Hello Texas!

Drawbridge swings out

Homes and boats along the river

Pot of Gumbo

Before we could say "Good-bye" to Louisiana we attended a Gumbo cook-off.  We both thought that gumbo was like a thick kind of soup and were pleasantly surprised to learn that there is quite a variety of flavours.  For five dollars, you got a wristband and could taste to your heart's content.  We did manage to try ten or eleven of them - seafood (crawfish and/or shrimp), chicken, duck, sausage, turkey, or all of the above.  It was served plain, on rice, or potato salad.  Some were thick, some weren't.  Some were delicious, and some weren't.  There was also a sampling of fresh buns, apple butter, and honey butter.  To say the least, we came home absolutely stuffed.  We went for a walk over a bridge which had a drawbridge - it swung open sideways rather than up.  And the boats in the marina and the houses along the river were pretty amazing.

Raised road for 30+ miles

The star of Texas

A Helicopter at the Visitor Centre

on a trailer

It's Monday morning and time to move to a new address.  We stopped at the Texas visitor centre - got some information and before we left we discovered an air leak.  Of course problems are never fun.  Gerry crawled underneath and discovered what the problem was.  We had an air brake system installed seven years ago and a regulator is held on to a canister by a nipple - which broke.  We had to replace the same broken part five years ago.  Off to a hardware store we went (there was one just a few miles down the road) and bought two - we will be prepared next time.  Now we only hope we first - remember that we bought a spare, and second - can find where we put it.  Fortunately we were back on the road in good time.  Once the old one was taken off, we were able to get the part and be back on the road in about an hour.  

Power box was full of geckos

The fields were full of deer

We arrived near Cleveland, later than we had planned but still in good time.  We had booked a spot at The Preserve of Texas.  It is an area of over 2,000 acres along a river.  While the majority of the area is set out as permanent spots it had three campgrounds - each with about a dozen sites, and each with a pool.  For a couple of nights, the campground we were in had only two of us - needless to say it was quiet, and certainly no traffic.

Tribute to the immigrants

Old store with brick road

We drove over to Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas.  Some of the firsts are first ceiling fans (fan blades turned by a mule drawn treadmill outside), first oil well, first two story building, first wine cellar, among other things.  We did a walking tour of the town - visited some old buildings, the cemetery, and walked down the brick streets.

We didn't celebrate the American Thanksgiving but instead did some much-needed chores thathad been left to multiply I think.  We did, however, get quite a chuckle about the pardoning of Cheese, the turkey.  We watched how a turkey farmer from Ohio had been grooming a couple of turkeys, named Mac and Cheese, to be pardoned by the President.  And after some rather luxurious travel to Washington, Cheese was pardoned so he was able to escape the oven and instead live the rest of his life on a farm in Virginia.  

I had planned on going shopping on Black Friday.  But Black Friday came and I decided that I really didn't want to fight the traffic or the crowds.  Instead I went to Walmart and picked up a few things and that was my shopping trip.

While the weather has been nice, yesterday (and today) was warmer and more humid than it had been.  Well, along come the lady bugs - everything was covered.  We couldn't even sit outside.  The worst was that a whole bunch found their way inside and I never thought they were so hard to get rid of - they seem to hide in all nooks and crannies.  I think by tonight, we got them all - at least until another one shows up.

Driving through Houston

Today was moving day again  so we drove through Houston on our way to Rockport, on the Gulf Coast.  My goodness - the highway infrastructure is absolutely amazing.  Driving through on a Saturday morning was a great choice - quick and easy.  Tonight we are settled in as city owned campground in Victoria, TX.  You can't beat $12.00 a night with full hook-ups and 50 amp service.  I just hope those two trains that went through, blo-o-o-o-wing their whistles is not a sign of the the night.


Until next week, you folks back home stay warm!