February 28th through March 7th, 2022 - Week Nine - Houston Texas

Destination number: 86/166/24

Hi there everyone, 

Well, Houston was the last destination on my initial Itinerary that I will be making. As you may have noticed on my last blog entry, I was informed that the State of California has changed it's teleworking policy and I must return to California. So, after this week in Houston, I will start to head west once again. But, at least my route is going to take me to a few places I have never been before, so I'm still doing my best to make the most of the trip.  I plan to stop at the Big Bend National park which is on the Mexico and Texas border as well as the Pima air and space museum near Tuscon as well as a few other places along the way, so this trip blog is far from over! 

Below is the link to the new version of my itinerary for the rest of my trip. 

The new itinerary

The drive down from Dallas was un-eventful and I got into the Thousand Trails Park here at Lake Conroe without any problems. Through this trip I've become a real believer in the Thousand Trails program. It's definitely not for everyone, but for someone like me who lives in an RV full time and likes to go new places periodically, I think I am getting a lot out of the membership. The park here is very pretty. Though none of the sites are right on the lake, its an easy walk to the lake to enjoy that. Also, all of the amenities are very well maintained here. The weather was also perfect, in the 70's and it was nice enough that a couple days, Remi and I were able to be outside while I teleworked. 

While we were in Lake Conroe at the Thousand Trails RV Park, we took Saturday as our day to explore Sam Houston National Forest which was just north of the RV park. As for all of us, we all have pre-conceived notions about what an area is like. I never would have expected for instance that Arizona would have forests, nor would I have expected Texas to have them either, but they both do... lots of them. Remi and I went for a morning hike on a trail that I thought was supposed to be a loop trail around a lake, but I later found out that it was more of just a nature hike through a forest with no Lake to be found. I guess google doesn't always know what it is talking about. :-) 

None the less, we made the most of the hike and just hiked among this huge grove of trees. It was a beautiful hike and Remi and I both enjoyed it a lot. The only problem was, there was no lake, and we reached a point where the trail split off in three directions, we had already taken one split and without a map, I didn't feel like we should take any more deviations without better navigation tools. But, we got a three mile hike in, so it was a good one for both of us. Remi is such a great hiking partner! For the most part, she just sets out on the trail and leads the way. Every once in a while she likes to stop and sniff, and that's fine, but all in all she is just follows the trails. Occasionally looking back to make sure that daddy is still with her! :-) 

We actually got a pretty early start on the hike, because on our way out from the trailhead, there was only one other car there, but on our way back to the trailhead, we passed at least 8 other groups of hikers. When we got back to camp, we fired up the motorhome and headed to Kemah Texas where we would stay for a couple nights. Kemah, was closer to the Johnson Space center where my friend Kris Thompson and I were going to do our tourist thing on Sunday. We got into Kemah Texas around 2:30 PM on Saturday at the USA RV Resort. This is a great RV park. It is right off of an inlet to Galveston bay and has three pools and nicely paved spots. The park has been here for a while, the spots are a little on the narrow side, but they were long enough for the rig and the Jeep. Be advised however, they do have an age limit on rigs, of 10 years old. However, if you have a full paint rig like I do, you might be ok. The Allegro after all is 19 years old. :-) 

Destination number: 87/167/25

Once we got set up, we found that Galveston Texas wasn't very far away, so we hopped in the Jeep and headed to Galveston for a late afternoon adventure. I think the only way I remember hearing of Galveston was from listening to old Glen Campbell records and one of his songs "Galveston". Galveston may have been a fishing town at one point in time, but after Hurricane Ike went through 12 years ago, it pretty much re-emerged as a tourist town, but Remi and I enjoyed it just the same. We went to explore the beach which is on the Gulf of Mexico, and then we stopped at a place called the "Tipsy Turtle" for a Fish and Chips dinner for me. It was a great place to go because dogs are very welcome there, and the bar tender did an awesome job on my go-to drink, Roy Rogers. 

 

On Sunday the 6th of March, it was the last full day of being on the trip as I had originally planned, and if the trip had to start to come to an end, I wouldn't have wanted this day any other way. I got to spend the day with my friend Kris Thompson who I have known ever since my days involved with Blue Devils and for me, it was a wonderful day. We went to Space Center Houston and explored it as well as a couple buildings in the Johnson Space center. There are so many exhibits at Space Center Houston (which is the touristy part of the complex) that you could keep a family occupied for the entire day. They have a mockup of a space shuttle there that you can go in and walk around in, as well as the actual 747 that was used to transport the Space Shuttles in the day. Among the many exhibits in the building, there was a wall with a portrait with every space mission the USA has had. I was surpised how many missions there have been. We took a tour which also took us to the Space craft mockup center as well as the rocket garden. I had been to the Rocket garden in the late 80's when I was traveling for Safeway with my co-worker Bob Smochko. When we were there, the rockets all looked great and were all outside. However, 30 years later, the two remaining rockets outside are breaking down due to corrosive environment from the petrochemical industries as well as wild life in the area. As a result, they moved  the Saturn 5 indoors and was restored by volunteers. 

Here is the video of this weeks adventures. 

Also, a few have asked about a video of the Allegro Bus that Remi and I live in, so here is a video tour for you. 

Though I wish we did not have to head home due to the change in the telework policy, its probably best. With the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin and the Russian armed forces, diesel prices has gone beyond what I think I can afford for this trip. So heading home is probably a good idea. I must admit, I am concerned about how Putin is expanding his terror and what might happen, so I'll be glad to be back closer to friends and family. 

Our next stop will be Fort Stockton Texas after an overnight stay in San Antonio. 

Safe travels all!

Eric and Remi too!