Rodeo, Ice Hockey and more!

There is plenty to see and do in the area so we tried to pick a park that was central to both Dallas and Fort Worth. We did the usual research and found a park however it turned out to be more like a car park with hookups than the luxury resort it was advertised to be, but we had booked and paid for it so we set up. We had a couple of days till Lauren arrived so we did not do to much as we wanted to save the things we wanted to see till she arrived. It was a long few days as we were also waiting to pick up our new trailer. As always the weather came into play, the night before Lauren arrived we got a dusting of snow, not normal so we were told, but no weather has been normal since we got here!

A light dusting of snow in Dallas




Tuesday arrived and we headed off to get Lauren. We allowed ourselves plenty of time to get to the airport and were surprised it was so easy. Dallas airport is huge, sporting five terminals. As you enter the airport precinct you go through a toll booth, get a ticket and then proceed to the relevant terminal. Payment is made when you exit and the fee was surprisingly cheap in comparison to our home town airport parking fees. Having an hour or so up our sleeved we decided to visit the bar at the Grand Hyatt, the one we had visited when we first arrived 2 1/2 months ago!

The plane was on time and Lauren arrived safe and sound.




We had plenty of things lined up to do and of course so did Lauren so the first night we started planning. The first place to see was the Dallas Cowboys stadium. We opted for the guided tour and it was money well spent. The complex has the worlds largest opening dome structure in the world, the largest HD TV in the world which has 3 million LED's in it and costs $600 an hour to run, and it runs all day so tourist can view it. The stadium is one of the cleanest I have ever seen. Many other events are held there including monster trucks where they truck in tons of dirt and when that event finished its trucked out again and the whole stadium is pressure cleaned. The field is artificial and they have four playing fields depending on the game, they just roll it up (8 hours) and put the required field down (16 hours). And to top it all off the entire place is air conditioned! A very worthwhile tour indeed.

Dallas Cowboys Stadium is amazing




One hell of a HD screen!




We even got to visit the Dallas Cheerleaders locker room.




Our next 'activity 'was the Fort Worth rodeo, it was the first for the new year so it was a sell out and a great night. We saw such events as "double mugging", "bronco riding", "stock sorting" and finally "wild cow milking" but the funniest event was the kids riding the sheep. These little tackers are aged from 3 to 8 years old and have all the bronco riding gear, right down to the chaps. They have a small stall set up where they put the kids on the back of a sheep. The aim of the game is to stay on the 'sheep's back' for as long as they can. The winner of the event actually rode the sheep backwards, lying down and holding on to the sheep's tail. We couldn't help laughing and thinking about our own grandsons tackling the event with as much gusto as the Texan kids.

Again we had a great night and we were pleased we went.

Got him!



Number 12 had his own style, and he won with it


They all get a trophy


Our final night was to a National Hockey match, again the first one for the season as the hockey players have been on "strike" for some time so everyone was very excited that the season had started up again. I always term ice hockey as a mans game and it did not disappoint. There was plenty of aggression and hits but they all had something to prove after being on strike for so long. Again it was a sellout game with 18,000 people there cheering their team on. Great match and much to the fans delight, the Dallas Stars won the game.

A great game to see, we want more!



Dallas is full of lots to do, we merely scraped the surface. Lauren experienced her first meal at a Taco Bell and much to our demise she loved it! We have had many Taco Bell meals in the past 2 weeks!!

Dallas is great but as always it's time to move on and find another experience in the USA - considering San Antonio or Corpus Christi. The weather will be the guiding factor!

- Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Dallas/Fort Worth Texas

Fort Worth/ Dallas RV Show

Whilst we were looking for a place to stay in Fort Worth I came across a promotion for the Fort Worth RV Show, well we are in the US and if anyone can put an RV show on it will be in America and in Texas! We were looking for a few "gadgets" for our trailer. The last day was Sunday and and we were very keen to go. So Sunday morning we set the GPS and head into town, a very pleasant trip on a Sunday.

We purchased our tickets and entered, I was gob smacked, it was completely in doors and it was huge there must have been hundreds of vehicles ranging from pop tops to 45 foot motor homes. So we set off to check them all out. As we are now "experts" in the field of fifth wheelers we made our comments to one another, we spoke to sales people and tyre kicked a few trailers and then one jumped out at us, yes we looked at one another and said "what a beauty"! It was 40 foot long and had 4 slide outs which really gave it some room it even had a king size bed!
And It had a man cave


And it even had a separate lounge area with sliding doors


Leather Lazy Boy recliners


A kitchen of course


So just to humour ourselves we asked the salesman if our RAM 2500 would tow something like this? His response was in the affirmative so now we asked the next question, how much would he give us as a trade on this. He took our current trailer details and headed off to speak to the head sales bloke. Five minutes later he was back with some figures, which we all know comes down to the changeover price.

