Sunday, February 26, 2006

Our Sunday

Attended church this morning at First United Methodist Church, Livingston. Very different service from what we are used to. The sermon was actually in the middle of the service. It's interesting how every UMC has their own order of worship.

After church we search out Florida's Home Cooking, a restaurant that was recommended by someone at the campground. Found it and boy was it good home cooking. The building was nothing to look at and the inside while very clean was mis-matched furniture in several small rooms. The "buffet" which was really a meat + three veggies, was not a serve yourself. You chose your meat and veggies then the waitress brought your drink, rolls and desert to the table. Today's choice was Roast Beef, B-B-Q Ribs and Fried Chicken. Dean had the ribs and I had the chicken. Talk about good - again! And of course, Texas size portions. The couple across from us ordered off the menu - catfish and one plate would feed both of us. I think if we stay in Texas very long, we will have to pull another 5th wheel behind the MS as both of us won't fit in one - LOL.



After dinner we decided to take a drive around Lake Livingston. I don't know the particulars on it as far as size etc., but it is a large lake. We talked to a couple that are from the area and they said that the lake level is down about 7 feet right now. I'm posting a picture that shows a boat launch and as you can see, you would have problems launching there. We actually walked on the lake bottom, way out. There were some people actually driving their vehicles on the lake bottom it was that dry and hard.

More to come next week.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Thursday, Feb. 23rd, Livingston Here We Come

Thursday morning we did a leisurely get ready to roll from Kinder, LA heading for Livingston, TX. We only had approx. 160 miles to cover so there was no hurry.

I was real good - I didn't go back to the casino before we left. Figured I'd left a big enough deposit!

Our drive to Livingston was uneventful. The route (US190) was primarily through pine tree farming land.

We arrived at Rainbow's End around 1:30 pm. Our neighbors came over while we were setting up to check us out and say hi. One of them told us about a gas station just down the road that had the best hamburgers ever. That was all we needed to hear as we were hungry, when aren't we, so off we went in search of the best hamburger in Livingston. I have to tell you, our neighbor was not wrong! Where we ate was at a Exxon gas station that has a meat market, grill, laundromat, feed store and I'm not sure what else may have been there. Dean and I ordered the burger basket, not knowing how big the hamburger was and how many fries we would get. Wow - we should have ordered one and split it! I guess I have to remember that this is Texas and they believe in Texas size - BIG!!! The hamburger was very, very good. Fresh ground meat, hand pressed and cooked to order. The fries also appeared to be fresh hand cut, not really sure, though they were good. We went back to the campground and finished setting up and then relaxed the rest of the evening. We were both to full to do much else.

On Friday morning we took off to check out Livingston, find Wally World, Curves (for me) and the Ford dealer. No problem with all three. I did my workout at Curves, we shopped at Wally World and had the truck oil changed at the Ford dealer. By this time, it was early afternoon and we were hungry (again) so went off in search of a restaurant that I had read about called Texas Pepper. Talk about good food, they have it. They also serve a variety - TexMex, Italian, and best of all, Chicken Fried Steak with white gravy - ummmm. That was what I ordered and oh my stars, it was falling off the sides of the plate it was so big. Texas size again, I guess.

We discovered that there really isn't much to do around Livingston, so we came back home and relaxed the rest of the day. After all the work in Foley, AL, we deserve the time to relax.

Today has been rainy most all day. We decided it was a good day to do the laundry and clean the inside of the MS. It needed it!

We are going to stay here until next Wednesday then we are going to the New Braunfels/San Marcos area. While there we will also tour Austin. There is a lot of things to do and see in these areas and we are planning on doing some. Luckenback is one that is on our list. They are having a Texas Independence Day Festival next Saturday and we are planning on being there. I will be sure and take the camera so I can post some pictures.

Will catch up with you all next week.

Some new scenery.

We left Robert, LA on Tuesday morning in a light fog. Fortunately, it wasn't on the road so visibility was good. We were headed for Kinder, LA and the Grand Coushatta Casino RV Park, Red Shoe. The drive was uneventful until we were about 10 miles out of Lafayette, LA. Traffic on I-10 came to a complete stop. As we drifted westward, we finally saw a sign that read "Construction 5 miles ahead, left lane closed". Oh boy, we knew we had better look for an alternative route. Unfortunately, not knowing the back roads and not having our GPS in the truck with us on this trip, we stuck it out in the traffic until we got to I-49 in Lafayette. Needless to say, a four hour trip turned into six hours!

