Random Travel Thoughts

We arrived at Lake Livingston State Park yesterday. I was surprised to find a WiFi connection here. There is a page on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website that lists parks with connectivity, and Lake Livingston SP is not listed. However, as the information on that page indicates, TPWD is in the process of adding WiFi to parks; obviously, Lake Livingston SP is one that has recently been added.

I'll review the park and provide pictures later. For now, I'll simply update our journey so far.

After leaving Omega Farms yesterday, we stopped briefly at Strouhal Tire Center just south of Willis on old Highway 75. Our trailer was due for inspection. The folks at Strouhal were quick and efficient, and we were only there for less than 30 minutes. The inspection cost a mere $14.50. Now we're legal for another year.

When we first checked into Omega Farms, I asked the attendant there if he knew of a place I could get the trailer inspected. The fact that RVs need to have an annual inspection sticker was news to him. He lived in a motor home in the park, and said he had never had his rig inspected.

I've had trouble finding inspection stations since owning the trailer. Last year, I called around San Angelo until we found a place. This year, after several frustrating calls -- few people seem to know where to get RVs inspected, and you can't get them inspected at just any inspection station -- I finally smartened up a bit and decided to consult the Texas Department of Public Safety, who has authority regarding vehicle inspections. So, here's a handy tidbit of information for any of you who can use it. There is a website where you can locate all types of inspection stations. Go to the Inspection Station Locator on the DPS website, and you can quickly find an inspection station near you. After performing a search, be sure to use the key at the top of the entry to determine which stations offer the type of inspection you need. In my case, I was looking for stations that offer a trailer certificate ("TL").

After the inspection, we took Highway 75 north through Willis and then to New Waverly. From there, we headed east on a series of state highways and FM roads to State Livingston SP. It really was a pretty drive, and Coldspring was an especially attractive little community, with numerous interesting shops located around the town square.

After setting up the trailer, we had some lunch and relaxed a while. Last night, we met Donna's half-sister and her family for supper and had a nice visit with them. They have a house on Lake Livingston, and we will visit them again while here.

Although we closed on our house July 23 and began our travels then, we have set July 27 as the official start of our travels because that is when we picked up our trailer from storage. Beginning with Omega Farms in Willis, I plan to keep a tally of travel data. I'll probably change the format as this progresses, but I thought it might be interesting to see our mileage, our costs, and other relevant information.

Mileage: 45 miles (Willis to Lake Livingston SP)
Lodging fees: $175 for 7 nights at Omega Farms; $99 for 6 nights at Lake Livingston SP
Gas cost: $15.07 @ $3.29 per gallon

Actually, I've kept a travel log since we purchased our trailer in late March 2010. Up to now, we've traveled a total of 5510 miles. Our total gas cost while pulling the trailer has been $2065. Our total lodging cost has been $2528. We have spent a total of 112 nights in our trailer. This calculates to a daily cost of roughly $41.

Now, that is an attractive figure, considering hotel rooms alone run much more than that. But remember there is a total cost of ownership when thinking about owning an RV. That total cost includes the purchase price of the trailer, insurance, maintenance, and other costs. If I were to include all of those figures, then my daily rate would be much higher.

But back to travel. I'll develop a format for tracking our travel data, and I'll probably put that information on the RV section of my website at some point.

I'll make the rounds in the park here over the next few days, take some pictures, and post a review of the park. 

Leaving Omega Farms

We've been at Omega Farms RV Park for almost a week now, having arrived last Friday. Today (Friday, August 3), we  head to Lake Livingston State Park, near Livingston, Texas, where we will spend a week. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website does not list WiFi as being available at the park, so it may be a week or more before my next post. After a week at Lake Livingston, we head to Dinosaur Valley State Park just outside Glen Rose, Texas, for a few days. As soon as I am able to connect, I'll review both of those parks. After Glen Rose, we return to San Angelo for a few days for medical appointments and other business. I'll certainly have connectivity there.

We've had a good time at Omega Farms. Our time here has allowed us to do quite a bit. We have been able to visit Donna's mother everyday; that alone has made the time here worthwhile. We also visited an aunt and uncle of hers yesterday. We have also taken care of some financial affairs while here, and that has helped to tie up some necessary loose ends before we set off on our travels.

We've also taken care of other things. I got a nice haircut yesterday. Donna has been able to do laundry at the facilities in the park. I repaired a damaged bracket on our hitch system (which I wrote about in a previous post) and performed other minor and routine maintenance, which was necessary since we had not been in the trailer for about 2 months. I have also washed the entire exterior of the trailer and have cleaned the underside of our awning. Most RV parks do not allow you to wash vehicles on their premises, but Omega Farms does, so I have taken advantage of this opportunity.

And Donna has fished and fished and fished. On Tuesday night, there was a music get-together at the "community center" at Omega Farms, and we spent some time enjoying the group playing there. The little group consisted of a bass, a fiddle, and 4 six-string guitars, and they played a nice mix of gospel and country. It was a nice way to pass the evening.

