As the holidays quickly approach, we are reminded of all the things we are thankful for.  Even though around the holidays it is sometimes hard not being with family in WI, we have the miracle of technology to be thankful for to continue to share those special events with them.  This will be our second holiday season on the road and we are looking forward to the nice weather in central Texas while we watch the snow continue to fall up in WI.  Sure looks pretty from here!

We are forever thankful for our wonderful family and friends who support us on this journey.  They give us great places to visit, sweet moochdocking spots and delicious home cooking!  We have also met alot of people on the road and made even more great friends who we love crossing paths with and planning meetups down the road.   It is true that RV'ers are some of the nicest folks! 

We are thankful for our health.  Some family and friends we know are facing challenges in this area and for once we are healthy...aging with the old fart aches and pains, but not faced with health issues as in recent past.  As some of you know before even hitting 50, I had a hip and shoulder replacement and was the poster child for the lovely pelvic mesh issues.  I am thankful that those issues are behind me and even though there are some residual pains, it is just the new norm and I am thankful to be on this side of the turf!

We are thankful to be living our dream, traveling this great country and seeing just how wonderful, diverse and beautiful this great country of ours is!  We have been to some amazing places, seen some amazing things and made some great memories and we are soo excited to see what this next year brings! 

We are thankful we have not had any accidents or major issues with our vehicles.  This was never more clear than when we were the first to come upon an accident after dinner with friends.  A single vehicle up on its side on a dark Austin road with a scared and only minorly injured young girl inside.  Thank goodness for airbags!  The 4 of us immediately jumped into action and stayed with her until the fire dept arrived.

​We are also thankful for the ability to give back while we travel this big, beautiful country.  We prefer to volunteer for our workamping assignments.  Not only do we feel like we are giving back to the community we are in, we also get to experience the gratitude people have for what we are doing.  Campers thank us for keeping the campgrounds and parks clean and those we are working for appreciate the extra set of hands to make their job a bit easier.  That is is payment enough for us, although, truth be told, we do appreciate the free campsite while there!

Finally, we are thankful for each other.  Many couples would not be able to spend most of their time together in a small space like we do.  This is not to say we don't need our alone time, doing things separately, which usually looks like Rick dropping me off at the laundromat while he goes to wash the truck.  Super exciting right???  Well that's just how we roll.  Not all of this lifestyle is seeing spectacular places and things all of the time.  Although, I will say, the 2 hours spent at the laundromat will allow you to see a whole lot of interesting stuff!!!  WOW!!!  Oh the interesting people that grace our presence there!

​This quote I found really sums up our feelings of being thankful and why we made the jump into this full-time RV lifestyle.

After spending some time in the Piney Woods area, we made our way to our next campground where we would be spending over 2 months.  We arrived at McKinney Falls State Park in Austin a couple days before the end of the month to acquaint ourselves with the area and pick up a special package at the airport.  Our boys were coming to visit us, well that and they were coming to attend the Formula One race.  This was the other Christmas "experience" gift for the boys.  Last month we took them to see Hamilton in Chicago and now to experience the only Formula One race in the U.S. in Austin.

We reserved a site for the three nights prior to the start of our workamping position.  It was a lovely pull thru site on a small loop that only had about 7 sites, so it was nice and quiet.  We got acquainted with the campground, the park and the local area.  Of course we found the local Walmart and actually decided against going back to that one.  The area was soo congested and right on the I-35 access road, so it really was not a fun time trying to navigate through all of that with a big dually truck.  That is just the reality of our life with a big truck that we manage through as we go places.  There are several other Walmarts in the area so we will explore a couple others.  

This park is considered an urban state park as it is in the Austin City limits, but when you are in the park it feels just like any other state park, but with a bit of road noise.  Still a really nice park.  Obviously by the name there are some waterfalls, not huge ones like Niagra Falls but unique limestone falls.  Onion Creek meanders through the park and has smoothed out the limestone rock where water flows over.  The water level is low right now so the falls are a little more than a stream but we have heard that it is not uncommon for them to be flooded with a good rain.  In the summer, this is a hot spot for locals to cool off.  Almost every weekend the park is at capacity and has to turn day use visitors and campers away.  While the boys were here, we went exploring the Upper Falls.  You can see the small falls in the first picture.