We arrived at the Red Shoe RV Resort at the Grand Coushatta Casino and found a really nice park. What a difference from the night before! We had lake view from the front and park view out the back.

We went to the buffet for dinner and it was just OK. For the price ($13.00 pp) it could have been a whole lot better. Then we strolled through the casino, all on one level so it is very big, and dropped a few $$ here and there. Didn't win so went back to the MS and went to bed.

Wednesday was spend just relaxing. I cooked a stew for our dinner which was fair. I need practice in "stew" cooking - LOL. I went back to the casino for a couple of hours in the afternoon and played on the nickel machines. Again, didn't win, but did play for a long time on my $$.

Since it was the middle of the week, there was no entertainment at the casino, so we watched TV in the evening.

Next post, will bring us to Livingston, TX. Gotta run and go do laundry.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

We are on the road again!

February 20th is circled on our calendar - we made it back on the road - yea!

Left Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, AL around 9 am. Had a very uneventful drive on I-10. We stopped in Slidell, LA and met my Aunt Sherrill for lunch at IHOP. We had a great time catching up on what's going on with the families.

Around 2:30pm we pulled into Hidden Oaks Campground, Robert, LA. It certainly isn't what I expected, but then I should have known not to put high expectations on campgrounds in this area. This is more of a fish camp atmosphere. It is dirt, grass and very little gravel with a lot of pot holes thrown in. The sites are not well marked and many have two/three campers sharing what appears to be one spot. I'm sure most of this is because of the hurricane. There seem to be a lot of contractors equipment etc. parked in many sites. We did find us a spot in a corner between some tenters and some permanent "fish camp" type trailers. Only had 30 amp and it was not consistant. There is one bright spot (you can always find at least just one - right), there are peacocks roaming free. They are so beautiful, but boy are they noisy. I never knew that their cry sounded like a cat - a really loud cat over a PA system ! We wouldn't have had to set an alarm clock last night - 6am wake up call and not from my cat! Hey, what's an alarm clock anyway?

Oh well, today is another day and we ARE ON THE ROAD! Sorry about that shout, just had to do it - LOL.

Stay tuned for more down the road comments........

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

February 1, 2006

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

We have my Dad moved into the assisted living apartment. Now all that is left is to sort, pack, and store all the extra "stuff" and get the duplex cleaned and keys turned over to the owner.

I am hoping that this will all be accomplished by the 14th - what a Valentine present that would be. Then maybe, just maybe we can finally head West!

We did take a day off last week. Spent it with Brenda and Roger, some fulltimer friends that we met in New Iberia, LA. They came here to Rainbow Plantation for a stay on their way to the Daytona 500. What fun they will have there - hope they remembered their earplugs - LOL.



We went to the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola NAS. Did a simulator ride - not so hot - have done better rides at WDW. On the other hand, the movie at the IMAX theater -Fighter Pilot - was great! After wandering through the museum, we had a light lunch at the Cubi Bar and Cafe. Good food. We then wandered around some more and checked out the gift shop. Didn't buy a thing since I couldn't think of anything that I could throw out when I got home. You know the rule - something in, something out!

We drove by the lighthouse on the base, then went out to Pensacola Beach to survey the hurricane damage. There was still quite a bit of debris around and no sand dunes. How strange it was to drive along and be able to see the Gulf. Brenda and I took a walk on the beach and collected some shells. Why, when you walk a beach do you feel like you have to bend over and pick those darn things up? Guess they will go to my granddaughter.

To end the evening we went to Smokey Bones resturant where we enjoyed ribs, pulled pork, delicious onion rings and ended the meal with their hot cinnamon donuts - ummmm.

I would post a picture of the four of us at the museum, but alas, our camera has come up missing. Sure hope we find it as I hate to spend the money for another one plus the learning to use a new one - I'm getting to old for that - LOL.

That's all for now folks. Maybe my next post will be from somewhere out West?