Happy Hallowedding

 

Camping itself is always a fun adventure, but when we get to go camping _and_ share in the celebrations of our friends and family, it makes for the absolute BEST of all things.  We've been excited about RandShe's wedding since they announced their engagement over a year ago and being able to enjoy or new camper, over a holiday weekend, visiting family AND getting to go to their ceremony? I mentioned that was the best, right?

I took several days off work so we could go enjoy being up near DFW without feeling rushed.  We had booked four nights at The Vineyards Campground in Grand Prairie earlier in the spring (when we were thinking we'd have a camper and could go camp with Sis and TJ) but since we didn't use those nights, I moved them over to this weekend.  Unfortunately for me, I thought we had moved them for Thursday thru Monday, but I got a call Wednesday night asking when we were checking in? Well, I had my days off and wanted to make full use of them, so we ended up booking another single night at Lake Tawakoni State Park for Sunday night.

With the wedding Friday afternoon, we just puttered around the campground and had a lazy day of it.  I thought that the mis-hap with the booking dates was going to be the only bad luck of the weekend.

Well, I was wrong.

I swear, I was backing up and moving less than 1 MPH, but if you were wondering who wins when it's truck tailgate vs 5th wheel hitch?  Yeah, it's gonna be the hitch. Every. Time.  Grateful for a good insurance agent who helped me with what I needed to get a claim started quickly; bummed that I damaged our not-even-a-year-old truck.

Now, with _that_ out of the way, RDB and I got all dressed up and got in our slightly dented fancy truck and drove over for RandShe's shindig.  And, oh, ya'll, what a fun celebration it was!  The maid of honor and best man walked Kali and Ickis down the aisle (such good pupper doggos!) and RandShe wrote their own vows.... 

It's the first time I've ever seen the traditional unity candle ceremony changed out for making a unifying PB&J shandwich (RandShe's trying to get marital sponsorship from Jif and Smuckers, I'll let you know how that turns out!).  There were sweet words that left you misty-eyed and funny moments that had you crying with laughter.  It was the BEST to see these two dear friends commit their lives and love to each other.  May their biggest concern in life be the eternal debate between crunchy and creamy.  <3

RDB and I were making it a point to get lots of candid photos through the evening - our wedding gift to RandShe was going to be a few photos printed and framed to be given to them at the "After Party" for out of towners the next day along with a USB drive with all the photos and videos we took at the wedding and reception (It was a _huge_ hit, BTW, if you're looking for a unique gift for the couple who has everything.)

MR and MRS RandShe!

Saturday afternoon we were over at RandShe's house for the afterparty - it was great to get to have a bit of time with the newlyweds and the family and friends in from out of state.  Saturday evening Dad and Bunny came up to the campsite with fried chicken for a dinner al fresco.

The campground we were at was our first time staying at an RV Resort with planned activities.  they gave us a folder full of information and a calendar of events the night we checked it.  Holiday themed movies, a costume contest, and trick-or-treating were all on the list.  We enjoyed decorating our camper - along with several others - and going for a spook-tacular walk in the evening after my parents left.

Think they shop at the same store? Ha!

Sunday morning we packed up and made our way over to our next site in East Texas. I was grateful that the damage done to the truck was only superficial - it would have been a much different situation had I messed it up in a way that we wouldn't be able to hook up the camper and pull it to our next destination.  RDB reminded me, and really the whole weekend reinforced this: material things like the accident with the truck really aren't important - as long as the people you love are happy and healthy, you have all the good things you need in life and life will be just fine.

We were in Site #6 at The Vineyards Campground and Cabins in Grapevine.  Our first time in a RV Resort - it was expensive in comparison to our state park stays ($56/night for our site vs ~$22 for a state park full hook-ups) but for the convenience of the location, the clean and very level site, and the fun activities (and lots of amenities, though we didn't take advantage of them), some may find that extra price worth it.  It was neat to be right on the marina and close to everything you could possibly need in the north-western side of DFW.  Very close to the Gaylord and Great Wolf Lodge, and Bass Pro Shops, too. 

