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Well, the last rally of 2017 is over and it was time to pull out for the next stop. Today we are going to T & S Enterprises, an RV dealer in Navasota Texas, south of College Station.
I found this place on the Internet and was impressed with their pricing. they gave me a better price on a brand spanking new 2018 Landmark than my "other" dealer offered on a new 2016! I was glad to take them up on the offer, so today, off we went to begin the process of taking delivery.
We arrived after a 190 mile, uneventful drive and were soon met by Tim Meadows, one of the owners, who, I had been dealing with over the telephone and Internet. Stella and I were both impressed by Tim and his attitude to customer service. He answered every question that we had and began the walk-through process. Unfortunately, Chessa, the finance lady, was off sick today, so we weren't able to sign any papers today.We went back outside and I began transferring my gear over to the new coach and it soon became obvious that there was going to be a problem with fitting all of my stuff into the smaller underbelly, but I will make do. I worked until about 9 o'clock both inside (helping Stella) and outside. It was a hot and tiring day, but tomorrow promises cooler temperatures, but we'll see.
We stopped working about 5 to eat supper at a barbecue restaurant named Mallet Brothers Barbecue. This place has some of the best 'cue that we've had in a long time. There was plenty of meat with a delightful smokey flavor with just the right amount of hot spices.
So long.
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Friday-Sunday, October 6-8, 2017-Braunig Lake RV Resort
Okay, the rally begins today! Friday mornings start with Frank's breakfast extravaganza. Frank and his crew bring the breakfast meats and everyone else brings the rest. As usual, it was great with plenty of food and lots of fellowship.
The park has some meals that are open to the guests here. Monday we had burgers, today they had a lasagna dinner with salad, drink and dessert, and they have breakfast on Saturday and Sunday but we didn't partake of either of them. The lasagna was delicious and filling, and we all were very satisfied. After, we had the rally meet and greet. We had one newbie, William, but his parents had come in to visit him so he didn't make it to supper or the meet and greet. A large group, including Stella, played dominoes tonight. Actually they played every night and seemed to have a good time.
Saturday we met for a light breakfast at an open site next to Michael and Kelly's site. It was cool and damp every morning, but we sat outside until the heat of the morning made us go home. Kelly put on an Instant Pot demonstration today and me and several of the guys attended to act as testers for the food. She made meatballs with pasta and sauce in about 15 minutes and it was delish...
Everyone was on their own during the days; some went to San Antonio attractions, some ran errands and others just stayed in the park and hung out.
Kelly, Stella, Nancy and others prepared pork butts for a pulled pork dinner tonight. I believe that most of them used their Instant Pots and of course, everything was perfect. Everyone else brought side dishes to go with the pork along with desserts, and as usual, perfect! After the meal, Louisiana Chapter Leaders Andy and Joanna passed the "traveling sombrero" to Michael and Kelly. This was a tradition that has gone dormant for a couple of years and I am glad to see it begin again. Dominoes finished off the night.
Sunday morning, there were a few folks leaving, so we got up and went down for the light breakfast furnished by the club and to visit with those that were leaving. The weather soon turned warm and most of us went back inside where it was cool.
We got back together for a supper of leftovers from last night. I think the pork was even more tender than last night! Even though there wasn't as much food as there normally is, it was good and there was enough to satisfy everyone. After the hall was cleaned up, we all went back home to begin preparing to leave in the morning.
So long.
The park has some meals that are open to the guests here. Monday we had burgers, today they had a lasagna dinner with salad, drink and dessert, and they have breakfast on Saturday and Sunday but we didn't partake of either of them. The lasagna was delicious and filling, and we all were very satisfied. After, we had the rally meet and greet. We had one newbie, William, but his parents had come in to visit him so he didn't make it to supper or the meet and greet. A large group, including Stella, played dominoes tonight. Actually they played every night and seemed to have a good time.
Saturday we met for a light breakfast at an open site next to Michael and Kelly's site. It was cool and damp every morning, but we sat outside until the heat of the morning made us go home. Kelly put on an Instant Pot demonstration today and me and several of the guys attended to act as testers for the food. She made meatballs with pasta and sauce in about 15 minutes and it was delish...
Everyone was on their own during the days; some went to San Antonio attractions, some ran errands and others just stayed in the park and hung out.
Kelly, Stella, Nancy and others prepared pork butts for a pulled pork dinner tonight. I believe that most of them used their Instant Pots and of course, everything was perfect. Everyone else brought side dishes to go with the pork along with desserts, and as usual, perfect! After the meal, Louisiana Chapter Leaders Andy and Joanna passed the "traveling sombrero" to Michael and Kelly. This was a tradition that has gone dormant for a couple of years and I am glad to see it begin again. Dominoes finished off the night.
