I cannot believe that more than a month has passed since we left our gate guard position on April 1st, and I am fulfilling my promise to certain friends and family by posting more frequently. Please come along for the ride and let us know your thoughts.
Time to move on! On the morning of April 1st, I got up an hour earlier - and it was still dark outside - so Dick could get a few hours of sleep before our replacement arrived. Once my coffee woke me up, I started preparing the inside of our motor home (“MH”) for travel. We had about a 2-hour drive to our R&R location at COE Magnolia Ridge Park on Lake Steinheigen near Woodville, TX for a few days to regroup before reporting to Martin S. Dies Jr. State Park near Jasper, TX to volunteer as park hosts for the next 3 months. If any of you are traveling in the neighborhood, please give us a shout and come visit. For those of you who love photography, Dick could be your “English-speaking guide” for an excursion. We would love the company! We took the route through Palestine (and not Jacksonville) to see a different area of TX on our return trip.
After leaving the Davy Crockett National Forest and about 30 miles from Crockett, we made a stop in Groveton, TX across from the Trinity County Courthouse. I wish I had had more time to tour this little community, but the drive was nice - rolling hills with occasional patches of bluebonnets and other wildflowers. Not the TX Hill Country, but nice!
We arrived at Magnolia Ridge Park and set up on a site that Dick loved but. me, not so much! The site really appealed to Dick’s "swamp boy" instincts. We were at the very end of a narrow peninsula jutting into the swamp, which was very private, with loads of privacy around us to accommodate the legends of "Big Foot" and "Skunkie" that permeate the local lore, as well as visions of Black Water Hattie, the swamp witch. Please note that the references above were Dick’s words! All I could think about were snakes and alligators in that swamp. I would have preferred having a lake view - even though there would still be snakes and alligators! Once set up, Dick even got our DirecTV satellite dish set up, and it took longer to get the anchor set in the ground than getting the 95+% signal! Finally, success!
All of the pictures taken at Magnolia Ridge were taken by Dick, who told me I could "share" them on our blog. The first picture below was on one side and behind our campsite, and the second picture below was directly behind the "Liberty Belle" (our MH - for those who might have forgotten). As Dick said, he loved the swamp!
On the morning of April
2nd, Dick went on a short walk while it was misting, and took this picture of
the dogwood flowers, which were
decorating the entire Big Thicket with their layered blossoms.
Even though I did not love the swamp, I had to admit there was a beauty to the swamp, as you can see from these other pictures taken by Dick!
On the following day (April 3rd) my huge project was to pack away winter clothes and unpack spring and summer clothes – thinking that our cold weather had finally ended. Little did I know! You can purchase these Space Bags at Walmart for $14.94 for 2 XL bags and 1 XL tote (small, medium and large bags are also available and cost less). The tote was heavy duty and perfect for storage – either in a home or on a MH!
When we moved on board the MH almost 3 years ago, we got rid of our blender due to lack of storage space. There were many times that we really missed it, so we finally purchased the Magic Bullet, which was small enough to fit on the back of our kitchen cabinet. The first thing Dick made was a smoothie with milk, banana, orange, pineapple and honey - and we loved it! Fairly healthy, too! We have also made a smoothie using frozen fruit with fruit juice (and whatever else Dick adds). Yummy!
On Saturday, April 5th, we made the 2-hour drive to Katy, TX to see Mike, April, Colby and Ben for the first time since Christmas Day. While waiting for lunchtime, Ben and Colby had fun with the iPad Minis. Michelle and Logan drove up to meet us, and we had a family lunch at Genghis Grill. Yes, Ben was there - but Colby was being silly! We had a yummy lunch and great visit – just not long enough for Grammy!
Our drive back to the park was interrupted by a flat tire and a call to Good Sam Roadside Assistance, but we were very impressed with the quick response (less than an hour to reach us in Humble, TX). The service man changed out the tire, and we returned to the park at a very slow speed. Needless to say, new or good used tires were on our “to do” list for the next week, as we could not drive too far on the tires we had.
What a busy few days and, since we drove to and began our 3 months as park hosts on Sunday, April 6th, I will close for now and continue with our next adventure in a few days. Thanks for traveling with us and see ya soon!
~judy~
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