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! 

February 21st through February 28th, 2022 - Week Eight - Sunset (Dallas) Texas

 Destination number: 85/165/23

This week started out with me not having my regular internet provider and spending more time than I would have liked trying to get my primary internet service back up and running. As a result, I didn't stay on top of my blog like I normally would have, building it during the course of the week instead of after the week was over, but I'm going to give it my best shot. 

The drive from Amarillo to Sunset Texas which is about an hour north of Dallas, was fairly uneventful. The morning of the 21st I woke up, turned on the TV and they told of a bad storm heading our way, so Remi and I made haste to get up and going and on the road as soon as we could. Fortunately, I had taken the motorhome out the day before to get diesel put on board and we were able to travel with only one potty stop to Sunset Texas. When I first arrived at the park in Sunset, I thought "Oh great, another run down RV park like the last place I stayed at.". I based this on the virtually illegible sign on the highway that marked the location of the park. When I pulled into the park, though there were not many rigs in the park, the man and woman managing the park were very friendly and helpful. I think they were glad to have someone staying at their location. I later found out that they took over the management of the park just on the first of February. 

The previous park manager had gotten too old to really do any work around the park, and the new managers were working hard to turn things around. I found the water and sewer worked great. We did have a couple instances of freezing rain while I was here, and the electricity was a little suspect during those storms. So, I'm not sure if was a regional issue or something related to just the park, but with my batteries and inverter to provide constant power, we didn't experience any inconveniences. The weather here in Sunset was wild. Though it never really got Warm here, we had three days of sleet, hail and freezing rain. The grounds at the park on Wednesday and Thursday were like a skating rink. It got really exciting taking Remi out for a walk when she would want to run over and meet a neighbor dog and I'm trying to walk flat footed and not end up on my back side. 

I know in the next picture that looks like standing water, but it is frozen ice on the ground. 

I tried to find boots for Remi so that her paws were not on the cold ground, but Amazon was so many days out, we were going to be in 70-degree Houston by the time they arrived. 

With these super cold temperatures, using the Crockpot is definitely always in order. This time I made Chili verde which was just the right amount of spice and all-around flavor. Thank you, sis, for my Crockpot, it is really getting a workout! 

Though the internet was still down through my primary internet provider, I was able to use my cell phone as my backup internet access so that I could work during the week. I was supposed to make another try at applying a software update to my primary software system for the state on Friday, but I found again that I was held back by insufficient permissions attached to my account, so I had to abandon the upgrade one more time. 

On Saturday, since the upgrade didn't work out, I had the day available to explore, so Remi and I hoped in the car and went to go explore Fort Richardson which is west and south of Sunset. This was a fascinating place to explore that dates back to the mid 1800's and was built to protect the frontier from the savage Indians. It was kind of sad as I explored this because it made me think about how the white man over ran the Indians, much in the same way the Russians are attacking the valiant Ukrainians who are defending their homeland today. 

This location though built in the 1800's served as a military base as recently as World War II. In fact troops deployed from here in World War II went to fight in the pacific and were depicted as the American soldiers who worked to build a bridge in the Movie "Bridge on the River Kwai". There are a lot of very cool artifacts here including a couple of Baracks buildings, the Commanders quarters, the bakery, the armory and the crown jewel, the fort hospital... with some very gruesome looking surgical instruments. 

Remi and I were glad to get out this morning to explore Fort Richardson. And mother nature cooperated just long enough to let us explore it. Shortly after we got in the car to leave, another rainstorm was on top of us. 

On Sunday, the weather was clear and we headed to Dallas... I've always wanted to go to Dealey Plaza and see the JFK memorial and the location where John F. Kennedy was shot. I was touched by how many people, of all colors, creeds, beliefs and nationalities would come to experience this. Lots of people taking pictures of themselves by the memorial, some that didn't speak any English. It just reminded me what a wide-ranging touch JFK had on our world, even in this day. I know being born in the 60's he would have some meaning to me, but I was amazing how many, even those half my age, were interested in experiencing this. 

After checking out the JFK memorial, I went to go explore the JFK museum. This was truly touching and emotional. And was packed with people wanting to read about JFK, his leadership and how he wanted to make the world a better place and the challenges he faced. I think it is truly important that buildings like the old book depository building be preserved and stand as a testament to the tragedy of that day so that we as a society never forget. 

The FBI mockup of the crime scene of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in Dealey plaza. 

I was truly thankful to be able to visit Dallas on this trip. I had wondered if I would have anything to see, and I saw and experienced things that truly reminded me of some truly amazing leaders that our great nation has had in the past. Though I don't know if I will ever make it to Dallas again, I am so very glad I made it on this trip. 

Speaking of the trip, I have been informed that the Telework policy for the state of California is changing and I have to return to California as soon as possible, so I will not be able to visit family as I had hoped. So, once I'm done with my next leg to Houston, I will be headed back. The link to my new itinerary is below. You will notice that I still have several stops along the way and still more adventures to document, so stay tuned for those! 

New Itinerary

Here is the link to this week's video of our adventures. 

Next week, we are on to Houston. 

Safe travels all! 

Eric and Remi too!