Tuesday October 22, 2013-Inks Lake State park

The weather is spectacular here in Burnet! Low 50's at night and mid 70's during the day. Great!!

We went over to the Park Ranger office and talked to Terry Young, the Asst. Mgr. of the park and volunteer coordinator. We chatted about who was here that we knew and who was coming back this year. We learned that DeeDee, who had just started to work here is now in charge of uniforms and we will talk to her tomorrow when she returns to work. We also spoke to Ranger Chris Hall who said he was glad to see us back. He was happy to hear that I want to work on the deer hunt this year. I worked some on it last year and enjoyed it and have already talked to John, another volunteer, about working with him. Chris told us to take a couple of days off to get our feet on the ground and then we would talk about a job assignment. We went to the store to talk to Sue but she was busy with getting another volunteer signed up on the computer system so she can work in the store, so we'll have to come back.

With all of our "work" related errands done we came back home and Stella put some beef ribs in the crock pot for supper while I set up the porch outside. With the great weather, we sat outside for a couple of hours.

We put over 11,722 miles on the truck this summer! I would say that about 9000 of that number was towing miles. We had a very good summer trip but are glad to be back in Texas and will take some time to rest up before leaving on next summer's trip. I'm already making plans!

So long.

Monday October 21, 2013-Moving Day-Gulf Coast RV Resort to Inks Lake State park

We were up early as usual on a moving day but the park's breakfast was calling so we went down and met some of our friends for a last breakfast together. After finishing our meal, we came home and began working to leave. While packing up, I noticed the owners of a Landmark that had come in last night were outside, so I went over and talked to them. I had seen their owners club plaque on the back of their trailer, so I knew her name. I introduced myself and soon learned that we had seen them last year when we were traveling in Wyoming when they broke down along the road. At any rate, it was good to meet another Heartland owner.

We finally got on the road about 9:45 and made good time even though it started to rain on us. I continued with my new "policy" of driving a little slower and increasing my fuel mileage and we got well over 12 MPG. Our only stop was at the Bucc-ee's store in Luling. We got a couple of sandwiches and some coffee to tide us over until we got to Inks Lake. It was a good stop for me too because I captured most of the Munzees in the parking lot and got 186 points! Most of them were Mystery Munzees, which have varying values. 

We arrived at Inks about 5:30 and met our friends John and Becky. They showed us one of the open sites for volunteers and we were soon backed in and hooked up. We are next to Chip and Bunky who were here last year when we were. It got dark before I got everything hooked up, but I got it all done this morning.

I did have another one of those anomalies that have been bugging me lately. When I hooked up to the electricity, my Surge Guard started buzzing. I then hooked up to the 30 amp side and the same thing happened. It quit making noises soon, and I returned to the 50 amp service. Now I can use both air conditioners if needed. This is Texas after all, and although it isn't warm now, it can change quickly. 

We are still glad to be back in Texas.

Here's our home for the next several months!

So long.

Tuesday October 15 thru Sunday October 20, 2013-Gulf Coast RV Resort

Well, the south Texas was a great one, with old friends and new ones, gathering at a park that we have been to several times in the past. We saw friends that we haven't seen in a few years, some who have changed brands and now own another trailer brand.

We ate out once a day for the entire week. We ate at Cheddar's on Tuesday with Mike and Peg, Mexican food at Carmela's on Wednesday, some delicious seafood at Floyd's Seafood on Thursday with about 16 of our friends, Salt Grass Steakhouse on Friday and then returned to the park for an ice cream Meet and Greet where we all got to know each other and to revisit old friends. Great time!

Saturday night was the potluck dinner, changed from a lunch-time meal. Tom and I thought that many would want to go over to Louisiana to one of the casinos to gamble and then eat at a buffet or one of the restaurants there but no one showed any interest, so it was changed to a dinner. As usual the meal was great. Several of us sat outside because of the small rally room, freeing up a lot of room at the tables inside. It all worked out very well because everyone had plenty of room and we got a chance to visit during the meal. 

The park served breakfast every morning of biscuits and gravy, waffles, bagels and cop food (donuts), along with coffee and juice. The lady that serves the breakfast has been at this park since it was new, nine years ago. I remembered her from when she washed trailers to make some money, but she told me that she fell off one, injuring her back, so she quit doing that and now works for the park, serving breakfast and cleaning up.

Sunday was the sad day, as usual, with most folks having to head home, some to go to work and others just getting back home. We stayed another night here with five other couples. We all went out to eat some Chinese food at a new buffet restaurant that was having their grand opening. All the meals were $4.99 - half price, so it was a great value. We had our last meal together and had another great time, just like the rest of the weekend had been. 

Great rally and great friends!

So long.

Monday October 14, 2013-Gulf Coast RV Resort

We had an "interesting" night last night and more adventure this morning. Last night the propane detector alarm went off with a shrill noise, which caused Cassie to freak out. She hates loud noises like that and she made Tramp nervous too. 