I'll be seeing you down the road.

Omega Farms Revisited

When we stayed at Omega Farms RV Park in May, we did not have a pleasant experience and my review of this place was not positive. We are enjoying our stay here this time much more.

The biggest difference this time is our campsite. This time, we are in site #5. It is roomier, has shade, and has a nice sidewalk running the length of the trailer.

Our Rockwood in site #5

Donna is having a great time, too. In addition to visiting her mother daily, she is fishing daily. I went along with her last night and watched as she pulled in several nice-sized bass. The pond, by the way, is catch and release only, so we were not able to eat anything Donna landed.

Probably the largest of the many bass Donna caught while I was watching

Donna has a good time even when she isn't catching anything

This is the definition of retirement

The RV park is really in a pretty setting, with good trees around the perimeter. In addition to the fishing pond, there is also a small laundry with 3 private bathrooms and showers. They are not the best facilities we've seen, but they are certainly adequate.

Nice view of the park. Lots of shade trees around the perimeter.

The park has a mix of full-time residents and short-term residents. Most of the long-term residents occupy sites around the perimeter, where most of the shade is. Short-term visitors usually occupy sites in the center, which are all pull-thrus with limited or no shade.

There is no cable TV connection here. Fortunately, we do pick up several stations out of Houston, so we are able to watch the Olympics and other programming. There is a WiFi connection, but it is a bit slow and is not a secure connection.

The park does not have a store, so propane and other supplies are not available. However, numerous businesses are only about half a mile away.

Bracket Replacement

When we came to Conroe in late May, a bracket on our hitch system was damaged. After returning to San Angelo, I ordered a replacement part. One of my first priorities after getting the trailer set up yesterday was to replace that damaged bracket. I did that earlier this morning.

I use a Husky weight distribution hitch with sway control. This type of hitch accomplishes several things. First, it connects my tow vehicle (TV) to my trailer so that I can tow it. Second, it distributes the tongue weight of the trailer so that all the weight is not directly on the hitch. Finally, it provides some sort of sway control to make the trailer tow more steadily behind the TV, especially when being passed by high-speed trucks.

Husky weight distribution hitch with sway control

The graphic above shows the complete hitch. The ball at front is attached to the TV. The A frame is the front of the trailer frame system; normally, propane tanks and battery also are located in this area. The long vertical bar is part of the sway control feature. The bracket where it rests is where I had some damage.

Good bracket

The image above is of the bracket that is still functional. Below are two pictures of the bracket I damaged.

Basically, I turned just a bit too sharply one day, and twisted the bracket.

I have now replaced the damaged bracket, and we're ready to head on down the road.

When you have an RV, you have to expect problems like these to arise. 

Willis, Texas

It's official . . . . we are truly homeless and currently living in our travel trailer. I'm reminded of the old Saturday Night Live skit with Chris Farley, whose character Matt Foley repeatedly complains about living "in a van down by the river." I kind of feel like that right now.

After closing on our house Monday morning, we headed to north Ft. Worth where we spent 2 days visiting my brother and his fiance. We ate well, slept well, and had a good time.

Early Wednesday, we drove over to Kilgore where we met friends for lunch at Cancun Dave's. It was good to see old friends and spend a couple of hours with them. The beef fajitas I ordered, by the way, were quite good.

From Kilgore, we continued eastward to Shreveport, LA, where we spent 2 days playing video poker at Eldorado Casino. Donna broke about even for the trip while I lost a little; however, our room and all our meals were comped, so we had a good time.

We left Shreveport early this morning (Friday, July 27) and headed towards the Conroe area. During our trip here in May, we left our trailer in storage at a facility on the west shore of Lake Conroe. Our first stop was to pick it up. We then pulled it to Omega Farms RV Park on the outskirts of Willis. We will spend a week here while visiting Donna's family and taking care of some business in the area.

After spending several days at my brother's and in a hotel, it was really nice to get to our trailer. It's not a home, but we are quite comfortable in it. The refrigerator is still cooling off; it will be completely functional later tonight, so we'll head to a grocery store in the morning to stock up on food. I also have a repair to make on the trailer, and I plan to wash it in a few days.

After being in San Angelo, I could really feel the humidity here when setting the trailer up earlier today. Even little movements outside caused me to perspire considerably; it really is quite a bit different from the arid and dry western part of the state.

One thing we've really enjoyed is how green the entire eastern part of the state is. Lawns are lush and lakes are healthy. It's quite a contrast to West Texas.

I'll try to post 2 or 3 times per week. However, there are times when I will not have Internet access, so please bear with me.

It's good to be home again.

Leaving San Angelo

Our household possessions are stored away now. We ate our last meal earlier today in San Angelo -- the Sunday Fest at Zentner's Daughter. We'll spend one more night in our house, roughing it on a blow up mattress. In the morning, we'll do some final cleaning, load up our few possessions, make a final run by the storage room, then head to the title company to close on our house. We'll soon be leaving San Angelo behind -- at least, for now.

