Sunday January 13th-Glaveston Recky

Mike and Lisa - duet

Sunday January 13th 2013
Had a great time with our neighbours, Mike and Lisa, at the Karaoke night last night (they both sang and did well!!)
This park has some very talented singers (mixed in with a few who just wanna get up and belt out a favourite tune - regardless of talent... and that's great!!)

View from car... train crossing Texas flat lands.

Today we decided to set off to Galveston to check out potential RV parks for February. It was a long day of driving (about 9 hours return straight driving), but it was a cold, windy day and we had nothing pressing that needed doing. Well worth the trip. 

Many homes are on stilts - Hurricane/flooding area

We visited the Sandpiper RV resort which we had tentatively booked for February and found it will suit us fine, so no need to look further. It is right on the ocean, concrete pads etc. Great pool and whirlpool and VERY close to the centre of Galveston and the cruise ship terminal that we will be leaving from on our W Carib cruise in Feb. We will just leave the rig set up and the truck with it and grab a cab for cruise (less than 2 miles away).  

Potential site at Sandpiper RV resort Galveston

Seawall Rd - Galveston - Gulf of Mexico

Drove around for a while and then picked Joe's Crab Shack for lunch before heading back. not sure about the little messages the server wrote on our bobs, but ignored it all when we dove into the steamer pot of crab legs, mussels, and scallops, with corn and potatoes ($23 as a shared pot, plenty for both of us) .... delicious... a definite return-to spot when we get to Galveston. After a quick stop at a local bakery for a treat we headed back to Austin.

"Real Men Wear Bibs" THE PROOF!!!

"Show the love, Share your Crabs" !!!!!!!!!!! No comment!!

"PEACE LOVE AND CRABS' at Joe's Crab-shack

2 huge crab clusters, Mussels, Scallops. corn, potato in Steam pot. MMM!!

January 9-12th 2013 - Wine Country/relaxin'

January 12th 2013

Colorado river from the Mansfield Dam.

Another warm day at 22c degrees, but cloudy and threatening rain all day. We had a slow morning, reading outside and catching up on some internet research for future travel. Short shopping trip for supplies and then embarked on our first bike ride. Only an hour, but the hills here are pretty challenging and we felt very self righteous when we got back. Made some hummus in my new mini-cuisinart to take as a snack tonight to 'Karaoke Night' in the pavilion. We join in these events, even though it would not normally be something we would go to, but all the events are a sort of party atmosphere and the networking is great to find out more about the area and places to see etc.  Also, this is what this road trip is all about, experiencing everything we can while we travel along and meeting people from all areas of the States and all walks of life. (and we always have fun!!). So off we go to the Karaoke party.



January 11th 2013

LOVE IT!!

Zippadeedoodah!!!   A lovely sunny warm day... mid seventies. We decided to take full advantage and sit outside reading, walking round the site and an hour workout in the gym followed by lounging in the whirlpool and a swim in the pool.... what a lovely day. Happy birthday to cousin Gill .. great skype visit.

Nice Rocks!!

Eat your heart out Ontario

January 10th 2013
Up early and out to explore the Texas wine region.... Yes ... there is a booming Texas wine industry... so we just had to investigate.   ARRGGHH !! forgot my camera, but did take a few pictures with my Iphone that I can post.
Stopped in Dripping Springs for info, then headed through Johnson City, passed the L.B.J Ranch and into Fredericksburg, a small town in the middle of the wine district. Sat outside at a local eatery/pub and had Margarita/beer and Reuben sandwiches  in the sun, a bit cool but the outdoor propane heater kept us snug.

Howdy Y'all

Mushroom head!!!! (Antenna??)

Walked through town then headed out to a winery. Stopped at a pecan store for fresh local pecans.... OH MAN!!!!!  Had no idea how many different types of Pecan trees there are, all different tasting pecans. So of course we tasted them all before choosing a big bag of the ones we liked best. Nothing like fresh local pecans!! Heaven!!

More Wine Please

Headed to Becker Winery... award winning winery and some pretty decent wines, but expensive compared to what we can get in the local liquor store ... but we had a great tasting (9 wines) and were very impressed with the overall quality... especially the Cabernet. On to the Texas Hills Vineyard and winery. Not as impressed with the wines but the place was lovely and a great spot to go for a picnic and a nice glass of wine.
Our journey home took us through the most beautiful areas... we took the back-roads and ended up on top of ridges with panoramic views all round. Texas Hill Country is very beautiful, definitely NOT flat, and very worth a visit.