Sunday morning, there were a few folks leaving, so we got up and went down for the light breakfast furnished by the club and to visit with those that were leaving. The weather soon turned warm and most of us went back inside where it was cool.
We got back together for a supper of leftovers from last night. I think the pork was even more tender than last night! Even though there wasn't as much food as there normally is, it was good and there was enough to satisfy everyone. After the hall was cleaned up, we all went back home to begin preparing to leave in the morning.
So long.
Wednesday & Thursday, October 4 & 5, 2017-Braunig Lake RV Resort
Two easy days of pre rally fun. Wednesday, we went into San Antonio to eat at the Buffet City. This place was okay for food, nothing spectacular, but not bad. The food was fresh because when we came in with a large group, they put out lots of fresh food, so it was a good choice for supper.
We came back to the park to sit outside and chat with our friends until the skeeters sent us back inside. It rained yesterday so there was plenty of standing water and small ponds for the skeeter larvae to live in, and they feasted on some of us.
Thursday we made a trip over to the El Mercado in San Antonio and ate at the famous Mi Tierra restaurant. The El Mercado is a group of Mexican shops selling trinkets and other goodies from Mexico. We were not interested in them because we see the same things offered in Mexico when we cross the border later in the year and buy items for about 1/3 the price! The Mi Tierra was one of my Dad's favorites and we went there often with him. I personally thought the food was bland and tasteless and very expensive, but it brought back memories of good times with my Dad.
The rally starts tomorrow!
So long,
We came back to the park to sit outside and chat with our friends until the skeeters sent us back inside. It rained yesterday so there was plenty of standing water and small ponds for the skeeter larvae to live in, and they feasted on some of us.
Thursday we made a trip over to the El Mercado in San Antonio and ate at the famous Mi Tierra restaurant. The El Mercado is a group of Mexican shops selling trinkets and other goodies from Mexico. We were not interested in them because we see the same things offered in Mexico when we cross the border later in the year and buy items for about 1/3 the price! The Mi Tierra was one of my Dad's favorites and we went there often with him. I personally thought the food was bland and tasteless and very expensive, but it brought back memories of good times with my Dad.
The rally starts tomorrow!
So long,
Tuesday October 3, 2017-Braunig Lake RV Resort
We decided to go to Bellville to get our license plates (truck and trailer) renewed. We had tried to get them renewed online but couldn't have them mailed to the address where we were. We called and were told that we could have them mailed to us but the park where we would have been (present location) would not accept mail, only packages.
We invited our friends Michael and Kelly to ride along with us for the day-long drive and we all left about 9 o'clock. We made good time, since it was was all on freeways and made one stop, at the Buccee's in Luling. Buccee's is a must-stop any time we get near one, so we all picked up something to snack on and continued on our journey.
The stop off at the county courthouse was laughable in the time taken to renew the plates. Stella was only inside for about 15 minutes and that included getting her handicap placard renewed as well. It would have taken us more time than that to find a parking place at one of the big cities. There are certainly advantages to "living" in a small county.
We decided to drive over to Navasota to the T & S RV's store there. We didn't tell Michael and Kelly that we had made a deal for a new trailer there and they are interested in looking at new ones also, so it was a worthwhile trip. We hadn't met Tim, our salesman and one of the owners of the dealership until today and he went along with our ruse. We all went into the Landmark Oshkosh that we were buying. The four of us sat there, chatting about new trailers, when Michael said "I can see y'all in this one" and I replied "come back next week and you WILL see us in this one!". You would have had to be there to see the look on their faces! We had pulled it off. I told them that it just hadn't worked out for us to take delivery before the rallies, but we will get it next week.
We spent about 2 hours in the trailer with Tim, looking everything over and talking about what will happen next week when we come to get it. We were all impressed with Tim and his helpfulness and look forward to actually making this purchase from him.
We stopped at Tony's Family Restaurant in Sealy for supper. This is a favorite of our's and we stop here every time we are in the area. We continued on our drive back to the park in Elmendorf and arrived back home about 8 PM. Then we had the fun of telling everyone else about our new coach and talking about it with them.
The rally will begin on Friday, so more fun to come!
So long.
We invited our friends Michael and Kelly to ride along with us for the day-long drive and we all left about 9 o'clock. We made good time, since it was was all on freeways and made one stop, at the Buccee's in Luling. Buccee's is a must-stop any time we get near one, so we all picked up something to snack on and continued on our journey.
