Christmas is Grand

Spending our holidays with the Grands and their Dads. . .will catch you up on all our goings on next week. . .

Until then wishing you all a Merry Christmas. . .and the Happiest of Happy New Years!

Dave and Janice

ReadyToGoFullTimeRVing.com

Gearing up for all the Christmas Excitement. . .

What a difference a week makes.

After a quiet, and uneventful time last week, this week has been hopping. . .

Dave’s sister was performing at the Houston Heritage Society’s Candlelight Festival at Sam Houston Park in Downtown Houston, and got us free tickets for Saturday night. . . thanks Sis!

It was really great, and we highly recommend that you make plans to attend if you are in the area at Christmas time. . .Sam Houston Park is located on Buffalo Bayou with the downtown skyscrapers creating a backdrop.

There was a huge crowd, and a long line waiting to hear the Houston Boy’s Choir perform in this old German Church. . .

The boy’s choir has been performing at this event for over forty years. . .

Carolers entertaining the crowd

This gentleman was set up on the porch of an old log cabin, letting the kids sign their names with a quill and ink. . .they really seemed to be enjoying the experience. . .

There are several different eras of Houston History represented in the restored homes in the park. . .this is the Staiti Home, circa 1913. . .and was where our sis was performing. . .they told me I couldn’t take pics inside. . .but here is a You Tube Clip of the performance. . .Mary is the gorgeous one on the far right. . .it’s only a couple of minutes long!

Now on to the rest of our week. . .

It’s time for the Kid’s Christmas Drama at church. . .so of course, we want to help wherever we can. . .which just happens to be the props department. . .

One of the Dads did the cutouts. . .so this is what we started with. . .

and here was the finished product. . .it doesn't look like it in this pic, but it really is painted a beautiful gingerbread caramel color

some of the Moms were going to finish glittering it up and such. . .

While I worked on the Gingerbread House,

Dave took on the Castle and did a really great job. . .

I wish I could show you, but my pic of the finished product didn’t come out. . .

I’ll take more Sunday Morning, so you can see how wonderful it turned out. . .

In addition to painting props, this week,

our son celebrated his 35th birthday, (good grief)

so on Wednesday night we had all of them over for soup and cornbread that I had made, and a delicious homemade cheesecake that his better half Lori had made. . .

before the cherries were added. . .

it was wonderful, and worth every delectable calorie. . .

I can assure you that these poor old bodies are not used to all that exercise,

and we are feeling it today. . .

so we are taking it easy until our grandson’s basketball game this evening. . .

check in next week to see how he did!

Lunch with Friends, Cooking, and Basketball, Excitement

Here’s the real truth of full time RV Living. . .most of the time it’s just day to day life with a few moments of excitement thrown in. . .

This week we had friends over for a delicious chicken, cheese, and pasta soup. . .

along with a great pan of southern cornbread cooked in my new table top infrared oven.

 

and a follow up later that evening of my youngest grandaughter’s basketball game.  Since I had no clue what was going on, I decided the best thing to do was keep my eyes on the most important thing. . .here she is in action!  Doesn’t get much better than that. . .

And that was about it. . .Dave left on Wednesday to teach a class in Austin. . .I stayed here to hold down the home fort.

Tomorrow, we’re attending a Candlelight Tour in downtown Houston. . .thanks Sis for getting us free tickets.  I’m sure we’ll have some great pics for next weeks post. . .see you then!

From Blogger Pictures

Dave and I have lived in our RV Full Time since 2003, when we sold the house and everything in it, and have traveled fulltime since 2009. Follow our tales by signing up to follow our blog, and check back often as we share the tips and tricks of living the lifestyle.

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Evans Escapades: Rain - Mud–Weddings and Birthdays

It has been quite a week. . .we left Double Lake on Saturday morning, headed to my Dad’s place. . .

Beautiful and desperately needed rain. ..although we don’t normally travel on bad weather days, it was a really short trip. . .and no major highways, so we headed out. . .all was well until we got to Dad’s place. . .started backing in to the same place we’ve been parking for the last two years. . .never when it’s been wet though!

DRAMA. . .trust me. . .if there is any drama to be found. . .WE will find it.   This is probably the only soft spot in the whole place. . .and once it sunk. . .there was no moving it!

Thank the Lord for Emergency RoadSide Service to the rescue. . .thank you Hatch Wrecker Service. . .they were so nice!  Even offered to trade us their entire business, all the equipment, and the employees for our rig. . .even swap.  THAT was a definite NO. . .Thanks!  Once we got out of that little jam. . .we headed to the nearest RV park.