I will take a step back at this point to say Rose and I had already started the ball rolling on starting up an LLC so we could own our trailer and truck outright as we have made the decision that we will definitely return to the USA some time in the future so having an LLC was the next logical step.

So the salesman returned with a changeover figure and Rose and I looked at one another with a look of "is he for real? We could do this!" I sat on the steps of the new trailer and did some real serious thinking. Rose was looking at me and I at her - we were thinking the same thing. Could we, should we and do we? So we did some more talking, letting the salesman know we needed to go away and think about this. We headed to the bar, grabbed a beer and discussed the pros and cons. It certainly did have all the features we wanted, obviously bigger with the added bonus that I could stand up in the bedroom which I could not do in our current trailer.

We returned and asked some final questions and were advised that it could be ready for delivery within the week. We went for a final look and gave the salesman the ok! The house mortgage would be a bit worse off but YOLO (we hear this means you only live once). We placed a deposit and headed home with big smiles on our faces.

We did it!


Come Tuesday and we headed off to Dallas to pick Lauren up. We had a big surprise for her as we kept our purchase pretty quiet. The plane arrived on time. It was so exciting seeing her, a big trip for a seventeen year old!

Lauren arrives


So we navigated our way out of the five terminals that make up Dallas Airport. As we head home we tell Lauren not to unpack her bags, she looks somewhat puzzled. We inform her of our latest purchase - the next month is going to be a whole lot more comfortable!!


- Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Fort Worth Texas

Sunshine at last! Or so we think?

The most nerve racking experience would have to be towing the fifth wheeler along the freeways of a major city, Houston is no exception! A city of 6 million people has plenty of freeways and unless you're doing the posted speed limit of 60 mph/100 Klm including through the centre of the city and on the over passes, you are going to be in trouble. We had to get from the south to the north and its not as simple as you might think. There are flyovers, merges, keep rights and keeps lefts and then you sought of spit out at the other end. We were lucky we got spat! Do not ever attempt this journey without a GPS! We both breathed a huge sigh of relief as we hit interstate 45 north and headed for Spring Creek.

Travelling through Houston on the freeway



We had chosen to go "up market" and give a resort RV park a go. At $40 a night we were hoping by paying more we may get better weather to go with it? No such luck it rained as usual but with one advantage, it was warm! Warm by American standards, not warm as we know it back home but anything over 12 Celsius is a bonus!

The Park View from on top of our trailer



Our first day was met with flood warnings for Houston. This area has been in drought for quite a few years so the rain would be a welcome relief for them. We were glad we could oblige and bring the rain with us! We had planned to go to the city centre of Houston but with flood warnings present we opted to do something more local and visited an historic place called "Old Spring" just 5 miles down the interstate.

We arrived and it was wet, yes wet,wet, wet. Will we ever see the sun again? So we jumped flooded gutters and visited a few of the standard shops - you know the ones women love and men hate. A fudge shop, now that's new, oh look a doll shop, never seen one of them before? And of course there was a candle making shop and a shop with all that expensive tacky crap you don't need. We flicked them and make a bee line for the German shop. Rose and I have a tradition where each Christmas we buy a hand blown glass bird for our Christmas tree each year. It's a German thing. So we went in and asked the lovely German girl about them. She knew exactly what we were talking about and dragged them out of the stock room where they had been put for next Christmas. I am sure she never expected to sell any more of them in mid January.

Rose holding a select item from the German shop



We headed for the Amish shop and ended up talking to the owner and his assistant about the USA and Australia, in particular the Australian gun laws. The slim 22 year old assistant packs a .38 in her car as well as owning several other firearms, now we are amazed. She told us a story of being pulled up by the police, no worries she said, put your hands in the air, declare you have a gun and the police are happy, just no sudden moves and all will be ok, just another day for a citizen of Texas.

Next stop was the "Jailhouse Saloon" - can't not stop at a place with a name like that! The Saloon had a heavy wooden door and was dark with no windows inside. We were made welcome and every time someone new walked in we were introduced - Aussies in a place like this was obviously not a common event. We met some really lovely people including a couple from Missouri who we may catch up with later in our travels. The bar maid came from a place called "Hell", and she was very proud of that fact. There was also the resident cat called Harley who slept on the Harley Davidson bike which was placed high above the bar. This bar is quite unique, it is called an "Ice House" which means that the licence they hold enables them to sell beer and wine, but not spirits. A customer can however bring their own liquor into the bar and pay only for the mixer and the ice to go with it. Got to love the USA.