Like most RV'ers, we are used to the smoke detector going off when the battery goes out, so it took me a couple of minutes to determine which alarm it was. When I figured out which one it was, I silenced it with a reset button but it kept on sounding off. The first thing I did was make a smell test both inside and outside the trailer. Stella had cooked a couple of hours ago using the stove but it was off and we could not smell propane. I went outside, thinking that one of the small propane bottles from the gas grill may have started leaking but they were brand new bottles and still in their plastic covering. Since Stella was done cooking for the night and the fridge was running on electric, I turned the propane bottle off, so there was nothing running off propane but the darned thing kept going off. The alarm said green light was operating properly, red light was alarm and yellow light was for replace the unit. The light was red, indicating an alarm but everything was off. I found no odor of propane anywhere outside, thinking that one of the neighbors may have had a leak, but smelled nothing. I decided to simply disconnect the wires to permanently quiet the thing and took care of the problem. We slept with the windows open as a precaution.

 Then this morning when I turned the television on, I got nothing, just a black screen! I went to the rooftop antenna and it worked fine, so I watched the local news and weather and decided to try the Dish antenna again and this time it worked. Thank Goodness! We don't need to buy a new television right now...

That was all of the drama for the rest of the day. We stayed home and rested but later in the afternoon we got a call from our friends Bill and Ornell. Some of our other friends, David and Susan, had come over to their house to hang out for a couple of days before coming here to the park for the rally. We drove over and had a nice visit with our friends. I'm sure that we will be spending more time over there before the rally begins. 

Some of our other Heartland friends will be coming in this afternoon from Canton. One couple, Mike and Peg, had just arrived as we were pulling out for Bill's house. It's gonna be a busy week, but in a good way...

So long.

Sunday October 13, 2013-Moving Day-Mill Creek Ranch to Gulf Coast RV Resort

We didn't get up particularly early this morning because we've only got about 250 miles to go today, and beside that, we just don't want to leave! We went down and had a donut and some fruit at the continental breakfast and had a nice long visit with several friends. 

It started out with just Terry, Dave and Nancy. I got some good news that Ann has accepted the new position of Chapter Leader of the North Texas chapter. This was her first rally to "run" as Wagonmaster and she did a fine job. I'm certain that she will do well as Chapter Leader.

After more visiting with friends we went and got packed and ready to leave. We made the rounds for hugs and handshakes before leaving. We didn't get away until almost 11 o'clock but again, we weren't worried because of the short distance. Once we got on the road, it seemed to take forever to get to our destination. There were no freeways to drive on, so we took state roads, but went through lots of little towns. We only took one break, at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife picnic area (that someone had forgotten to close and lock up due to the government shutdown). It soon became Stella's Kitchen, as she fixed us some sandwiches to tide us over until we arrived at the Gulf Coast RV Park in Beaumont. 

When we arrived, this place is under water! They had a few inches of rain yesterday and more last night and there is standing water everywhere! It was also very muggy, with ultra high humidity. We're back in Texas, so we'll just wait and the weather will change. It always does.

Here's that group picture that I forgot to put up on yesterday's entry. 

So long.

Saturday October 12, 2013-Mill Creek Ranch RV Resort

We started today's activities with a group photo at the fishing pier. I will include this photo in my next blog entry. 

From there we went to the Explore USA for a dealer open house and lunch of hot dogs with the trimmings. The dealership has added a couple of new buildings and a LOT of new concrete since we were here a couple of years ago. They have a good selection of new Heartlands in stock and there were a few folks that were seriously looking at new trailers. 

We came on back home and rested (napped) until time for the potluck. It rained later in the afternoon which sent some inside but it sure helped in my "resting" time.

 Everyone lining up for the feast! 

And before you knew it, the meal was over and it was visiting time. 

Terry was the proud recipient of the traveling sombrero. This was something that was started at the Wisconsin rally and now the authentic Mexican sombrero has come all the way to Texas. 

The party broke up pretty early because there are several of us that are leaving tomorrow. When we checked in, we learned that a mistake had been made in our reservation and we are one of the ones that must take off tomorrow. Oh, and remember the electrical problem we and Don had when we arrived? The one where the park maintenance man blamed our surge protectors? We learned that everyone on one entire row must either leave or move because a professional electrician is coming in to work on the electrical system. Told ya so!

So long.

Friday October 11, 2013-Mill Creek Ranch RV Resort

We had our normal Friday night Meet and Greet and for Stella and I, just one more reason to be glad to be back in Texas...  That's right, Blue Bell! The  BEST ice cream I've had in a long time. When I was just a lad, there was a creamery in Galveston called Purity that was absolutely the best but they've been closed for many years. Blue Bell is a very close second though...

We had four choices tonight, so what did I do? Yep, all four!

And the crowd came! As far as I know, everyone came to the M & G and it was good to see so many old friends and some new ones as well.

There was plenty of ice cream for everyone, but also lots of time to chat and visit. I guess that's why they call it a meet and greet.

Things starting to wind down but there is still plenty of fun ahead. Some of the women hung around to play with the new puzzles they bought in town. I came on back home so the dogs wouldn't get worried or lonesome and we went to bed pretty early. I was still tired from all the driving.

So long.