After 8 days of travel and 5 different locations for overnight stays, we arrived at our new location safe and tired. The record Texas heat (104 on arrival) was hard to take at first, and we were thrilled our new location has a pool for us to cool down in. It didn't take long to quickly set up the camper and get in that pool.
We stopped at Katie's house to visit their family and see all the kids. It was a short but wonderful visit. From there, we headed west and made a 1-night stop at Canal Campground (site 116). We were a bit worried about how Naomi would do on such a long trip south. As you can see in the pics below, we think she did really well. We tethered her to the back seat and let her have run of the back with water. Pica and Naomi often slept near each other. Willow Beach Recreation Area is right outside Little Rock. Such a beautiful and small place for an overnight stay (Site 4). It was a peaceful spot for a quick recharge before getting to our normal busy schedule. Martin Creek Lake State Park (TX) is another one of our favorite locations. It has beautiful and large sites, and again is right off the freeway (Site 39). Finally, welcoming Houston meant we had 30 minutes to 'home'. We were elated to start this new adventure this year! Arriving at Cullen RV Park was exciting and welcoming. Without giving details, I must say that we really love our new park. It didn't take us long to hit the pool and make friends with the ducks! The animals were tired too, and they quickly rested, then Naomi was loving her new "TV" of watching the birds! After 2 weeks of finding out if we absolutely loved the park, we made contact with the person who was watching our deck They offered to buy it, we so we got to work building a new upgraded deck, and had it built within a week! The park manager loves it, and I made a few hanging baskets with temporary fake fall flowers to decorate. The deck is built lighter, and will disassemble into 5 parts for easy moving.
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June went by WAY too fast! We got to see Katie's kids, took care of the folks for 2 weeks, met the kids at our home campground to celebrate 4th of July, and even took a trip back to the old farm I used to work at!
Arriving at Katie's house, we got to meet Naomi for the first time! She is gorgeous! And so is our new little 15th grandchild Nadia! Even Atalia is thrilled about seeing us.. :-) Pica and Naomi are traveling well together.. In time, I hope they will sleep next to each other to help make the trip go faster. :-) Arriving at one of our favorite resorts, Arrowhead Lakes in Ohio, we saw first hand what the tornado left. It will take them a while to rebuild, but we are SO glad everyone is safe! At mom & dad's house, some of our kids came for a quick visit, and we were able to take care of mom for a while. It was great seeing her at the table to eat with us! Week 2 with Naomi, it was her first trip outside near the campfire. She absolutely loved it for a while.. Then a pic of both Naomi and Pica.. Laying together after just two weeks? I think that's pretty great! Then, a total of 3 weeks at the campground, 2 weeks with our daughter Maria next to us in her 5th wheel, and 1 week with our son Joe & Ashley staying with us. It was an awesome time for everyone! We even took a trip back to the farm to visit with ole friends that were family too. It was great seeing them, but sad to see the old barn not being used anymore. Bigger and better equipment has been built! :-) This is the month we're making plans to head back to MI for the short summer. It's going to be a fast trip to and from, but we need to make sure we take enough of a break to rest our backs and minds. In the meantime, here are some of our May highlights.
New Congregation: We certainly love our love congregation. Most families are seen like this praying together and over each other. This I think, is very touching, and should be a focus in each family. For Mark and I, taking time to pray with and for each other (together), has strengthened our relationship and helps us know the other one 'has our back'.. Galveston: Just a quick trip to Galveston for a nice bike ride and swim. Mom's Party: Mark took a quick trip to MI to enjoy some family fun at his mom's 85th birthday party. There was a LOT of family there, and it's always great to see the kids too! Our daughter Katie has a friend that is a Ragdoll cat breeder that was going out of business.. So, through some connections, Katie is getting us a purebred Ragdoll kitty. It took some time figuring out which one we wanted, but we chose Naomi because we loved her name and personality. So, we've renovated the RV just a tad and getting ready to adopt our new addition in June. :-). The photo below is Naomi being held by Nora. Just a few pics of Pica, one at the campground and the other on travel day. She loves sleeping in her bike basket during travel. Probably because it keeps her snug & cozy. Our trip home consisted of 5 overnight stops. We chose campgrounds that were close to the freeway so it was a quick on/off. Martin Creek Lake State Park (Texas): This was an absolutely gorgeous campground with very large sites. We will definitely return here. Willow Beach Recreation Area: This was also a gorgeous campground but small and had NO beach. Odd, but we had a beautiful spacious site and we enjoyed 2 nights of rest. Canal Campground: Settled on the north-west side of the Land Between the Lakes, this campground is gorgeous, hilly, and there were no bad sites. Every site had its own private area and view. We loved the many water-view sites, and the swimming beach was good. Still on the way home, our other sites will be in the June Highlights blog. :-) I didn't post a lot for April because it was a month we spent together without caring much about the outside world. We soaked ourselves into God's word, and the precious moments of the gift of each other. It was a low-key, GREAT month all together.
