Austin, TX: A Day Trip With Steph & the Kids

Yesterday, Stephanie took us and the children to the fantastic Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, located near the Capitol. The museum provides a vivid, pictorial account of the state's proud heritage. So exciting are the exhibits and heroics of the rugged, courageous, founding fathers that they make one wish s/he were a Texan. The Capitol itself depicts everything Texas claims to be. No money was spared in constructing it. No imagination was spared in creating its elegance. Davy Crockett would be proud.

Wimberly, TX: Christmas in Texas With Family

We arrived in Wimberly, TX a few days before Christmas. Wimberly is an upscale, artsy, no-growth town with lots of traffic and street construction. It is seven miles from the home of our daughter, Stephanie and her family, who have a Driftwood address. Husband Steven is an independent contractor, and Stephanie home schools their three children, Jack 11, Lucie 9, and Lincoln, 7. We found a fine campground with reasonable rates and elected to stay until after New Years. This would be the longest stretch of time that we have ever had with these grandchildren. Sharing the holidays with them in their Hill Country home was a special treat. Steve’s sister and her family joined us for Christmas. Watching five children open their presents reminded us so much of the wonderful times we used to have with our own kids. A major difference was that this time we did not have to do the shopping, and Jerry did not have to assemble the toys. Steph and Steve were the perfect hosts, and their good cooking added to the merriment of the season and the length of our belts.

Waco, TX: A Near Disaster

After saying goodbye to our friends in Hillsboro, we were going back through Waco toward Austin. At the light in front of the Flying J Truck Stop, we felt a big thud in the rear of the Yukon. Our first thought was that someone had hit the trailer, but no one was behind us. We pulled into Flying J to assess the problem and were shocked to learn that our hitchbar weld on the GMC had broken loose. Our trailer was hanging onto our vehicle by a mere "thread of metal!" We slowly eased the Airstream to a stop in the parking lot and headed for the nearest GMC dealer a few miles away. The service manager, Mike, could not have been nicer. It was already 3:00 p.m., so there was no chance of getting the work done that day. Mike promised that if we would return the next morning early, he would overnight the hitchbar and intall it as soon as they opened. We went back to Flying J for the night and returned to the dealer next morning per Mike's instructions. To our amazement, we were back on the road with a new hitchbar and our trailer securely in tow by 10:30 a.m. Mike said that we would not have gotten down the road a mile with our old hitch. One can only imagine what might have happened had our 34 ft. 10,500 lb. "silver bullet" cut loose from our vehicle as we were cruising down I-35 at 60 m.p.h.

Our total bill, parts and labor, was $198. If you ever need GMC service in Waco, be sure to call Karr-Hunter CMC-Pontiac. If you tow a big trailer, don't forget to pray for safe travels every day. The Lord really came through for us on this one.

Hillsboro, TX: North Texas Airstream Park

Ever since our our 2004 Landmarks West Airstream Caravan, we have wanted to get together with a fine couple we met on that 52 day memorable western tour. Bill and Sue are avid Bridge players and active Airstreamers. They may even hold the record for number of Airstream caravans completed. Their gaited community requires that all residents own an Airstream RV. Their home is lovely, and they even have a guest pad with full hookups. We enjoyed the convenience of staying in our own rig but parking right next to our friends for a week.

The park has many amenities, and the homes sell for a reasonable price. The residents are truly friendly, and Bridge players are plentiful. While most of our Bridge games were with Bill and Sue, we also played with several others in the park. There was an evening at the clubhouse with a potluck dinner and games afterward. We had the high Bridge scores for the evening and won the "big money"--about two dollars between us.
Ironically, the Sunday NFL game was between the Redskins and rival Cowboys. A couple, who were Bill and Sue's friends, had a party in their home. Jerry, the only Washington fan in the room besides Gloria, cheered loudly for the Skins, who walloped Dallas. Bottom line: We enjoyed our week at the Airstream park, but we may not get invited back.

One of the highpoints of the week was a trip to Waco with Bill and Sue. We drove through the scenic Baylor University campus and toured the Texas Ranger Museum. The latter is a "must do" for those traveling through Waco on I-35.

Houston, TX

Shortly after leaving Sabine Pass, we encountered a major storm; the rain was the worse we
had seen on our entire trip. The service roads in Houston were completely flooded, and the only drivers to brave them were aggressive pickup drivers. We felt like we were in Venice with no gondola. We stopped just outside Houston to purchase propane and gas at Flying J. Gas was no problem, but the attendant would not fill our propane tank because it was "too cold." It was 50 degees!
We finally found an ideal campground in Willis, about 30 miles north of Houston. Our site was free of mud puddles, the facilities were clean and well maintained, and we even had a scenic pond. That was quite a change from our week in Sabine Pass.

Later that evening we removed our propane tank from the trailer and took it back to North Houston. We stopped at the same truck stop for propane. The temperature had risen to 58 degrees with no rain. However the attendant still maintained it was too cold! Jerry asked, "So how warm does it have to be in Texas before you will fill propane tanks." The answer: "Somewhere above 60." So that's the perception of winter in Houston!
The highpoint of the day was a terrific dinner with on of Gloria's former high school students, Minh Chau, who was working in Houston. The delicious food, great service, and good conversation washed away the Flying J propane refusals.

Sabine Pass: Our Mission Accomplished

The next morning after our arrival, we were assigned to paint the interior of “Tammie’s Olde Tyme Diner.” We worked a few days with two other out-of-state volunteers. The diner was closed for inside seating but was open for drive-up meals. In fact, it was the only business other than the school and the post office that was open. Free food from the Salvation Army was available at Tammie's to residents. There were no gas stations, no newspapers, no grocery stores, and no laundries. Few homes were standing: The ones left with walls had roofs covered in blue plastic and were mostly uninhabitable.

When the diner painting was finished, we and the other two volunteers helped Richard demolish some structures at his residence that were beyond repair. We may not be handy, but give us some tools and we can destroy anything. The island’s new code requires buildings to be erected 13 feet above sea level. Richard and other residents had a big job on their hands. It was a sad day for Richard’s wife, Sharon, as she watched the remnants of their launderette and leftovers of former rentals being shoved into piles and set ablaze.

We worshipped with the local Baptist pastor and his small congregation on Sunday. Their church had been broken in half by the storm and practically gutted. The organ had been hurled into the adjoining field. The church is now meeting in the former community center. They have installed two washers and a dryer available to all residents of island. We were thankful to see their faith in action.

We worked in Sabine for one week, and now our “premier campsite” across from the school was needed for more FEMA trailers. The courageous victims of Rita continue to be in our prayers, and they will be in our hearts for years to come. If we are ever tempted to complain about anything, we need only to consider their great misfortune.

Sabine Pass: Our Unique Campsite

How long would we remain in Sabine Pass? We had no idea! The only campground (state park) had been wiped out. Richard offered us a site next to his “bombed out” home, but we would have sunk to our axles in the mud. We elected to deliver our church donations to the local high school where a donation center had been established. The school was fairly new and was the only structure in town virtually unharmed by Rita. The principal was in charge of assigning volunteers.

A young maintenance man wondered what we were doing parked in front of the donation center. When he learned of our need for a campsite, he boldly directed us to the yard of the school superintendent. He even plugged us into a 110 volt outlet on the superintendent's double-wide trailer. We asked what might be the superintendent’s reaction. The answer: “Ah, don’t worry about it. That’s where I parked when I first got back to town.” We noted that we were parked beside the only motel in town, and it was closed while undergoing major recontruction--No Rooms Available!

That evening we attended a community rally at the school with free entertainment and food for all. We learned that night that the people of Sabine Pass had a lot of heart. They would make the town better than it had been before Rita arrived.

Sabine Pass, TX: Pearl Harbor Day

We arrived in Sabine Pass in chilly , overcast weather on December 7. Our first impression as we entered the town was, “This destruction looks like the effects of a violent enemy attack.” Ironically, it WAS Pearl Harbor Day. Hurricane Rita had attacked Sabine with a vengeance. The entire world knew about Hurricane Katrina, but the victims of Rita had been largely forgotten by the media and by our government.

We had come to SP to help. We were also delivering a full load of donations from our home church in Virginia. We met our contact person, Richard, via cell phone; (No land lines were available.) He directed us toward the Coast Guard Station where he would be waiting in a “blue pickup.” We drove down a rutty, gravel road, barely wide enough for our rig. We passed wrecked ships and barges that had been heaved onto the land, fishing boats that were in the middle of fields, and offshore drilling rigs wrapped in plastic. There were no standing homes on that lonely, unused, rocky road and worse yet, No Richard! He suddenly appeared behind us, but there was no room to turn around. Richard somehow worked his pickup truck around us and led us several hundred yards down the barren road to the end of the island. We were relieved to finally find a circle with a large abandoned tower in the center. Finally, we could turn around and head back the opposite direction toward town.

Poor Old Louisiana

We traveled south from Natchez on Rt. 61, which runs parallel to the Mississippi River, and then west on Rt. 190 rather than cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on I-10. The surface of our road was decent, but the damage to homes and the terrain in Rita's angry wake a few months ago was significant and ugly. There were virtually no campgrounds left standing, and the few that were operative had been converted to FEMA trailer courts for displaced families. There was no scenery that warranted taking time for photos. Junk cars in yards were in abundance and reminded us of the poorest areas of WV and Eastern KY. The homes untouched by the storm were mostly double-wides that probably had needed repairs even prior to Rita's wrath. All of that was in sharp contrast to Nachez, which we had just left.

We traveled south from Natchez on Rt. 61, which runs parallel just east of the Mississippi. Then we turned west on Rt. 190 rather than cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on I-10 to our south. The surface of our road was decent, but the damage to homes and the terrain left in Rita's angry wake a few months ago was significant and ugly. There were virtually no campgrounds left standing, and the few that were operative had been converted to FEMA trailer courts for families displaced by Rita. There was no scenery that warranted stopping to take pictures. Junk cars in yards were in abundance and reminded us of the poorest areas of WV and Eastern KY. The homes untouched by the storm were mostly double-wides that probably had needed repairs even prior to Rita's wrath. All of that was in sharp contrast to Nachez, which we had left that morning.