Admittedly, Donna and I have never felt "at home" in our house here in Angelo. Don't get me wrong -- we love our house, and we love San Angelo; we just haven't had that homey feeling we've had other places. Despite that, there are many things we will miss about living here. We may even find ourselves returning one day once we get the wanderlust out of our systems.

San Angelo at almost 100,000 people has everything we need, yet it doesn't have a big city feel about it, and I like that. The medical services here are outstanding; we are going to miss our doctors. We have really received excellent care.

It's easy to get around Angelo. It is bounded by a freeway-style loop on the western half of the city. Other roadways are wide, and there is less traffic here than in other cities of comparable size, such as Midland, Longview and Tyler.

Shopping is what you would expect of a city this size. There is a modern mall with all the usual collection of shops. We have 2 super Walmarts and a Sam's Wholesale Club, along with other notable chains, such as Lowe's and Home Depot.

Dining out is a pleasure, with perhaps more locally owned eateries than in other Texas cities of comparable size. We probably don't have the number of chains other towns our size have, but that's not a problem; regardless, we have enough.

Entertainment is plentiful here, at least for old folks like Donna and me. You've read about our outings to see the local professional baseball team -- the San Angelo Colts -- as well as our nights out visiting the community theater and the Angelo State University (ASU) Theater. We've also visited the planetarium at ASU as well as local museums and places of interest. And we haven't done everything there is to do.

I guess most of all, I'll miss the people. We've lived in West Texas off and on since the late 1970s, and I've always argued that the people in West Texas are the friendliest in the state. An extension of that is that I believe service in the business place is better here than where I previously lived. Yes, I'll miss West Texas friendly.

On the negative side, we do suffer from dry weather year round, but especially in the summer. People still have a grass mentality here, so they want to have green lawns and lush landscapes. That just is no longer possible, I'm afraid. At one time it was possible, but with the growing population, there just isn't as much water per capita as there once was. There are also more businesses today that use heavy volumes of water than there once were -- and not just in San Angelo. There are golf courses that want daily watering, oil companies using water for fracking, car washes, and many other businesses that require large volumes of water. So, anyone wanting to live in Angelo needs to consider low-water landscapes.

It does get hot in Angelo, with the thermometer hovering around 100 degrees throughout most of the summer. But because of the low humidity, it really is more pleasant outside here than in the humid eastern portions of the state. But the sun does bear down relentlessly day after day, draining life from plants and drying up water sources. I miss the long, all-day rains the eastern half of the state enjoys. And when it does rain here, it tends to be a bit more violent, with high winds and pounding rain for a short time.

I'll miss this town; it's a good one, and it has much to offer, especially to retirees. We just may find ourselves back here one day when we get tired of wandering about. We could certainly do worse.

We Got a GPS

Well, we finally did it -- we purchased a GPS.

People who know me and the work I did the final years of my career laugh at my attitude towards technology (see my blog entry entitled "Pandora" for a similar story on this topic). I really don't like technology, but if something looks like it will improve my life, I'll try it. I don't, however, feel the need to go out and buy the latest greatest gadget when it hits the market, then a year later buy the next latest and greatest upgrade to that gadget. And what's with these people who start standing in line at Best Buy the night before a new tablet is released, just so they can be among the first to purchase one of them? Some of them even take off work to do this. I just don't get it.

I have a cell phone, but I only use it for talking, not for texting. In fact, I rarely talk on it. Anyone who knows me will tell you I don't like talking on the phone -- never have, never will. Guess I shouldn't look for a job in a call center. I don't have a tablet; I don't have TIVO; I don't Tweet or use Facebook. 

It's not that I'm technologically illiterate. In fact, I spent the last years of my career as the Director of Technology Services at the regional education service center where I worked, so I know my way around gadgets and gizmos. A colleague there who knew how Donna and I enjoyed hiking once asked me what type of GPS I used on our hikes. I guess that because of my position, she expected me to have some wonderful, high-powered GPS. I replied, "A compass and a map." Well, I still use a compass and a  map on our hikes -- heck, in a pinch, I might even use the sun or stars or other natural aids. But I did recently break down and buy a GPS for our upcoming RV trip. I've driven across Texas so many times over the years that I seldom even use a map while in Texas. But our upcoming trip will take us to areas that I am not familiar with, and I thought a GPS might be helpful.

We purchased a Garmin nüvi® 50LM. So far, we've enjoyed it. We've experimented around town, and we enjoy the way it tells you where to turn and even which side of the road your target destination is on. We'll use it regularly on our trip, but especially when we are looking for a specific place, such as our next RV park. It will really be useful in case of emergency, such as seeking a hospital.

Perhaps there is some hope for me yet, but I doubt it. I'd actually rather sit next to someone and visit with them than to text them.