Full Time RV Living–Family Reunion–‘bout time

For Dave’s family reunion we were able to rent the

Family Center here at the park. . .

how convenient was that?

our beautiful Aunt Barbara and Uncle Wendell. . .

two very, very special folks. . .

just the cousins with Aunt Barbara and Uncle Wendell

everyone seemed to have a great day. . .

out of 14 total. . .

10 were able to make it. . .not bad!

and of course, my favorite part of the day. . .

he’ll always be my little boy. . .ha ha!

 

other than that, we’ve been doing chores. . .

I’m still sewing solar shades for inside the coach. ..

I’m a marathoner. . .not a sprinter. . .

so however long it takes to get them done is okay with me!

 

somewhere between Columbus and Conroe,

we lost the shroud for the A/C,

so of course, with rains expected. . .

that became a priority

 

$100 and couple hours later. . .that’s done!

and a water filter change. . .

think there’s a little rust in the water here?

maybe, just a little.

 

Monday, we head for Orange TX

to prepare for my family reunion. . .

and after that. ..

Summer Travels 2014

it’s getting very close. . .

 

til next time,

Janice and Dave

 

check out more family reunion pics

at Evans Escapades

 

Full Time RV Travel - Everybody LOVES the Blue Bell Creameries

after all. . .what’s not to love.. .

yummy, delicious, creamy frozen creations. . .

all under one roof. . .fabulous!

so. . .although we’ve been for the tour several times,

when the gang wanted to go. . .we were definitely onboard for the ride!

the lovely Blue Bells that the creamery is named for. . .

grow wild in fields around Texas in the summertime. . .

I admit to being an ice cream snob. . .

so when I go to an ice cream social at the RV Park,

if it’s not Blue Bell.. .I just do without. . .seriously!

Ben & Jerry’s or Haagen Daz will fill the bill. . .

but they are so pricey, I’m usually too cheap to spring for them. . .

so when we are out of state, I just had to be deprived. . .

Fortunately, Blue Bell has been branching out. . .

and we found Blue Bell as far north as a

Walgreens in Pennsylvania last summer. . .YES!

I fell in love with all the art

displayed throughout the museum area. . .

		Blue Bell Factory Tour ART VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I hope you enjoyed it as well. . .

and of course to end the tour. . .

Dave needed to ham it up with Belle. . .can’t take that man anywhere

Another wonderful day spent with RV friends. . . life is good!

Til next time,

Janice and Dave

Read more Blue Bell Creamery Stories and see more pics here:

Ed’s RV Tips – Ed Hurlburt’s Blog

Debi’s RV Cooking – Debi Hurlburt’s Blog

The Suite Life – Janice & Rick’s Blog
Fulltime Adventure - Kathy Detweiler

If you’ve done the Blue Bell Creamery Tour,

send me the link. . .

I’d love to share your story. . .

The Painted Churches in Schulenberg TX

The paintings inside a “Painted Church” are something you need

to experience first hand. . .there’s no explaining

the feeling that comes over you as you

stand gazing at the amazing artwork on the ceiling. . .

repeating “wow” over and over.

We spent the day exploring them all with

Rick and Janice, and Ed and Debi. . .

 

however. . .in Schulenberg. . . 
where German and Polish Bakeries abound,

with fabulous kolaches, we must fuel up before the touring begins. . .

The Kountry Bakery fit the bill perfectly. . .

then on to the Chamber of Commerce Downtown

for a driving map and brochure before the tour begins. . .

with a short drive through town to enjoy the historical homes. . .

note the stained glass windows on the second story,

and though it doesn’t show in the pic

all the first story windows are beautiful leaded glass.

The churches are spread out in various small communities

around Schulenberg. . .with this Historical “Piano Bridge”  built in 1885

(named because of the noise the planks made as they were driven over)

being on the way to our first stop at the church in Dubina. . .
Rick’s truck looks really great sitting up there, doesn’t it?

Here’s the part we didn’t realize. . .

AFTER we had driven OVER  the bridge, parked up ON the bridge to get pics. . .

walked AROUND the bridge exploring it. . .we drove on the the first church,

and discovered this sign. . .isn’t that great. . .glad we saw it afterwards. . .yikes!

The church in Dubina is not open to the public. . .

however, you can go into the vestibule,

and peer through the gates. . .so it wasn’t a total loss.

What we heard as the reason for it being locked

is that some of the statues and paintings

are inlaid with real gold. . . sounds like a plausible explanation.
(not sure of the validity)

this is the church at Freyberg. . .it is not as intricately decorated on the inside. . .

however, it is my favorite. . .it’s what I think of when I picture a country church!