 Janice "Do I look fat in this?"
 Derek "Do I look stupid?" 

Jan 2 - 8 2013 - Hanging out for a few days

January 2 - 8 2013 - Relaxing and general settling in.

The last six days we have spent relaxing, starting exercising in the resort gym, and exploring the general area, laundry, and more organizing of our living area. 
We did go into San Antonio for one day to go to an RV show... just to see what's around and have a look at some different RVs. It was a great day and we saw some amazing RVs.. motorhomes at $370,000.... but thankfully, we saw nothing we would trade ours for. We actually found that, although this is our first RV,  we chose well for our taste and lifestyle.  Although..... we did see some reasonably priced units that had a TUB.... I think this may be a non-negotiable for our next RV... if we decide to switch!!!! 
Also went to a Camping World RV superstore just East of San Antonio and picked up neat little 'bits' to make life a little more convenient. 
Drove into Austin for one day and got all the information we could handle from the information centre downtown. It is a medium sized city of 870,000, very focused on its music scene, lots of live performance etc. We have booked tickets to go to Austin City Limits on January 17^th to see a British  band called Keane. Looking forward to that.
Janice’s back has been a bit of a problem, causing some generalized pain that is …. a pain!!!  Derek set up the Apple TV box he got from Santa and it works great. 
We have yet to go swimming. They keep the pool in the high 80's and the whirlpool at 110, but because it is cool outside, we haven't had much of an urge to jump in yet .... getting out would be just too daunting. BRRRRR!!!  Maybe tomorrow!!!! Maybe not. Been raining for a couple of days, delaying our explorations.  More to follow. 

'Our Street' at La Hacienda RV Resort

Pool Area 

Pool Area

HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL FRIENDS AND FAMILY

New Year's Day was amazing. This RV park (La Hacienda) used to be where Freddy Powers lived when he wasn't on the road......he used to play with Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and others with his band ("Stop the Truck"). Actually, Freddy is an unsung hero having penned over 30 country hits and even showed Ray Charles how to play some of his songs. Well, for a few years now, La Hacienda RV Park have hosted an all-day, New years day, jam session. Artists from all over Austin, Tennessee and Texas coming to pay tribute and join Freddy. 

The session started at 2 pm and went through till 11pm nobody did more than 3 songs, so you can imagine how many artists/bands there were.  What a talent show..bluegrass, folk, country, blues. Big double basses, all types of acoustic some electric guitars, all types of singers....some solo, some duet, some groups, all quality and entertaining. It was so good Derek decided he couldn't even consider bringing out his guitar!!!! Freddy who is now 81 was there for the whole piece. He suffers from advanced Parkinson's, is confined to a wheelchair and looks very frail. he is only a shadow of his former self. Yet despite all this, and only a few days since his last stint in hospital, at about 10:30pm he was taken to the stage area to join his old band and he managed to whisper out a verse on one of this big songs, gasping but remarkably in key and on pitch. I'll tell you hardly a dry eye in the 150 or so crowd. Incredible! So look up to see who Freddy is and be amazed.
Apart form the music, the food was amazing. the whole shindig was called a "pickin' party". The RV park provided black-eyed peas, cabbage, ham and beef brisket, and everyone brought something to share.... what a spread.. we ate all day, met lots of people and enjoyed the roaring fire. A great start to 2013. 

NEW YEARS EVE

Monday Dec 31st - Bye Bye 2012

Well what a year. When it began we had no notion of where we would be at the end of the year. It has been a big and eventful year for us. When it began Derek was still working, we had not even thought about buying a Fifth Wheel trailer yet and we had not considered the timing for selling our home. The ball started rolling in February when we saw an ad in Kijiji for a used 5th Wheel trailer and a pickup truck combination. We didn't buy it, but it started us on the journey to investigate the market... the rest is history. So this year brought retirement, Janice's 60th, the purchase of a truck and 5th wheel, the sale of our house after 35 years, and finally leaving on our adventure, which is the focus of this blog.
So the last day of the year was spent unpacking, and buying supplies for an evening at home, Champagne, snacks etc.
We thought we'd settle for an early night but Travis next door called at 5 and said that a bunch of folks from the park we going to the Mexican restaurant across the road at 7 and he had seats of us. More great food, a pitcher of Margarita shared by Travis, a bottle of wine that turned out to be 1.5 litres, 3 courses (Derek had shrimp, lamb and Creme brûlée, Janice had crab cakes, Lobster tails with shrimp and Creme Brûlée) all for $100 incl. tax and tip for two of us!!!!!! Back at the 'condo' at about 10:30pm we watched New Years on tv from Toronto, New York and then an hour later New Orleans. Sorry no photos taken today. 
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!