Here’s the entire reason for making the trip back to my Dad’s. . .my beautiful niece Kinsey’s wedding. . .

here’s our adorable great nephew Austin enjoying his favorite part of the wedding. . .once the wedding festivities were over, we could finally head for Houston and my grands fix. . .

Yes indeed!  If only I could put a brick on their heads. . .

and stop them from having birthdays. . .

I would be a happy grandma!

We are hoping to settle into a boring routine of catching up on projects until Christmas. . .ha!

Talk to you next week. . .we are off to find some Texas barbecue! With our entertainment coupon, we're going to buy one dinner, get one free at AJ's Meathouse in Dickinson. . .we already know they have good stuff. . .so the coupon is a bonus. ..click on link below to see the details.

Evans Escapades–Camping Out in the Woods

Here we are all snuggled up in the woods in Sam Houston National Forest in a lovely little campground named Double Lake Recreation Area. . .

Double Lake is consider the local “swimming hole.”  Sadly this is all there is of it at the moment. . .the drought has taken a toll on of the lakes in Texas. . .but this is the first one I have seen that is completely GONE!

Dave’s family reunion was just great. . .here’s a shot of the next generation of cuteness. . .the one on the right is our youngest nephew. . .of course we think he is just adorable. . .as are his second cousins!

This is Bailey the Beggar. . .she sat just like this then entire time I was eating. . .let me tell you . . .it was very difficult to resist that face. . .but resist I did. . .I didn’t dare feed someone else’s puppy table scraps. . .since I never fed them to my own dogs.

We head back to my Dad’s tomorrow. . .check on my Uncle who is in the hospital. . attend my niece’s wedding on Monday. . .then see you in Houston next week!

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Evans Escapades–Still in College Station

Here we are, still in College Station until next Wednesday, when we’ll head over to Cleveland for the annual Thanksgiving Day Keith Family Reunion at Dave’s cousins.

We have a reservation made at Double Lake Recreation area. . .had no idea they had RV spaces.  The ranger called last week to verify our reservation, and to let us know the ban burn is still in effect. . .so no campfires, no charcoal grills, etc.  Not a problem for us. . .we’re looking forward to seeing the park’s setup, as this would be a really convenient place to stay on occasion.

When we leave there, we’ll stop by my Dad’s place for a couple of days. . .long enough to attend my niece’s wedding the Monday after Thanksgiving. ..then on to Houston to celebrate our oldest grandchild’s 17th birthday. . .unbelievable. . .and spend the rest of the holidays with the family.

Hoping to see you a few of you . . .let us know if you can work us into your schedule. . .ha ha!




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Evans Escapades - A Week in the LIFE

We left the Thousand Trails Park on Lake Conroe a couple of weeks ago. . .

here's a shot of the boat docks from the park. . .no wonder the folks who live around the lake are screaming about the city taking an additional fifteen million gallons of water due to the drought. . .wow!

While we were there, we attended the not so great Cajun Festival. . .only worth it if you considered the entrance fee as going to a good cause, since it was a fundraiser for something or other. . .but. . .when the bus dropped us off. . .there was this beautiful mural. . .

I had no idea that Montgomery Country was the birthplace of the Texas Flag. . .hmmm. . .guess I'll be doing some research on that little tidbit of information. . .well, well, well. . .whaddayaknow. . .their website says they are considered to be  the birthplace of the Texas Flag. . .the guy who designed it lived there after all. . .but even Wikipedia gives them the credit. . .and they got this beautiful mural that says so. . .soooo. . .all righty then. . .that's good enough for me!

 So here we are in the beautiful town of College Station TX, until Thanksgiving. . .nothing much going on.

 I've dropped Dave off at the fire field a couple of times, so he can go do his thing. . .

We've found a great church to attend while we are College Station residents. . .felt like home from the moment we walked  in.  It's always great to feel at home worshiping with God's People. . .

 So even though nothing exciting is going on, I enjoy these down times to catch up on miscellaneous things that get overlooked when we are in travel mode. . .like filing. . .joy joy!. . .dusting. . .ha!. . .reading. . .now there's a good one!. . .and so on. . .

 We have a couple more weeks here. . .then we'll head to Cleveland TX for Dave's Thanksgiving Day Family Reunion. . .and then on to Houston, where we plan to be very, very busy, catching up with grands, family, eye doctor appts. . .and such. . .until Christmas.  . .