For more camping photos, go here.

And for a TON more of RandShe wedding photos go here.  (It was honestly hard to pick which ones to include, so here's just a few more....)

Fine Art, Family, Food and Friends!

To say this was a beautiful weekend would be a real understatement!  So many amazing things to enjoy from family and friends to fine art and food!

RDB and I drove up to Cedar Hill State Park Thursday afternoon - working from the comfort of our "Mobile Office" on Friday with bountiful views of the trees out our windows.  The weekend was off to a great start when my retired Navy Big Bro, M, Face-timed me from his new "mobile office" - he's recently switched jobs up in Canada from the honey farm to a traditional farm and is now driving a S670 Combine harvesting fava beans.  From bees to beans - he's in a sweet and filling position! (Ha!) 

After work Friday evening, RDB and I went over to the Dallas Museum of Art to explore.  They are re-opened for full hours, and still a no-cost experience, but you do have to reserve timed entry tickets and follow appropriate CDC guidelines during your visit.  With the limited amount of visitors, it was almost like we had the museum to our selves.

There was a newly curated exhibit, To Be Determined, which "looks to the uncertainty of our present circumstances with the resolve to move forward." It pulled from works in the current DMA library, and was a somber, yet interesting experience.  One of the installations, Sound Silence Discord, was meant to be interactive - using sound and touch from spectators to engage the art, but with Covid-19 and its impact on experiencing live art, the artist had reworked the piece to be automated - with the lights dimmed and the experience roped off with caution tape. 

 RDB and I enjoy visiting art museums, and The DMA was no different - they've done a wonderful job of creating installations that draw you in and make you think. And they've blended new-age and contemporary art in with the classics and masters.

Up on the second floor of the museum are the European artists.  It was an unexpected surprise to find three Monets - including two of the 250 water lilies that he painted in the later part of his lifetime.

To say I was enraptured is, again, an understatement:

A few interesting tidbits - the reflection painting above with the lack of a horizon had attendees thinking the painting had been displayed up-side-down at an action house. 

And the round painting is one of only four known in existence in the world done in this specific circular style. 

I so greatly enjoyed being able to see these incredible artworks up close and am also so grateful for conservationists who think about preserving this kind of beauty and making it available for others to enjoy.

As we walked thru the artworks, I was texting back and forth with my high school girlfriends, KKW, ADW, and REC. When RDB and I first got the new camper mid-summer, The Girls and I had talked about having a "girl's weekend" sleepover in the camper somewhere up here in the Dallas area. Though schedules couldn't accommodate a stay-over, KKW and REC (and her family) were coming over to the campsite Saturday for dinner.  I laughed when I saw this artwork and sent a text to them:

"I found a painting of the four of us! ..."

".... Not sure who's getting baptized this time!" 

RDB and I left the museum and walked over to Kyle Warren Park - kind of a neat experience knowing this green space was built over the top of the existing highway.  It was lovely evening nearing sunset - and we just happened to catch a marriage proposal there in the park. Ah, love is in the air!

Saturday morning RDB and I slept in for a bit, hit the nearby Waffle House for a late breakfast/lunch, and made a run to Walmart to grab a few items for the camper and for the get together that evening.  I had texted my other Big Bro, D, to let him know that we were in town, and we'd love to see him and A, if they didn't have plans. A had to work on Saturday, but Bubba made his way down to visit - Cedar Hill SP is only about 20 minutes from his house, so it was a super easy drive.

Not too long after KKW arrived. She and her family are campers, too, and she made herself at home checking out every drawer and door in the camper to see how I organized and stored stuff! 

Needless to say, I had a short list of items to send her the Amazon link to before she was done!

REC and her family drove up just and joined us next - parking at the site was starting to get, well, tight!  The park is limiting how many people are allowed in per day (Covid-19 restrictions) and we were under the allowable site limit (10 people) but had maxed out the number of vehicles allowed.  We ended up parking KKW's car down at the headquarters parking lot.

You'll find a common, but different, feature of the Cedar Hill SP there in the HQ parking lot: a firewood self-pay station.  Bundles are in individual lockers and you can use your credit or debit card to unlock and take your load.

It was really sweet to have my high school girlfriends here enjoying the beautiful weather and a great grilled out dinner (thanks, RDB!). It was a bummer that ADW wasn't with us, but we saved her a spot for next time:

It's great that we have so much space in the camper for being able to host a gathering like this! Eight people inside and it didn't feel crowded at all!

We hung out till the park almost closed to non-overnight visitors, and the texts circulating the next morning confirmed that everyone had a great time and we were all excited about having the chance to do it again!

REC brought me flowers - this women knows how to speak to my heart!

Sunday finds us sleeping in (again - sense a theme here?) and watching the Steelers vs Eagles game (24-14 Steelers, at the top of the 3rd Quarter). I made a batch of Cast-Iron Queso (sans the beans, as we're trying to follow a low carb lifestyle) and we carved up a small watermelon for dessert.  With a full belly and a quiet camper, RDB found himself taking a mid-day nap.

I'm sitting here enjoying the flowers REC brought me last night... and the beauty outside my window here at the park.  Life is beautiful!

We were at Cedar 'Hill State Park again, this time Site # 209 in the Lakeview Camping area.  It's right at the top of the hill and the entrance to the camping loop (making it really easy for everyone to find us).  The only real downside is that since it's so high above the rest of the park, you'll hear a lot of road noise from nearby FM 1382.  Full hook-ups, which will make for an easy pack-up when we leave later this afternoon.

We've been to this park several times before: Thanksgiving Part 1 and Part 2, and Wow, What a Weekend!

For more camping pics, go here. 

(PS - beware of chiggers! Surprisingly still active this far into fall!)

New! .... and improved.

Purchasing something new doesn't always mean purchasing something perfect. In fact, we've learned with our 2021 Columbus Compass series that there's a _reason_ the manufacturer gives you a 2 year bumper-to-bumper warranty; you're going to use it.  In fact, so far, the bumper might be the only thing we haven't had to put the rig back in the shop for!  

So, to help those who might be coming behind us in purchasing a new camper - just to give you a little insight, this is the list of items that we've had to return for service work within the first 3 months.

Things that needed fixing on the new camper:

• Warped bedroom door
• Leaking shower surround
• Gray water tank not closing
• Basement door not locking/latching
• Water leak in basement (twice) (um, three times)
• Hydraulic fluid rupture
• Hot water tank not heating (again)
• Status lights for tank levels not working
• Emergency exit back window won’t fully latch and lock closed
• Insulation hanging out from underbelly where cuts were made for other repairs 
• Closet doors not opening smoothly
• Fault on gas for water heater
• Fixed bedroom door not hitting it's latch to close
• Water leak in the bathroom sinks (twice)
• Heater not working properly
• Screws from the shower surround puncturing thru the fiberglass wall

So, what I can say, is how important is is to buy from a respectable dealer who has a GREAT SERVICE DEPARTMENT, otherwise, you might find yourself sitting at home with your camper in the shop more often than sitting with your camper at a camp ground.

Once again, we're huge fans of Ron Hoover in Katy, TX - though our relationship with them got off to a rocky start, they have made up for it in spades with getting our rig into the shop between camping trips and working on the laundry list of items above.

Now, if we could just get the leaky faucet situation fixed.... 

Stay Positive

There have been moments this year that have sure felt like the universe is conspiring against us as we try to get back into camping again.

And this week was no different.  Ugh.

We noticed the last morning of our last camping trip that we had a slow water leak in the basement.  Our camping chairs were soaking wet (they thankfully took the brunt of the drip-drip-drip that had been going on all weekend.) So, RDB took the camper back down tot Ron Hoover again for a quick repair.  It was in and out in less than two days.  Awesome!  But the moment it was parked back in our driveway, this.....

RDB had parked it in the driveway, went to drop the leveling feet and she sprung a leak.  (Sensing a theme here, ya'll). With the hydraulic fluid line leaking (and actually disconnected in one spot) there was no way to raise the feet and take it back down to Ron Hoover.  This time, they were going to have to come to us. 

Thankfully,  they sent Jesse to us Thursday afternoon (we had this trip scheduled for Friday) and he was able to fix the problem right on site and quickly.  Ron Hoover's really showing us the white gloves customer service - I'm still incredibly impressed with them.

With all that behind this, we left out for Lake Corpus Christi State Park Friday afternoon. Pulled into the site before dark (yeah!) and started to set up (yeah!) and then realized that I had booked a 30 amp site (and we need 50 amp (boo!)) So, off we go to Walmart to find an adapter.  

And the closest Walmart?  Had every kind of RV amperage adapter except the one we needed. 

Without an adapter, we can't run the A/C or the fridge. And without the A/C or the fridge, we were heading back home to Houston, another +3 hour drive after we had just driven +3 hours.  Good thing about Walmarts, though, they're a dime a dozen... so we found another one, drove another 45 minutes (praying the whole way) and:

Our luck has changed!  With that simple $8 part we can camp! (And, actually, we bought two. If we can ever save someone else's day by having an extra, it's the least we can do!)

Well, I thought our luck had changed, but for whatever reason I've developed an allergy to ragweed this fall and it's miserable.  So, Friday night found me hacking and sneezing and eventually leaving our comfy bed for the recliners in the living room so that I could sit upright, try to sleep, and maybe, just maybe, breathe.  Thank goodness for Claritin and Benadryl.  

After a slow moving morning, RDB and I left Diesel in the camper and drove over to Corpus Christi.  We love camping for the ability to check out the surrounding areas. So, we found a fun place for a late breakfast on Yelp, put it in the GPS, made a wrong turn (ugh), and ended up at Blackbeard's for lunch.  THAT was a great misadventure - because the banana cheesecake was the absolutely BEST dessert I think we've ever shared.

From there, we rented a few LIME scooters and rode up and down the Northbeach beachwalk enjoying the beautiful fall weather.  We rode over to the pier alongside the USS Lexington. It's overwhelming how large these ships can be when you take a few moments to get up close to them. Though we didn't go into the museum this time, it was really neat to be so close to something so historic.

Yeah for a fun adventure.  Boo for my luck.  Some where along the way (probably on the scooters) I lost my prescription glasses.  The only pair I brought.  And my favorite pair with purple frames. Bummer.  Almost as much of a bummer as coming home to a sick dog - both vomit and poop - in our camper.  (I'll spare you that picture.)

So, if you're keeping track: Universe - 6 Us - ??  Oy.  And it's only Saturday morning.  This trip is starting to remind me of our "A Thousand Reasons Not To" trip. But, just like I said after that trip, if you let the thousands of things that can go wrong keep you from camping, then you'll miss out on moments like this:

Seriously though, aside from the hot water heater not getting hot (THAT's a refreshing discovery) and the panel that tells us our black.gray tank status not working (Universe - 8, Us - 0) I think we were done with the miss-adventures. (Fingers crossed!)

Sunday we traveled back into Corpus Christi (praying that the pumpkin we gave Diesel with a small serving of breakfast would keep him, well, contained) so that we could head over to the Texas State Aquarium. 

It. Was. AWESOME!

We were both really impressed with the set up at this aquarium- lots of tanks and several types of fish we hadn't seen before. They have several interactive touch tanks, and bubbles that "immerse" you into the middle of the action.

We enjoyed the Gulf of Mexico exhibit first, then made our way over to the Caribbean Journey. 

Where we were pleasantly surprised with waterfalls....

... and parrots...

...turtles...

 ...and flamingos!

If you get a chance to hang out with the flamingos, you should! It was hilarious to watch them interact with each other and the guests, prancing around and preening their feathers. Such weird looking birds!

They had an incredibly large shark tank (I think I counted 6 sharks) that you could view from various angles - standing up on the balcony over the top of the water, seated in an amphitheater style area in front of the tank, or even walking thru a tunnel that had a portion of the tank above you.  Such a cool experience to see these incredible creatures from different views. 

Though you can't get in the tank, you can still get up close and personal!

It was a great afternoon and we'd highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in the area.  On a Sunday afternoon it wasn't crowded at all, was very easy to social distance, and everyone inside - both guests and volunteers - were respectfully wearing masks.  Even the river otters out front were following safety protocols!

Back to the camper, hoping and praying that we weren't going to have to clean up another mess (we didn't! yeah!), a simple dinner made for a great end to a perfect day!  RDB made me smile as he poured the last of our Rodney Strong into my glass: "It's always kinda sad when the bottle ends." (I agree, Babe!)

Monday morning was slow and enjoyable; I made the last minute call Friday morning to go ahead and take the extra day off. With the pandemic, and my 15th anniversary at work (our service award is an extra 5 days vacation), I have a fair amount of paid time off that I haven't taken, and need to use up.  Adding on to our camping trips with an extra day is the BEST use of that time. 

We jumped in the truck and drove back over to Corpus Christi for one last meal out - finally making it over that the breakfast-all-day diner we were trying to get to Saturday before the wrong turn took us over to Blackbeard's.  We thought about it again on Sunday, only to find out they were closed ("for church" so says their menu). Persistence pays off, though, because lunch at Sandi's Diner was OUTSTANDING! Check out our Yelp review in the link, and trust us when we say the cinnamon bun/roll is HEAVEN! 

One last adventure as we drove back to camp - you'll notice driving down towards the coast that there are fields of wind turbines.  I had mentioned to RDB that I'd love to chase one down someday just to see them up close (he's done this once before in his car camping adventures in the Hybrid Hotel). 

So, Sunday on the way back from lunch, we took a turn off the main road, "Just keep them in your windshield and keep turning towards them," found ourselves down a dirt road, into a field (no gates, no fence, no trespassing, right?) and at the base of this giant energy producing machine.

They are SO MUCH BIGGER when you're standing under them that I had ever realized!

The one we were checking out wasn't actively moving it's blades but it was making odd noises.... I'm not sure how to describe it other than imagine the sound aliens make in movies when they're trying to communicate off the planet to the waiting fleet ready to swoop down and destroy us? It sounded like that.  LOL - just kidding! I'm sure J2 won't harm us!

Back at the campsite, and eventually we'll pack up and head home.  We really enjoyed having the extra day on Monday to enjoy a long, full weekend (and booking the site thru till Tuesday morning so we can actually stay all day Monday). Looking forward to our next trip - as we head back to the DFW area and Cedar Hill State Park next weekend. Even if we may not have the water heater fixed by then, we'll just have to, well... stay positive!

We were at Lake Corpus Christi State Park, Opossum Bend Camping Loop, Site #17. Remember, these are 30 amp loops (Javelina is full hook-ups, so I'd assume they're 50amps).  The site had zero shade, but that was probably a good thing - the trees down here are scraggly and short, and we certainly wouldn't have been able to pull our big camper under some of the limbs over other sites in this loop.  Be aware as well, the grass out here is covered in sticker burs. We were worried that Diesel would have a hard time with them, but surprisingly enough, his adult dog foot pads had no issues.  Also, the ground out here is really sandy - I was vacuuming nearly every afternoon.  But all that aside: this campground is a great jumping off point for days of fun in nearby Corpus Christi.  

For more camping pics, go here.