A Vancouver Christmas CONTINUED

Sunday Dec 23^h to Dec 30^th – Vancouver BC

Two weeks went by so fast. The first was a blur of visiting good friends … thanks Dave and Mark for a fabulous evening of great conversation and wine and Thai… Love your home. (how long have we known each other????) Our other adventures included a trip to Granville Island while Evan’s car was in the service centre at the dealer,  (amazing Fish ‘n Chips with Granville Island Brewery Winter Beer), and a memorable trip to the Vancouver Christmas market (Mostly German theme) … loved the spiced wine…. Yum!!! 

No Caption needed!!!!!

What a cute couple!!!!

Sweetie... Hiding behind the blinds !!! In case we send her out in it!!

It even snowed for us on the first Wednesday and we awoke to a winter wonderland...in Vancouver!!!

View from lounge window - what a morning surprise

An early Merry Christmas!!

Evan and Kyle were so very good to us… our room was beautiful and the house is just terrific, with lots of room,  Evan even has an office to work in. They are further out toward Burnaby but close to transportation and shopping. It was also a treat getting to see Sweetie and Mollie, our lovely calico cats that Evan and Kyle adopted from us over 18 months ago. They are very happy cats, and even with some fair rules, they are spoiled rotten… as they should be!!! We went to Langley to get Joy (Kyle's mum) on the 23rd and enjoyed a great lunch in Aldergrove with Joy's brother and his wife, Bob and Rae. Joy spent Christmas with us and it was so wonderful getting to know her and we enjoyed long conversations and shared stories. She even decided to extend her stay a few days and we had a relaxing time with TV shows and card games.

For the first time in 41 years Janice and Derek didn’t cook Christmas dinner.  In fact we were banished from the kitchen and given the hard job of relaxing while Evan and Kyle cooked up an amazing traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. Lovely!!! We could get used to that treatment!!! Of course we missed home a little, and sons Braden and Grant a lot. But we were in touch with them both over the holidays, as well as family in UK, which helped ease the pangs!! Evan and Kyle also made things so special that we really felt at home and happily enjoyed a very festive day. 

All set for a fabulous Christmas Dinner

On Boxing day Evan and Kyle took us all for a special treat to see ‘Bright Nights’ at Stanley park… a magical ride on a small train to see the Christmas lights, with music and gingerbread … a good time was had by all. Janice happily embarrassed herself being the only rider wearing a Santa hat and singing all the way round, eating a gingerbread man supplied by E and K!! 

Bright Nights- Stanley Park

Disco Moose Dancing for train

Gingerbread man - RIP

Xmas Train reflected in pond 

Bright Nights - Stanley park - daytime

Bright Nights - Stanley Park - daytime

Derek - "Bird in Hand"-- on walk, playing the fool!!

Out on a walk round neighbourhood

E and K's lovely home

The 27th was Kyle' birthday and we were able to meet some of E and K's friends at the open house. Great time. Again we were ordered to relax while they did all the prep work. 

A couple of days to wind down and spend quality time with Evan and Kyle before we left Canada and returned safely to Austin on Sunday 30th. We began the travel day being up at  3.15am then travelled to Austin via Houston  on United Airways. We headed back to Texas  feeling a little lost, but were relieved that the trip home was smooth and that all was well back at the ‘condo’.

A Vancouver Christmas

Well it's been a week. Arrived in Vancouver last Sunday and have been having a fabulous time with Evan and Kyle. We have been spoiled and we are loving it. Visits by friends and visits to friends, shopping, making shortbread, wrapping gifts and eating. That about sums it up. More photos to follow. Only 2 more sleeps to Christmas. Today we are off to pick Kyle's Mum up who will be with us until Boxing Day. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE.