Back in Texas

Thursday, 27 August 2015
Advanced RV Resort — Houston, Texas
Temps: Hi 89F (32C) / Lo 78F (26C)

We’re back in Texas again … have been since we left San Patricio, New Mexico on the 10th, but not all of that time was here in Houston.  And none of it was at our home pad in Port Aransas.

We would have stayed longer at our quiet spot in San Patricio, where it was comparatively cooler, but a couple of reasons played into our decision to return to Texas where it is still broiling … although the temps have moderated a bit these past few days.  First reason: to catch up with friends; and second: to be near big city shopping before we set off on our fall trip to Europe.

These past weeks in Texas took us first to Abilene, then to Roanoke and Austin, and finally to Houston, where we are currently staying at our go-to RV park here — Advanced RV Resort.  On the way here we stayed at the FamCamp at Dyess AFB in Abilene; a private RV park in Roanoke, and a state park in Austin.

Sunrise at the famcamp at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas.

The sites are reasonably spacious — we’re in Site 3 for two nights.

Northlake Village RV Park in Roanoke, Texas has a mix of residents and transients.
During our two-night stay in site 246A, we luck out with no neighbors on the
patio side … not that it matters as we spend very little time at the park.

For the first time in a long while, we’re back at a campground in a state park —
specifically, McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, Texas.

We’re in Site 20 for our eight-night stay.  Alas… too hot
and humid to make good use of this lovely, spacious, wooded site.

I mentioned that the first reason we returned to Texas early was to reconnect with friends.  Abilene was just a stop to break up the long drive from San Patricio to Roanoke.  The stop in Roanoke, on the other hand, had a purpose — to see our friends Mary and Tony, who were dog-sitting Jesse, their friends’ beagle.  We had last seen the Zs in Gulf Waters in the spring, so there was a lot to catch up on — and we did so at the very stylish digs their friends have in the Dallas-Ft Worth metroplex.  Alas, we didn’t take photos when I had my camera with me on the first day, so these “memory shots” with Mui’s smart phone will have to suffice.

Old friends — Mary and Tony; new friend — Jesse the Beagle ;-)

Here’s to seeing you in Houston in January, Mary and Tony.  In the meantime, may we all enjoy our upcoming travel plans … we’ll have a lot to catch up on again when we next meet ;-)

Austin was another stop we added to our trip specifically to reconnect with a friend — this time a friend of mine from junior high.  In case you’re wondering, that was back in the early ‘70s ;-)  Mui and I had a chance to visit with Moyra after we moved to the US in 1982.  At the time, we were living in Washington (the state) and she was in Oregon.  It was another 10 years before we had a chance to get together again — this time in Washington, DC.  Though we’ve kept in touch via letters and email, and now Facebook, it was to be another 25 years before we had a chance to meet up in person — this time in Texas, where we grabbed lunch at Magnolia Café … an Austin institution, had Moyra over for wine and munchies at our place, and shared a delightful evening of conversation and music at Moontower Saloon with her family.

Oregon — 1982.

Lunch at Magnolia Café was good; but reconnecting with Moyra was better.

We were having so much fun at Moontower that we forgot to take photos.
I have only these two to share … we took them before Moyra and her family joined us.

Moyra, here’s hoping that it won’t be nearly as long before we get to spend some time together again.

As you can tell from what I’ve summarized in this catch-up post, we haven’t been doing any sightseeing in recent weeks.  Just too busy with day-to-day stuff.  Besides, who wants to leave air conditioned comfort to melt outdoors.

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