Treasure according to the TX senate and the dogs were in their glory with a burger lunch.  FYI…the burgers were really great.  The homes in Port Aransas were amazing, and the many campgrounds on the island were also first class and already crowded.  We took the “free” ferry back to Aransas Pass, headed back to Corpus Christi, picked up the motorhome and headed back to the campground to settle in for the night.  On Friday we visited the aircraft carrier USS Lexington which is docked in Corpus Christi Bay, can you say amazing?  The flight deck was the size of over three football fields, and the lower decks just seemed to go on forever.  Then we took on a bit of culture and visited the Corpus Christi Art Museum after a leisurely ride along Shorline Drive, looks like sailing is very big here with this prevailing wind which has all the Oaks looking like Divi Divi trees in Aruba.   On Saturday we took a ride back into history and visited Kingsville TX, home of the famous 825,000 acre King Ranch.  This was one of the original Texas ranches and is famous in the Quarter horse arena as well as producing a Triple Crown winner when they also raised Thoroughbreds in the past.   Played a super round of golf on Sunday at River Hills CC in Corpus Christi and finished the week with a tour of the beautiful coastline from Fulton to Aransas Pass where we picked up the best tasting grouper we have had so far including the Florida Keys. 

11/1 – 11/4/2014 – Quintana TX, Quintana Beach County Park Campground was a very nice surprise, with nice size sites and lots of open space right on the Gulf with a huge beach and nice size waves, the first we have seen on the Gulf.  The dogs really enjoyed the long walks on the beach romping in the water and chasing the birds, water temp is still in the seventies.  The campground is located right near a large chemical company and a shipping channel to the Gulf where the huge tankers roll in and out every day.  You can actually drive your car on the beaches here in Texas and park right on the beach.  Spent the day touring Galveston, Jamaica Beach and Surfside (where they actually surf) and roamed the beaches.

10/30 – 11/1/2014 – Lake Charles LA, Sam Houston Jones SP was our next stop, but not without some excitement.  Setting up the RV we blew a hydraulic line on the leveling jacks, so a repair is in our future.  Made an appointment for next week in Corpus Christi for the repair, oh well that is why we budget maintenance.  The state park was really nice, with lots of open space, trails and walking paths and this Halloween weekend brought a full house.  We were a bit disappointed that we got no trick or treaters, but got over it when we realized we would be stuck eating the candy…LOL.  Lake Charles is a beautiful city with a beautiful lake and Atlantic City like casinos.

10/23 – 10/29/2014 – New Orleans – Arrived early afternoon to Pontchartrain Landing Campground and Marina on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans for a seven day stay.  Took a quick tour of the area after we got set up to get a lay of the land and visited the “Pitbulls and Parolees” warehouse from the TV series, which was a very sad sight to see with so many homeless dogs. 

 

Friday we did a walking tour of the Garden District viewing the beautiful homes and the historic Lafayette Cemetery in the 65 block section of New Orleans. 

Saturday we took the shuttle into the French Quarter and roamed the streets and shops nonstop enjoying crisp beignets for breakfast and shrimp Po-boys for lunch, enjoying the friendly banter of the many Green Bay Packer and New Orleans Saints fans warming up for the Sunday night game at the Superdome.   It seems that the Packers have a very large travel contingent as we see green and yellow everywhere in town as well as the campground.  Bourbon Street was in full mania by 4pm on Saturday with the bars already near capacity and people walking the streets with huge fishbowl cocktails in hand, can’t imagine what it will be like by midnight, but really don’t want to experience it either. 

 

Sunday was a  day of rest, just lounging around the campground and watching football.     

Monday morning was off to Baton Rouge for the day about 85 miles north of New Orleans.  Spent the day visiting the new and old capital buildings, riverboat casinos, walking the downtown area, and the LSU rural life museum which had quite a collection of memorabilia.  Really a beautiful city along the banks of the Mississippi, and what a view from the observation deck at the top of the capital building.  Too bad there were several museums closed on Mondays but there was still plenty to see. 

Old Capital

New Capital

St Joseph Cathedral

Riverboat Casino

Acadian Home

10/20 – 10/22/2014 – Out of Florida – Time to hit the road and leave home base of Bonita Springs.  First stop was Torreya State Park along the Apalachicola River and right on the Eastern/Central Time line.  Picked up an hour of travel time as soon as we left the campground.  Chippy decided not to get out of the RV after the ranger told us to watch out for copperheads and rattlesnakes as we were very deep into the woods.  Crossed the Florida, Alabama and Mississippi borders on the way to Bay St Louis near the Louisiana border were we spent the next two nights at a very nice campground at the Hollywood Casino.  We were amazed at all of the waterfront property along Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St Louis that are still for sale long after Katrina wiped out everything on the coast.  I would imagine that the homes that have been rebuilt, wisely on high pilings, have some hefty homeowner’s insurance premiums but they look like they can afford it.  The white sand beaches along the coast are really nice and have been fully restored to their pre-Katrina beauty.