We also spent a day downtown Austin, checking out the TX State Capitol and seeking out some TX BBQ.  The capitol was pretty busy and even had a visiting Korean exchange group performing in the rotunda.  We were lucky to score one of the free tours and learned alot about the building and the history of Texas.  It certainly holds true to the saying that everything is bigger in TX, being that it is taller than the national Capitol in DC.  Attention to detail is everywhere from "Texas" being on the rotunda ceiling, the light fixtures and even the hinges!  Since the capitol is downtown Austin, when it came time to expand, they had to get creative and decided to build down, rather than up as not to take away from the grand view of the capitol building.  There are now two levels underneath the capitol and the last few pictures are from that area.  Oh, and believe me, it is not just long, dank hallways underground there are skylights and columns and alot of grandeur just as there is in other parts of the building.

We worked up an appetite after visiting the capitol and were in search of some good ol TX BBQ to continue our BBQ tour of TX.  Looking on Tripadvisor and Yelp, there were a couple suggestions in the downtown area, one getting really good reviews.  We decided to check it out but came to the quick reality that 1, we were never going to find a place to park and 2, the line was around the building and out in to the parking lot.  We were too hungry to wait so we opted for another BBQ joint further out of city center towards our park.  We found Pokey-e-Joe's bbq and enjoyed some good bbq and delicious banana pudding.

The real focus of our boys visit was the Formula 1 race, held at Circuits of America which is just 15 minutes away.  Well without traffic, but more about that later.  We decided to check it out prior to the race and glad we did so that Rick knew where he was going and what to expect.  We scored some awesome tickets through Vettix and then paid for a parking pass.  There is not alot of parking options in the area, so the pass was a must.  We also took some teaser pictures that we sent to the boys while they were still in snowy WI.  Their day at the race on Sunday was a balmy 75 degrees and sunny.  They had a great time and came back with sun tans/burns.  I opted to stay home and let them enjoy their manly bonding time.  Good thing I did because I would not have been pleased with the over 3 hour drive back , or shall we say crawl, from the racetrack!  Just getting out of the parking area took over 2 hours!  Well, at least they enjoyed their day and Nicholas got to see his driver win the championship.  

While the boys were here, we also moved to our Park Host site.  It was great to have a couple pair of extra hands to make light work of the move.  The site is a pull thru, full hook-up that allows us to have privacy and lots of room.  Also, on this side of the loop, you hear less road noise. 

We said goodbye to the boys on Tuesday as they flew back to cold, snowy WI with sunburns.  They should stand out in a crowd there!  
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We then readied ourselves to start our workamping jobs the next day.  We were originally going to be night hosts at the front gate for 5 days a week from 5-10pm, but found out when we arrived that we would be part of the maintenance team instead and be working during the day, 8am-12pm, M-F.  We were a bit shocked at first that no one reached out to let us know about the change, but are ok with it now.  We aren't night owls much anymore and a daytime shift works better for us. 

We are doing your standard campground upkeep such as cleaning sites and firepits and yes this one involves cleaning bathrooms.  We are assigned one campground loop that has a bathroom and a shower house.  We also have the cabin area shower house.  Honestly, I think I would rather clean the campground bathrooms rather than the day use bathrooms.  Being an urban park, there is a high volume of day use visitors and those bathrooms are heavily used, day and night.  We have been very lucky so far in that the bathrooms have been pretty clean.  We work as a team and have our pick of Gator or Mule UTV's, or on cold days, we also have use of the Park trucks.  We have come to quickly prefer the Mules over the any other.  Besides cleaning the campground area, we also ride the trails on the UTV and pick up trash, trim branches and keep the picnic areas clean.  Rick will also be doing some mowing and weed whipping as well.  In TX they require 100 hours a month per site and between the two of us that is really easy to do and more.  We like to volunteer and do not mind putting in a couple extra hours.  We are appreciated here and considered part of the team.  There are 4 other workamping couple here that do a variety of tasks including maintenance, front desk, night host and plumbing.  We've met most of them and all seem to be very nice.