In the meantime, here are some highlights. Deck: Some awesome friends sold us their deck, and we built it up a little to meet our own needs. We are at a park we really like, a site we absolutely love, and will be at this park for the duration of Mark working at the school. To make things a bit easier, a deck is a nice little addition. Other friends of ours will use it during our time away in MI each year. I must say, it's a nice change, especially when bringing home groceries. :-) Seder: We were honored this month to be invited to a REAL Messianic Jewish Seder dinner. There were over 600 people in attendance, and it was pretty awesome to see the customs and how much they love the Lord. When Mark held Seders for our church years ago, it's great to see how close he was to the real thing. :-) Passover: To celebrate our own Passover season, we had the candles lit each evening we did our devotions. This in itself was SO nice.. Having the candles around the Peace Lily just gave a special meaning do to the persecution going on around the world right now. Grandbaby #15!: This was of course the biggest highlight of the month! Grandbaby #15 was born to complete a family of seven! She is healthy and everyone is happy and doing well. Welcome to the world Nadia! Special Celebration: Mark was honored to be able to fly home to help celebrate his mom's 85th birthday! Much of the family were there, and it was awesome for him to catch up with family happenings. What an awesome time, Happy Birthday Mom! MISC Favorites: This month has brought a Blessing of storms and beautiful scenery outside. Check out the sunsets and clouds! A few fun pics of Pica.. Waiting for papa to come home, waiting patiently for dinner time, and just chillin before bedtime. :-) It is always nice to take a break from the 'norm', and we've been looking forward to visiting Corpus Christi for quite a while. Our favorite area? Port Aransas, watching the wild dolphins playing in the bow wave of the ships. :-) Places we visited: Aransas National Wildlife Refuge: This refuge is known for the Whooping Cranes who migrate here in the winter. They were mostly gone when we visited, but we did end up seeing 7 of them from afar. Next year we hope to visit the Whooping Crane festival in February. South Texas Botanical Garden & Nature Center: With a $9 entry fee, this cute botanical garden was more of a unique walk than a garden. They do accept dogs, so we did this on a day we took Pica with us. They have a greenhouse of Orchids which was fabulous, but otherwise just a good excuse for a walk. They had 1 bird out, but the other 20 birds were put away for the day. OSO Bay Wetlands Preserve: Also dog friendly. We didn't see many birds here, but it was a beautiful walk with nicely groomed trails. About 3 miles here. Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge: A smaller refuge near the bay, Pica walked the boardwalk with us to see the bridge and bar area. About a mile walk, but the boardwalk is in need of repair and it was a bit scary to be on. Most of the time, we carried Pica in fear of her paws stepping on nails. Port Aransas (Dolphins & Pelicans): Oh my, this place is a MUST GO spot if you visit the area! I read that this was a hot-spot for dolphins, and it wasn't long until we found them swimming in the channel! It was pretty common to see them playing around boats, but the most amazing was to see them just play in the bow-wave of the large ships. After this ship arrived in the gulf, the dolphins would disappear for a while, then show up when another ship went by. Just like a bunch of teenagers 'catching their wave' all day.. :-) Texas Aquarium: Reviews on this place were not that great, but we went anyway. We had a good time, but it was way too busy to really enjoy the exhibits. At $35 each, I don't think we'll be back. U.S.S. Lexington: A retired air craft carrier that was involved in Pearl Harbor and World War II. It was commissioned for 40 years before it was finally retired and placed at Corpus Christi. I must say, this was absolutely BY FAR, the best ship tour we've ever had! After 3 hours, we still hadn't seen everything, and we were allowed to tour 6 different decks, the flight deck, the bridge, and LOTS more.. We would also recommend this ship visit if you're in the area, and is well worth the $17/$19 entrance fee. Sea Life Education Center: A small little building and a $9 entrance fee, this place is active in saving the sea turtles and releasing the babies in the summer. Their knowledge is amazing, and it was wonderful to see all the animals in their care. Padre Island: this island is a home to MANY birds, and has over 60 miles of drivable beach, most of which can be camped on. It was beautiful for a day trip, but we quickly learned that the beautiful photos we've seen online are not what the beach is like. We'll be keeping our RV off of this beach. We ended up grabbing a special trash bag from the visitor center and spent our time walking the beach and picking up garbage. Nope. we didn't even make a dent. We don't have to go back. Ever!