The reason we were traveling in that stark, desolate area is because we were on an important mission. Our back seats were folded down, and our GMC Yukon was filled to the rooftop with our own stuff plus donated supplies from our church in Virginia. The goods, intended for the victims of Sabine Pass, TX, included everything from baby food to diapers to wet vacs. Sabine is the hometown of one of our church members and is located on the LA-TX border (Gulf of Mexico) in refinery country. It had been nearly wiped out by Rita, but the people had been evacuated prior to the big hit.

We finally found a place to stay in a rundown, combination motel-truck stop just before the Texas line. Even though it was dark, the friendly owner stayed open for us and provided a site with full hookups for our rig. She also invited us to use the laundry. Our dirty clothes were a big priority, since we knew that there would be no laundrys or campgrounds in Sabine Pass. It wasn't the Ritz, but we were grateful for the convenience of our site.

So Long Beautiful Natchez!

RVers are often frustrating when it is time to move on to a new destination. We felt that way when we had to say goodbye to this quaint, historical city on the Mississppi River. Her elegant mansions no longer house the fabulously rich cotton and shipping giants of a bygone era. Instead, the most lucrative business is the tourist industry. As we left, we remembered the tasty food--especially the barbeque, friendly people, and the vivid stories of success and failure that are a part of the Natchez story. We dreamed of someday taking a paddle wheel boat trip down Old Man River, the giant waterway that made Nachez so charming and important to the people of the South.

Camping and Worship in Natchez

We camped at beautiful Natchez State Park near the end of the Natchez Trace and close to the city. We could gaze through the fall leaves in the mornings and see a scenic lake from our rig.

Wherever we visit, we try to attend both Sunday school and church in the community. Sunday school gives us a chance to meet and interact with fellow Christians. It is amazing what one can learn from the locals. When we camp in a military RV park, we sometimes attend the post chapel, but we prefer a local Baptist church. We found a good one in Natchez not far from our campsite.

The Mansions of Natchez, MS

If you love old southern mansions as we do, you will want to visit Natchez. The old homes are particularly beautiful at Christmas time. The one on the left is unique, because of its octangular design. Regrettably, it's designer and original owner died before it could be completed. It's donor mandated that it can never be finished; it must be kept as the original owner left it. Hence, it looks much better from the outside than it does from the inside. One of our favorite mansions was Rosalee (right), which was built on an old fort site along the Missisppi River.

Natchez Trace: The Scenic Road Less Traveled

After leaving Jackson, we headed east in order to get on one of our favorite roads, the Natchez Trace. The full length of the entire highway is a federal park. It's a two-laner with no big trucks allowed and goes south from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS. After experiencing the stress of the interstate highways, the Nachez Trace seems like a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive. Surprisingly, we have never encountered traffic on either trip we have taken on this serene, historic road. Occasionally, as we enjoyed the rich colors of autumn, we would stop to read the signs along this lovely stretch of road. The old highway was once a main route for Native Americans and our early settlers.

Missippi Agricultural & Aviation Museum

We hated to leave Jackson. Regrettably, the wonderful museum at the Capitol, which we had liked so much when we were there a couple of years ago had suffered severe storm damage and iss still in a state of repair. We did visit the MS Agricultural & Aviation Musuem before leaving town. This musuem has many exhibits which are both inside and outside.

MS Governor's Mansion

About the time we thought our Capitol tour was over, one of the legislative aides told us to be sure to catch the free bus shuttle to the Governor's home. Ah yes! More goodies and another tour. The folks in Jackson certainly know how to celebrate Christmas.

MS Senate Chambers

After our private tour of the Governor's office, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms spent a long time explaining his job, showing us Senate photos and providing a tour of the Senate chambers. He even took our picture! The people of Jackson get our award for being the friendliest in the nation. There is something about their southern charm that makes one want to return.

Christmas Caroles in the Capitol

Our tour of the Capitol included refreshments and music. Local churches had been invited to send their choirs. The echos of their sweet gospel music resonated thoughout the stately building. The children's choirs were special. The soft glow of the lights and the wonderful architecture made the evening even more memorable.

Jackson, MS

The Mississippi Capitol was already glowing with the Spirit of Christmas in early December. The staff treated us like royalty, ensuring that our every need was met. Once they knew we were from Virginia, they worked to make us feel at home.

Missippi

We entered the State of Missippi on November 29, 2006. Our first stop was Meridian. There is little to see in this city, but they do have a lovely lake with a walking path that circles the entire scenic body of water. Our brisk walk in the sunny, fall weather was most inspiring.
We disovered a flat tire on our trailer on the morning of our departure. We pumped up the flat and pulled our rig to a tire repair center about one mile away.