Enjoy your holidays!

Evans Escapades: Rockdale TX

We arrived back in Texas about a month ago, made a pass by my Dad's place to check on the folks, picked up our newest teenage grand and her older sister for a birthday weekend, saw the dentist, (again). . .that was another painful $250. . .ouch!. . .visited the other grands. . .had lunch with RV friends, and got our TexMex fix at the same time. . .and that's about it. . .it's been a whirlwind.

This past week, we spent in Rockdale TX. . .BECAUSE. . .it is football season for Texas A&M. . .AND. . .all the football fans bring their RV's to College Station for the entire season. . .SO. . .unless you plan ahead, and make reservations (which we did not think to do). . .you cannot get an RV space anywhere in the vicinity. . .thus, Rockdale for a week, until a space opened up. . .and then today we moved to College Station for a month, while Dave gets his teaching schedule all lined out.

We had a fabulous summer trip. . .I'm so far behind on the blog, that you are. . .EVENTUALLY. . .going to get the condensed version with pics and links. . .and those who are interested can click on the links for more details.

I've decided to go back to our Evans Escapades Blog for our friends and family who are only interested in what we are up to. . .and use the Ready To Go Full Time RVing Blog for all my tales about living this lifestyle full time, info about RV parks we stay in, and travel details. . .

We are still LOVING the lifestyle. . .and look forward to seeing all of you soon for the holidays and such. . .

Hugs,
Janice

Lake Bryan - a great getaway for a weekend of camping

Just out of College Station, Lake Bryan was a pleasant surprise. . .

a nice swimming area

everything is very close to the campground. . .we were there midweek, 

so there were only a few RV's in the campground. . . more info here

this looked like a great fishing spot. . .

and the restaurant is available if you don't want to cook.

This would be a great weekend getaway spot.

Be sure to check it out: Camping at Lake Bryan

Dave and I are having a blast traveling and sharing info with you guys.

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We look forward to visiting with you there!

And Life Goes ON

Although we ended up leaving the valley soon than we expected, we have enjoyed our time at "home" just visiting with the family.

Dave is staying busy teaching for the Fire School, which leaves me plenty of time to just goof off.  I am enjoying it immensely.  

My younger brother, the "sweetheart" of the family, celebrated his FIFTIETH on Valentine's Day, so of course we were there to help him enjoy the experience.

Since he is a child of the 60's, my sis in law decorated accordingly.

I know he enjoyed having all his kids and grands in one place, 

well, almost all of them. . .still missing the oldest grandson. . .

it's just nigh unto impossible to get everyone together.

Once the party was over, it was time to head out to our next destination. . .

which just happens to be right on Lake Conroe. . .

This is one of the "ponds" at the Thousand Trails Preserve on Lake Conroe. . .

and I fully intend to get some fishing in while we are here.

Just wanted to check in, and let you know that we are doing great, and having a blast.

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Our trip to the Rio Grand Valley was over before we could blink

Last week we were in the Rio Grand Valley, 

in shirt sleeves, eating at a restaurant right on the Rio Grand River, 

with our RVing friends, Katie and Eddie. . .

this park and playground was across the river in Mexico. . .

in Hidalgo TX, we were able to be within walking distance of the Border Fence . . . there was a walkway leading to where the Border Patrol were. . .but we didn't walk that far up.

also in Hidalgo was the very first irrigation pump used to pump water from the Rio Grand river to the fields in the Rio Grand area. . .the pump has been preserved, and there is a museum.

And alas . . .that was the end of our Rio Grand Valley Adventure. . .we received a call that night from my brother, saying that his Mother in Law had passed. . .since she had lived with them the past two years, we knew her very well, and felt the need to return home to be with our family. . .and offer our support.

So, here's the skyline of my favorite city, Houston TX, which we passed through last Friday on our way back to my Dad's place. . .no matter what your GPS tells you. . .if you are going through Houston on I-10. . .stay on I-10 all the way through.  Our GPS wanted to send us on two alternate routes, both of which we knew had huge, crazy bridges over the Houston Ship Channel. . .not our idea of fun, and which in the end would not have saved any time whatsoever.  To me, this is the one drawback to traveling, when you need to go through a big city, you don't know any better than to do as the GPS, or the map says. . .and sometimes, that is not great.  

Anyway, here we are parked at Dad's place again. . .making every effort to keep the water hose from freezing. . .ai yai yai. . .not fun. . .we will probably be here for the next two weeks.  

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