Lakeshore is our 'home resort' where we spend 3-5 weeks of our summer each year. We catch up on doctors, dentists, vet, and of course family! This year was especially a blast, as Maria (and family) stayed a week at the resort near us, and Joe (and family) stayed with us in the camper 2 weekends! There was a lot of time to catch up and have fun with all the kiddos!
*Descriptions are on photo captions. Visited brother Nate and wife Barb up at their cabin. It was a cool and windy day, so it wasn't very fun to have a fire outside, but the boat ride was nice and refreshing. Pica does enjoy her new cot and staying off the ground. :-). The guys had a great time together, and it's always nice to get 'caught up'. :-)
We always love arriving at the Grand Haven resort. It's a campground that's part of our membership, so we can stay up to 3 weeks for free. This year will be the first year that we're utilizing our park-hopper upgrade, so we'll see how that goes.
For my note, we stayed on site 226 this year, but we'd prefer 225 next time. We love NOT being under the trees. :-) A quick trip to Grand Haven is always fun, and even though it was still a little cold, we enjoyed the pier walk with new concrete! :-) A few photos of one of our favorite parks.. The resort is one of the oldest owned by Outdoor Adventures, and they purchased it from Yogi Bear parks. It has gorgeous trees, nicer spacious sites, and nice people. The amenities include a pool, putt putt, go carts, and a beautiful playground and activities. Mark and dad went to Washington D.C. via the Amtrak train which took 13 hours each way. They definitely found out it was NOT ADA accessible enough to navigate where they wanted, but with Mark's help, they made it all work. It was a very treasured trip together. One of their main goals was the see the International Bible Museum. They were able to see hundreds of scrolls and bibles, along with the historical record of its preservation.
Back on Mother's, I planted a Lily for mom. It finally bloomed this week! :-) During our stay at mom & dads, Mark's sister Beth made us a beautiful doily for our table. What an awesome job and a LOT of work! As we were hooking up the RV in preparation for travel day, mom & dad came out to visit and watch. To them, it's amazing how far (and big) campers have gotten, but it was awesome for us to share all the information they wanted to know. We're starting to feel like pros at this! I was also very lucky to get this pretty awesome picture of them. This was one of the best travel days yet. Neither of us got very much sleep though, so we were looking forward to taking a quick break at a rest area. Pica was tired too, as you can see her snoozing in her bicycle basket. At the rest area, the bedroom slide is in, so the foot of the bed is right against the dresser. Pica LOVES that spot because she can look out and stay on patrol. We had a beautiful cool breeze with very little traffic at the rest area, so it was quiet! Needless to say, it was a VERY good nap. :-) I tell ya.. Getting from "the west" into the heart of Texas is a REALLY boring drive! Flat lands, oil fields, cotton fields, and a LOT of trucks! However, it was an uneventful drive which is always a good thing.
In the meantime, we've been having some sink draining issue since Sedona. We've been trying things here and there, but nothing has worked. Today, upon arriving at the park, we had a nice size puddle all over the floor. Apparently, the P-trap under the kitchen sink had loosened, and spilled all our standing water on the floor. Well, since I wanted to wash the floor anyway, it all got cleaned up pretty quick. After that we worked with the sink and tried a few more things that were suggested by some people on the blog. It's working better, but still not perfect. So, we continue trying to figure out what the issue is. Today could have been a lot worse, but we are thankful that the rest of the day was uneventful, and no matter what, we will get this figured out. Every little problem helps us gain experience and learn our RV.. We are thankful for those experiences too. :-) 1st pic below is showing the massive amount of cotton bales in one of the fields. Cotton, Cattle & Oil are the BIG THREE in Texas.. Amazing how much land they have dedicated to each. Even the cotton fields were scattered with oil wells! 2nd pic is Pica at the end of our trip. She was tired, and decided to rest her head on the water bottle. lol! When we begin to park the RV, she is VERY quiet and refuses to get out of the truck.. Stubborn little kid.. lol! |