The stop off at the county courthouse was laughable in the time taken to renew the plates. Stella was only inside for about 15 minutes and that included getting her handicap placard renewed as well. It would have taken us more time than that to find a parking place at one of the big cities. There are certainly advantages to "living" in a small county.
We decided to drive over to Navasota to the T & S RV's store there. We didn't tell Michael and Kelly that we had made a deal for a new trailer there and they are interested in looking at new ones also, so it was a worthwhile trip. We hadn't met Tim, our salesman and one of the owners of the dealership until today and he went along with our ruse. We all went into the Landmark Oshkosh that we were buying. The four of us sat there, chatting about new trailers, when Michael said "I can see y'all in this one" and I replied "come back next week and you WILL see us in this one!". You would have had to be there to see the look on their faces! We had pulled it off. I told them that it just hadn't worked out for us to take delivery before the rallies, but we will get it next week.
We spent about 2 hours in the trailer with Tim, looking everything over and talking about what will happen next week when we come to get it. We were all impressed with Tim and his helpfulness and look forward to actually making this purchase from him.
We stopped at Tony's Family Restaurant in Sealy for supper. This is a favorite of our's and we stop here every time we are in the area. We continued on our drive back to the park in Elmendorf and arrived back home about 8 PM. Then we had the fun of telling everyone else about our new coach and talking about it with them.
The rally will begin on Friday, so more fun to come!
So long.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Monday October 2, 2017-Moving day-Tyler Oaks RV Resort to Braunig Lakes RV Park
Well, the time came to close out the north Texas chapter rally. We were up at 6 to drink our coffee and eat a quick breakfast before getting started putting things way for travel, and we made good time. We pulled out about 9:10, or just about right on time. We almost always plan on leaving between 9 and 9:30.
We made good time and State Hwy. 31 is an excellent road, smooth and wide on a divided highway. There was little traffic out this morning, so it was the perfect day to travel. I only had to use the train horn a couple if times today to wake some people when the wandered into out lane. We pulled onto I-35 in Waco and there was little traffic there as well, but we did run into some pretty serious traffic in Austin. There were no accidents and no major construction, so we continued to make good time. We made a couple of "rest" stops, one at a nice little convenience store where we picked some good ol' truck-stop burritos and a piece of chicken to munch on while we drove. We will keep the peanut-butter sandwiches that Stella had fixed for a later meal.
We had more traffic in San Antonio and New Braunfels and a couple of slowdowns but we continued to roll and pulled into this park about 3:30. We were escorted to our site, but a large, mostly dead tree interfered with our slide outs, so we asked to be moved to a more open site. No problemo, so we were soon set up and started cooling everything down.
The park offered a dinner special tonight consisting of a hamburger, chips, glass of tea and a nice chunk of cold and sweet watermelon for a grand total of $5.00. With a bargain like that, who could resist. There were 6 trailers that made the trip from Tyler today and three of us went down for the burgers.
We sat outside chatting with Dave and Nancy, Lin and Deb and Michael and Kelly came by with our rally t shirts until the skeeters ran us back inside.
We love travel days like this one. Sunny skies, not too hot outside, good roads and reasonable traffic make for a delightful traveling day. Here's hoping for many more of these!
So long.
We made good time and State Hwy. 31 is an excellent road, smooth and wide on a divided highway. There was little traffic out this morning, so it was the perfect day to travel. I only had to use the train horn a couple if times today to wake some people when the wandered into out lane. We pulled onto I-35 in Waco and there was little traffic there as well, but we did run into some pretty serious traffic in Austin. There were no accidents and no major construction, so we continued to make good time. We made a couple of "rest" stops, one at a nice little convenience store where we picked some good ol' truck-stop burritos and a piece of chicken to munch on while we drove. We will keep the peanut-butter sandwiches that Stella had fixed for a later meal.
We had more traffic in San Antonio and New Braunfels and a couple of slowdowns but we continued to roll and pulled into this park about 3:30. We were escorted to our site, but a large, mostly dead tree interfered with our slide outs, so we asked to be moved to a more open site. No problemo, so we were soon set up and started cooling everything down.
The park offered a dinner special tonight consisting of a hamburger, chips, glass of tea and a nice chunk of cold and sweet watermelon for a grand total of $5.00. With a bargain like that, who could resist. There were 6 trailers that made the trip from Tyler today and three of us went down for the burgers.
We sat outside chatting with Dave and Nancy, Lin and Deb and Michael and Kelly came by with our rally t shirts until the skeeters ran us back inside.
We love travel days like this one. Sunny skies, not too hot outside, good roads and reasonable traffic make for a delightful traveling day. Here's hoping for many more of these!
So long.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Sunday October 1, 2017-Tyler Oaks RV Resort
This entry will document what we did for the rest of the rally days here in Tyler.