While out and about on the job we have come across all sorts of wildlife.  Every day we see several deer in the park, including some nice bucks.  We have seen a couple foxes, guinea hens and lots of hawks.  One early, rather cool morning, while cleaning the cabin restrooms, I rounded the corner and found a nice size snake trying to wiggle its way into the women's shower house to get warm.  Yep, that was a no go for me and I sent in the big guns! Rick grabbed the trash picker and relocated him to the woods.  We have not seen any armadillo or turkeys yet, but have been told there are some in the park as well.

We will be here at McKinney Falls for November and December and are looking forward to exploring the area and getting the local feel.

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In anticipation of our upcoming workamping position for Nov & Dec, we decided to relax a bit and check out some of east TX.  First off was the Piney Woods area that included the Sam Houston Ntl Forest.  We found a Passport America RV park in Trinity, TX that was right on Lake Livingston.  Marina Village Resort was an interesting park.  It is an older park at the back of a HOA type golf subdivision that has had a bumpy past and has changed hands.  It is very easy to see that the HOA rules were VERY relaxed or nonexistent at times since there are some abandoned looking homes, mixed with newer brick homes and older, run down Brady Bunch homes.  Are you getting the visual yet???  It is a mish mash of homes for sure!  So you drive through this sprawling subdivision back to the RV park.  Most of the sites have water view with some on the water.  We were lucky enough to grab one of the waterfront sites in a smaller loop.  The loop was probably not meant for big rigs but we were able to squeeze in and creatively get out.  Amenities include a small marina with boat rentals, a small store with bait, laundry and 2 pools.  Everything was clean but looking tired and old.  It was nice and quite with about 70 percent of the park empty, which is why we couldn't understand when a couple pulled their camper in right next to us.  Really?  Did I mention their little dog barked and howled all day while they were gone?  Sometimes you just gotta wonder.  Oh well.  There was alot of wildlife to keep us entertained as well.  Deer were out all over during the day and not shy about getting close.  You definitely felt like you were in their space.  There was even a flock of pelicans that landed for a couple days.

While in the area we visited the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and the HEARTS Veterans Museum in Huntsville, TX.  The Sam Houston museum is part of the Sam Houston State University.  Sam Houston was an important figure in the fight for Texas' independence.  He served not only as the President of the Republic of TX, US Senator and Governor of TX but also, prior to those dates, he was the Governor of TN.  The museum was nicely done and the grounds had several period buildings, including two of his homes.  It was a beautiful day for a walk on the grounds!  

After the Sam Houston museum we made our way to the HEARTS Veterans Museum.  Unlike other military museums, this one had a focus on the veterans and their experiences throughout the years in the military.  There was veteran insight from the Revolutionary War to current day.  It was nicely done with personal veteran artifacts and included several outdoor displays of military vehicles and planes.  Unfortunately, we were too engrossed in the information to take pictures and by the end we were starving, so Rick didn't even get pictures of the vehicles.

We quickly decided to start our TX BBQ tour here in Huntsville and went over to Walls BBQ.  We figured if we are going to be in TX for 7+ months, we might as well have some sort of goal as we move around the state and what better than a BBQ tour!  Walls BBQ is located in a gas station strip mall on the side of the freeway.  You know, the hole in the walls are usually the best!  Well we were pleasantly surprised that this was relatively new and was really cool inside.  It is dedicated to the prison across the road and "The Wall", which would be the last place you go through as you are released.  There were alot of prison pictures, especially of the prison rodeo that was held there up until the 80's.  It is also frequented by prison staff as well.