The lovely people we met at the Jailhouse Saloon, John and Adele (centre) and the barmaid from "Hell" in the state of Michigan (left)



The storage room is the old cell



The resident cats name is "Harley" and she sleeps on the Harley atop the bar


After a few inexpensive rounds of drinks we headed home, excited that sunshine was being predicted for the following day.

- Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Spring Creek,Spring,United States

The Weather is against us

We drove down from Sandy Creek in our two vehicle convoy and had only been on the road for 40 mins when Ceil calls over the radio, "hey Ron there is a Dairy Queen place up ahead, do you still want your chocolate and peanut butter milkshake?", I have been craving this milkshake since we got here so a quick yes, we park and my craving is satisfied, thanks Ceil. We hit the road again and continue heading south to the island of Galveston Texas. As alert as I thought I was I once again missed the turn off into the park! It is no easy feat doing a u turn in this rig!

A rare shot of Chuck and I with something other than a beer in our hands



We had decided to stay at a state park and with everything in the USA it all changes depending on which state you are in. Texas is no different. At their state parks you pay a camping fee but then they stitch you up for and entrance fee, of $5 per person, per day so ended up costing us $35 a day not cheap for a site with no sewer hook up. They will however waiver the daily entry fee if you decide to join the Texas Parks for $70. As we are intending on staying in Texas for over a month we are sure to recoup that initial outlay. The woman at the park office would be the first person we have spoken to who was rude, she was obviously having a bad day and it showed. For example we picked a site and she snapped back, "that's a 90 degree turn site and you can't go across the grass!" Oh please there is grass growing though the cracks in the road, it's not as if someone has been trimming the edges and its some manicured park. We agree that Chuck and I would un hitch the Jeep and the girls drive up to check out the sites. Broomhilda (our new name for the park officer) snaps back "I can't guarantee the site you choose because if someone comes in before you return I may give them the site you have chosen! We looked around the office and given we are the only ones there, we decide to take the risk. Sites chosen we head off to set up.

Don't drive on the grass! Our perfectly manicured site!



For the next 3 days the wind blew, it rained non stop and the temperature plumetted, it was freezing, the heater was on 24/7. We ventured out one day for a drive and lunch but it was even too cold to enjoy it. We had planned to hold our own tailgate party and watch the NFL Cincinantti Bengals play in the play offs at Chuck and Ceils. Their motor home has an outside television. We were all set up but the weather forced us inside before the game even started! The Bengals lost the match but a few (too many for some!) comiseratory drinks and all was forgiven and forgotten!

Finally on the 4th day the sun broke through and we were able to go for a walk on the beach, be it rugged up in our hoodies.

The Gulf nearly had surf conditions!



NFL playoffs at Chuck and Ceals motor home



All good things must come to an end and our feet were starting to get itchy so we planned to go out for a farewell lunch with our travelling companions the next day. As Chuck had never tried fresh oysters and was keen to give them a go, we found an oyster bar called the Black Pearl. First up we ordered two dozen freshly shucked oysters followed by deep fried jalapeños stuffed with crab and shrimp and then Boudin balls, a mixture of rice and chopped sausage, again crumbed and deep fried. We were so impressed we have googled the recipes- these will definitely be on the menu to accompany a few drinks on the balcony at Spring Hill when get home!

Lunch at the Black Pearl



Our last day in Galveston was sunny but low temperatures so we all bundled into Ceil's V8 jeep and headed up to the NASA space centre near Houston. We did the full tour which included a view of the astronaut training facility as well as other parts of the US space program including the Saturn 5 rocket which propelled the Apollo missions into space. Very interesting and great value at $17.50.




"Houston we have a problem", for those of you that remember those famous words, the original control room for the Apollo missions has been preserved



The astronaut training facility is still used by all astronauts preparing for missions to the International space station


They even have Lego for the kids! I was going to build a replica of the Space Shuttle but Rose said we don't have time


Day 5, Rose and I had had enough of the cold, windy beach so we made arrangements to head further north away from the constant wind we had been subjected to for the last 5 days, so we said a very sad farewell to Chuck and Ceil for a second time, packed up and headed to the northern side of Houston.


- Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Stewart Rd,Galveston,United States

Sandy Creek National Park

After two nights in Texarkana we had a plan and we also had a couple of surprises. The first being that my daughter Lauren will be coming over to stay with us for a few weeks. The second was that our new friends Chuck and Ceal had thrown in their volunteer job at Hot Springs due to the conditions and said that they would love to meet up with us again. We were truly flattered and of course we said yes! That sadness we felt in leaving them two days ago was gone and we were so excited to be catching up with them again so soon. We let them know of our plans and we agree to meet up at Sandy Creek.

We arrived at Sandy Creek not knowing what to expect. The park is run by the Army Corp of Engineers or ACE. Now here is an interesting fact, the ACE run and maintain all the fresh waterways across the states including the canals in places like New Orleans. This means that just about every park run by ACE will be on the water and they are not expensive to stay at. This one at Sandy Creek cost only $16 a night, electricity and water included. A dump station is located on site for black and grey water.

We checked in at the gatehouse and were given a map of the park. It is huge with the sites well dispersed with both 30 and 50 amp sites. Our only consideration was to make sure the site near us had 50 amp power for Chuck's motor home. We found two suitable sites and settled ourselves in. Unfortunately a few technical problems prevented our friends from making the entire trip that day, so they let us know that they would be doing an overnight Walmart stop and joining us the following day. So we soaked up the beautiful sunset across the lake (it was our last as the the weather changed to windy and cloudy for the rest of our stay) and enjoyed the warmer climate. After putting up with minus 3 degrees for the last few nights the 9 degree heatwave went down really well.

Sunset at the Park


The next day we needed to go into the township of Jasper to get some supplies and refuel the truck. As Rose was not feeling well I left her tucked up in front of the heater. Shopping done and the last thing on the shopping list was a bottle of scotch (for medicinal purposes of course). Liquor stores are sometimes hard to find in some American counties and this one was no different - the closest one was 10 miles out of town. On the way out I passed Chuck and Ceal so rang them and gave them final directions to the park. I arrived back at the park just as they pulled up at the front gate. To compensate for the delays and hassles they had encountered we cooked dinner for four that night.

Chuck and Ceals motor home. It has heated floors and they tow a V8 Jeep behind it!


As the weather was still cold and not really suitable for any outdoor activities we all decided to head into the township of Lufkin (which was about 50 miles away) to see the new Jack Reacher movie. We would never think to drive that far for any movie but Jack Reacher was definitely worth the trip! Back to the park for baby smoked ribs for dinner bought all the way from Hot Springs.

Everything in Texas is big, even the trucks!



The weather channel is our guide these days and indications where that the current cold, stormy conditions where not going to improve any day soon so we all agreed to head further south to the city of Galveston. Galveston sits on the west side of the Gulf of Mexico and we were hopeful that it would produce some warmth and sunshine. A quick check of campsites available in the area we booked two sites at one of the many Texan State Parks, this one being right on the beach front for only $25 a night.

Galveston, oh Galveston..............


- Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Jasper,United States

We need to re group

I could hear John's voice saying, "Head south young man head south" and so we did. Three nights of running the generator to mainly stop our pipes freezing was enough. If we had shore power we would have been better off but based on the information given to us by the Park Ranger it didnt look like the power would be back on any time soon. I woke up and said to Rose that's it ,let's move on, a quick discussion and we began packing up. Forty minutes later we were ready to hit the road including removing the snow and ice from the slide outs so they could be retracted. Our new friend Ceal came running over, although a little sad, was not surprised that we were pulling out. Once packed up we had a final cup of coffee with her and Chuck. An hour and a half later we said our goodbyes, exchanging phone numbers and email addresses reassuring them that we would visit them at their farm in New York State next year.

A sad farewell to our new friends Chuck and Ceal


We headed out driving very cautiously as there was still plenty of snow about, trees on the road etc. Where to? We didn't care as long as our next destination had power - someplace to regroup, dry out and re stack the trailer, there being a two fold reason for restacking - we are expecting a visitor from home who will be staying with us for a few weeks in January.

We decided on a town called Texarkana which was only two hours south in the state of Texas. From what we could see Texarkana was not known for its tourist attractions however that did not deter us, we were seeking power!! We found a park and booked in for two nights. The next morning we sat at the dinning table and basked in the sun, yep the window was warm to touch!

Two hours later we had devised our travel plan based on the fact that we needed to be in Dallas on the 15th of Jan to pick up our visitor. The eastern side of Texas is our destination.




- Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:W 7th St,Texarkana,United States