Wednesday, Stella and I made a flying trip to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to pick up some documents. When we returned, we went to make a stop at Wal Mart and while there we noticed a Mexican restaurant across the street called Posada's. We decided that this would be a good place to go for supper, so when we got back to the park, we passed the word to the rest of the group and our party was of 19 folks to eat! We kind of overwhelmed the wait staff but they did very well with our orders.
Thursday several of us went over to the First Monday sale at Canton. Stella and I went over about 10, but all the walking took a toll on her, so we cut the shopping short. We walked for about 3 1/2 hours before giving it up, and we didn't buy a single thing! Well, except that she wanted a funnel cake. I guess the thrill is gone from Canton, at least for us. We didn't talk to anyone that really enjoyed shopping there.
Friday was our Breakfast Extravaganza! One member, Frank and his wife Debbie LOVE a huge breakfast with lots of biscuits and gravy, friend potatoes, eggs and lots of breakfast meats. Frank always furnishes the bacon and sausage and recruits others to help him cook and several others of us furnish and cook the rest. A big breakfast is always a favorite and this one was no exception. There was plenty of food for everyone!
We had a Meet and Greet scheduled for 7PM but we decided that since we had so many chapter leaders here, that we would take Dave and Nancy and Michael and Kelly out to eat for their Chapter Leader benefit. We went to a place called Jumbo's Seafood. Larry and Gayle were also here at the rally, but they were still in Canton and didn't want to go with us. We'll catch them later.
The Meet and Greet was very nice with plenty of Blue Bell ice cream for all. This is a large rally, with 28 rigs attending. Originally, there were 34 signed up, but some dropped out, two the day before the rally began.
Saturday morning the club furnished coffee, sweet rolls and yogurt for breakfast. Quite a change from yesterday's feast! It was good and we enjoyed catching up with friends, both old and new.
Around noon, our West Texas Chapter Leaders, Tony and Erika came in for the rally. They drove in from their home in west Texas to visit the rally and to see friends here. Like the others before, we took them out to lunch and had a very nice time visiting with them.
Saturday night was the big potluck dinner. The club furnished barbecue, sausage, brisket and turkey and it was all delicious. Members brought side dishes and it was another delightful supper. After the meal, several people played dominoes and many of us sat outside in the great weather, visiting and chatting.
Sunday morning was the official end to the rally, with another sweetbreads, coffee and yogurt for breakfast. Several people were leaving today, so with hugs and handshakes, we wished them well on their travels.
We had an impromptu Chapter Leader meeting, with Tony and Erika, Dave and Nancy and prospective Chapter Leaders Jason and Audra. Dave and Nancy had said that they have served the club as North Texas Chapter Leaders for over four years and they felt that it was time for them to step down. We had a very good meeting with Jason and Audra and feel that they will make fine chapter leaders. It is sad to see a couple that has done a lot for the club step aside, but nice to see a qualified couple step up to take their place. We will be looking forward to Jason and Audra's confirmation and then working with them in the future.
It has been a good rally with a great turnout and now to top it off, a new change in leadership.
So long.
Wednesday, Stella and I made a flying trip to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to pick up some documents. When we returned, we went to make a stop at Wal Mart and while there we noticed a Mexican restaurant across the street called Posada's. We decided that this would be a good place to go for supper, so when we got back to the park, we passed the word to the rest of the group and our party was of 19 folks to eat! We kind of overwhelmed the wait staff but they did very well with our orders.
Thursday several of us went over to the First Monday sale at Canton. Stella and I went over about 10, but all the walking took a toll on her, so we cut the shopping short. We walked for about 3 1/2 hours before giving it up, and we didn't buy a single thing! Well, except that she wanted a funnel cake. I guess the thrill is gone from Canton, at least for us. We didn't talk to anyone that really enjoyed shopping there.
Friday was our Breakfast Extravaganza! One member, Frank and his wife Debbie LOVE a huge breakfast with lots of biscuits and gravy, friend potatoes, eggs and lots of breakfast meats. Frank always furnishes the bacon and sausage and recruits others to help him cook and several others of us furnish and cook the rest. A big breakfast is always a favorite and this one was no exception. There was plenty of food for everyone!
We had a Meet and Greet scheduled for 7PM but we decided that since we had so many chapter leaders here, that we would take Dave and Nancy and Michael and Kelly out to eat for their Chapter Leader benefit. We went to a place called Jumbo's Seafood. Larry and Gayle were also here at the rally, but they were still in Canton and didn't want to go with us. We'll catch them later.