We are both brisket fans bit will not shirk away from trying any BBQ.  On this day, Rick decided to step outside the norm and try the brisket fries and street corn.  They were amazing!  I had some brisket, beans and slaw and all were very good.  I don't think we ever met a brisket we didn't like.  Perhaps by the end of our BBQ tour we will have developed that discerning taste to know the best of the best, but hey, this was some of the best we have had thus far.

 After 5 days at Marina Village, we mosey'd on down the road to Bryan/College Station for another Passport America stay at The Galloping Snail.  Heck the name itself made it irresistible, but at 50% off, that sealed the deal.  We were soo intrigued with the name, we asked the owner about its origin, and it was actually his mothers CB handle.  Cool!!!  This quaint little park is on the outskirts of Bryan near the Expo Center.  The vibe here was numerous full time residents who really kept to themselves and a couple transient travelers coming through.  The sites are full hook up, pull thru for travelers with an awesome laundry room building that also has two full amenity home type bathrooms, one even having a bathtub!  You do not see that very often at campgrounds!  There was also a cool community room with all sorts of games like pool table, foosball, air hockey and a cute little bowling alley.

Our main reason for picking this area was to hit up our second Presidential Library and Museum.  This one being the George H.W. Bush museum on the grounds of Texas A&M.  We really enjoyed this museum as it was a president in our lifetime, so we could easily relate to displays and history.  It was especially meaningful for Rick as the fall of the wall in Germany occurred during Bush's presidency.  This was the same wall that Rick guarded while serving in the Army in Germany and he was able to stand near a portion of that wall again.  The museum was very well done, the grounds and Barbara's rose garden beautiful and the burial site powerful.

Also during our short stay in the Bryan area, we went to check out Messina Hof Winery.  Friends introduced us to this winery and had given us some of their sweet white wine in the past, so we decided to check out their reds.  We'll just say we found several we liked and did not walk away empty handed!   It was a really cute estate winery where they produce the wine, have a tasting room and store and also a nice restaurant and bed and breakfast.

After our short stay in Bryan, we moved closer to Austin where we relaxed at a Wilson Fox Corp of Engineer park on Granger Lake, northeast of Austin.  Again, we did not realize we would be there for a holiday.  You see, alot of holidays seem to slip by us in this lifestyle.  However, after seeing lots of families come in for the weekend and start decorating their sites, we knew we better be ready with candy for trick or treaters.  Good thing we did, because Saturday night they were out in full force!  One site even had a little haunted walk of sorts.  These folks really got into it!
While at the park we were able to finally see an armadillo!  We were soo excited as this was our first sighting!   They really do not pay much attention to you as they are super interested in the bugs, until you get close, then they HOP off.  I wish we would have taken a video because I could not believe that it was hopping like a bunny...as much as an armadillo can hop.  We also took a walk on our first night in the park and came upon a swarm of monarch butterflies.  Turns out this park is on their migration route to Mexico.  Glad we took that walk because after that we only saw a random butterfly here and there but never another swarm. 

Another stop on our BBQ tour was Louie Miller BBQ in Taylor, TX.  This place was on a side street downtown and if I wasn't using Google Maps, we would probably have had a hard time finding it.  A very unassuming little hole in the wall place.  BUT, this was a 2006 James Beard award winning BBQ restaurant.  Why heck ya, we're in!  It was a cool little place that seems to really do a hopping business and is tops with the locals and we were able to get in right when they opened on Monday for lunch.  We are brisket fans mostly and this did not disappoint!  The smoked turkey and bbq pork were very tasty as well! 

While at Granger Lake, we were also able to meet up with friends who live in Killeen.  We met up at Johnny's in the quaint little town of Salado, TX.  Think of roadside bar and restaurant and that's what Johnny's is.  They have had some big names perform there prior to hitting it big.  Cool stuff all over the walls too, including some stuffed varmint.  We had some delicious country fried steaks and then decided to check out the downtown Salado strip.  Unfortunately, they roll the streets up at 6pm since they are all little shops.  Perhaps we'll have to stop back when we are in the area again.

Well that wraps up our time exploring East Texas.  Up next, we are excited to make our next move, see family and start our next workamping assignment!