It was a wonderful day, spent with friends,

ending back at Schulenberg for a late lunch

at the Country Smokehouse. . .

We saw several more churches on our tour. . .

I did not take pics of them all, as Dave and I had done this tour before. . .

you can read that story and see those pics here

If you’re in the area, you gotta do this tour. . .

If you’ve already done this tour, and have written a

blog post about it, please send me the link:

EvansEscapades@gmail.com

so I can add your link to this post for others to enjoy. . .

Til next time,

Janice and Dave

read Ed’s story and see his pics here

really great inside pics of the churches: Carolyn and Wally's Blog 

more great church pics and info plus
a wonderful recipe for Crockpot BBQ Brisket: Debi's RV Cooking

info about the surrounding area, and church pics:
Where's Weaver Blog

RV Tip For the Day:

I’ve never lived in an area with an extreme, extended winter season. . .

so I found this post about Why Folks Become Snowbirds very informative.

It’s a Beautiful Morning

just can’t beat waking up to this view. . .and sunshine. . .

it’s gonna be a great day

It’s Spring Break Week. . .

but only one of the grands could come spend a few days. . .

the oldest one was working. . .

the next oldest was sick. . .

the youngest had softball stuff going on. . .

which left only the middle grand daughter, Morgan. . .

who, at 15,

was more than content to spend her day

sitting on the couch with her computer,

and the TV Remote. . .

I guess it’s time for me to have a reality check. . .

We always had so much fun with them when they were little. . .

but I’m beginning to think at this age,

maybe just taking them out for dinner is a better plan.

I truly do understand. . .guess I’m just still hanging on. . .

not quite ready for them to be all grown up. . . (sad face)

Oh well. . .on to the next adventure!

Til then,

Janice and Dave 

 

Where’s Weaver? Well. . .We Found Them. . .

Oh my goodness. . .we have been following

Marsha and Paul’s Blog . . .Where’s Weaver since 2011,

when they, and we, were both headed down the East Coast.

 

I was googling our next stop. . .their blog popped up. . .

we discovered we were about a week behind them. . .

somehow made contact, and have been in touch

through our blogs and by email ever since. . .

but have just NOT been able to meet up until last week. . .

and then.. .the day we were supposed to meet,

this is what we woke up to. . .Winter Wonderland. . .ice everywhere. . .

(pics borrowed with permission from Ed’s RV Tips Blog)

but with eye doctor appointments already made,

we determined that if the roads weren’t icy,

we would go ahead and head out.

I sent Marsha a note to tell her

there was no need for them to get out in ALL this. . .

however, it was just misting on their side of town,

they didn’t get all the ice,

they couldn’t imagine why I was saying such a thing. . .

so on they came, and quickly found out. . .to their surprise,

how bad everything (except the roads) was.

here we all are. . .with our delicious Genghi’s Grill

Mongolian Wok stir fry’s. . .

this was Marsha and Paul’s first experience

at a Mongolian Wok. . .they really loved it. . .

if you like stir fry, and you’ve never been to one

you need to give it a try. . .

You basically go through a buffet line with a bowl. . .

choose your (uncooked) protein, veggies, sauces, toppings

and either rice or noodles. . .hand your bowl over to the

guy at the counter. . .and they cook it all right then, right there

on their humongous wok. . .really, really delicious

It was a great way to spend a couple of hours,

great food, even better conversation,

discussing all our travels,

their decision to buy a house in Ohio, sell their Phaeton,

and purchase a truck and fifth wheel to travel in.

We all basically flipped our traveling experiences. . .

they went from a motor home to a fifth wheel. . .

we went from a fifth wheel to a motor home. . .

I think we’re all really happy with our decisions. . .

which is just as life should be. . .all good!

 

As always, we are loving our time here

at Colorado River Thousand Trails Preserve. . .

 

Jan and Greg from Our RV Adventures Blog

were here the first week of our arrival. . .

it was nice to touch base with them again.
Although we are all from the same area in Houston,

our paths rarely cross. . .so we enjoyed

spending time visiting a bit. . .

then on to an FMCA Rally over the weekend. . .

these great folks do a lot of good things,

collect funds for the Ronald McDonald House,

makes lap quilts and blankets for the Fischer House.

We’ve enjoyed making their acquaintance over the last few months.

Lots of good eating and playing of games goes on at all the rallies too. . .

in between the projects. . .

 

hmmm. . .I guess that’s about it. . .

 

It’s kinda hard to believe that it will be time to roll North,

for our Summer 2014 Adventure in a five short weeks. . .

 

Til next time,

Janice and Dave