The Meet and Greet was very nice with plenty of Blue Bell ice cream for all. This is a large rally, with 28 rigs attending. Originally, there were 34 signed up, but some dropped out, two the day before the rally began.
Saturday morning the club furnished coffee, sweet rolls and yogurt for breakfast. Quite a change from yesterday's feast! It was good and we enjoyed catching up with friends, both old and new.
Around noon, our West Texas Chapter Leaders, Tony and Erika came in for the rally. They drove in from their home in west Texas to visit the rally and to see friends here. Like the others before, we took them out to lunch and had a very nice time visiting with them.
Saturday night was the big potluck dinner. The club furnished barbecue, sausage, brisket and turkey and it was all delicious. Members brought side dishes and it was another delightful supper. After the meal, several people played dominoes and many of us sat outside in the great weather, visiting and chatting.
Sunday morning was the official end to the rally, with another sweetbreads, coffee and yogurt for breakfast. Several people were leaving today, so with hugs and handshakes, we wished them well on their travels.
We had an impromptu Chapter Leader meeting, with Tony and Erika, Dave and Nancy and prospective Chapter Leaders Jason and Audra. Dave and Nancy had said that they have served the club as North Texas Chapter Leaders for over four years and they felt that it was time for them to step down. We had a very good meeting with Jason and Audra and feel that they will make fine chapter leaders. It is sad to see a couple that has done a lot for the club step aside, but nice to see a qualified couple step up to take their place. We will be looking forward to Jason and Audra's confirmation and then working with them in the future.
It has been a good rally with a great turnout and now to top it off, a new change in leadership.
So long.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Tuesday September 26, 2017-Tyler Oaks RV Resort
Wow, talk about a busy day! That would be today...
We began the day by meeting Janie, Doug and Linda for lunch at La Madeleine in Tyler. We had a very nice lunch and visit with them. We went by Doug and Linda's office to get some copies and discovered that their office is two doors down from a Dish Network store that we had gone to last year to buy a new control box. We didn't know at the time how close they were. Ironic!
We had reconnoitered where the larger Discount Tire location in Tyler was located, to make sure that we could get in with our trailer. After lunch we returned to the park to complete the preparations for moving and left the park about 1PM. I had told the guys at Discount that we would be there between 1 and 2 and we barely made it! Keep in mind that it's about 25 miles to the other side of Tyler from the park.
The guys at Discount had a bit of an issue when they tried to use an air powered lift that would not go high enough. They tried everything to make it work but no luck, so they had to use the old-fashioned mechanical jack to lift the trailer to change the tire.
You can see the unused air jack beside the trailer. It pained the young man to have to use the old fashioned jack, but it did the job!
He first tried to back the trailer using the axle, but I corrected him and asked him to use either the frame or the hydraulic leveling jack. I would have used the hydraulic jack, but my battery was down and it wouldn't work.
We began the day by meeting Janie, Doug and Linda for lunch at La Madeleine in Tyler. We had a very nice lunch and visit with them. We went by Doug and Linda's office to get some copies and discovered that their office is two doors down from a Dish Network store that we had gone to last year to buy a new control box. We didn't know at the time how close they were. Ironic!
We had reconnoitered where the larger Discount Tire location in Tyler was located, to make sure that we could get in with our trailer. After lunch we returned to the park to complete the preparations for moving and left the park about 1PM. I had told the guys at Discount that we would be there between 1 and 2 and we barely made it! Keep in mind that it's about 25 miles to the other side of Tyler from the park.
The guys at Discount had a bit of an issue when they tried to use an air powered lift that would not go high enough. They tried everything to make it work but no luck, so they had to use the old-fashioned mechanical jack to lift the trailer to change the tire.
You can see the unused air jack beside the trailer. It pained the young man to have to use the old fashioned jack, but it did the job!
He first tried to back the trailer using the axle, but I corrected him and asked him to use either the frame or the hydraulic leveling jack. I would have used the hydraulic jack, but my battery was down and it wouldn't work.
You can see how worn the outside of the tire had become. I assume that this was caused by the broken spring that we had repaired in Oklahoma.
They got through with the tire change in about 30 minutes and we were on our way to Tommy's Towing, distance of about 35 miles. When we got there, Tommy said, "I see you got a new tire" and never went out to actually look at the new tire but just signed off on the inspection. There was probably nothing for him to look at, the tires all matched and were the same size, so it was unnecessary for him to look closely at the tire. After getting the signed off release on the inspection, we went back to the park. we probably drove a total of about 150 miles in all today! Then when you count that we folded everything up to move it and the set up when we returned to the park, we were tired! No one had to rock us to sleep!
We have more errands to run tomorrow but should then be free to enjoy the rally.
So long.
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