Evans Escapades: Winding Down at Lake Conroe

Yesterday, I headed out on my own for some shopping therapy. 

Since Dave was gone part of the week, he stayed home for some down time of his own. . .

 

As sometimes happens when we are parked in one place for a month, not much is happening. . .

so I have been going on walks to entertain myself. . .

the blackberries are blooming. . .

 

the honeysuckle are gorgeous. . .

ducks on the lake. . .I swear they were having a conversation.

my awesome grand. . .note the skeet in the background. . .we were so proud

Dad holding court at family reunion. . .my cousin seems amused!

and so it goes. . .heading to San Antonio next week. . .

 

See you down the road. . .

Full Time RV Living–Evans Escapades–Life in the Slow Lane

Other than the thunder rumbling overhead,

and the rain pounding on the roof,

it’s been very, very quiet around here,

It’s raining so hard, water is pouring

down the side of the window,

and standing in the streets.

I certainly hope it will all drain right

into Lake Conroe. . .which is still

down about four feet.

 

We’ve taken advantage of some down time

to get some projects done

 

 

We got rid of Dave’s sad and pathetic desk,

and our file cabinet, which had seen a

few too many rough roads,

and replaced it with this setup

which we designed for our space.

I completely decluttered my desk,

and the entertainment center,

painted the entire background black,

which allows all of the components to blend in.

Once I get my curtains hung, it will be complete.

 

Speaking of decluttering,

I’ve been cleaning out cabinets,

drawers, and pantries.

Here’s my collection of stuff

that needs to be dropped

off at Goodwill on our

next trip to town.

I have almost all of our music CD’s

copied to the computer. . .

 

Only a few boxes of vacation videos

and pictures to go. . .

Dave only has two classes left to teach

before we head to Colorado for the summer. . .

so we’ll just enjoy the redbuds blooming.

 

Next weekend is our annual family reunion. . .

Should be a great time seeing all the cousins,

aunts, and uncles. . .

 

I know a lot of you are heading back north,

Travel safely,

Janice

 

Evans Escapades–Low Water Crossings

 

As we drove across the bridge into the Colorado River Preserve RV Park,

a part of the Thousand Trails Membership System, in Columbus TX a couple of weeks ago,

I commented to David, “well, I’ll bet this is  a low water crossing.” 

Having had one of these on a mail route I delivered,

I recognized that low dip in the road, with the little creek trickling under it. . .

Lo and behold, the following Wednesday,

as we thought we were leaving the park, this was the scene.. .

After five inches of rain in two hours. . .and a huge tree from upstream blocking the culverts. . .

no one was leaving the park anytime soon. . .

it looks good here, it was almost to the top of the railing when we first arrived. 

At that point, we wouldn’t even consider taking our big truck across, much less a regular sized vehicle.

I told one guy, (on FaceBook,) who said we could go swimming. . .no way, that looks like class five rapids!

Once the rain stopped,

the guys at the park got out the trusty John Deere,

to move the tree, and debris, and had us out of there in short order!  Good job guys. . .

Our resident Red Tailed Hawk that we’ve been watching,

caught itself a squirrel when it made the mistake of running on the ground from one tree to the other. 

I had the camera out, trying to get a shot of it in flight,

when all of this took place.  I was thrilled to get such an awesome pic!

 

Now that we’ve decided to keep the fifth wheel rather than purchasing a motor home,

we’ve gotten started with the repairs it is going to need. . .

Our big living room slide has always needed an assist.

It’s almost like they didn’t put in a quite big enough motor for all that weight. 

It used to be that Dave could just go out, and give it a push as I was pushing the button inside. . .

but a couple of trips ago, it started making a horrible sound,

like gears grinding, or some such nonsense. . .so here is Dave with the crank bar. 

It’s like starting a Model A. . .he cranks away, I push the button and pray. . .

 

however, this is not even the worst of it. 

 

The kitchen slide opposite this one, has been hanging up in one corner. . .

but with a little assist from the trusty crank, would always just come right in. 

We’ve known it was somehow out of balance. . .

but after trips to three shops where they told us they just couldn’t see any problem. . .

that it was on all it’s rails. . .nothing was out of place. . .

we just accepted using the crank as part of our normal breakdown routine. 

 

Well, ladies and gentlemen. . .after putting it in the shop this week, we find out that, yes, it is on it’s rails. . .

however, one of the rails has come loose from the frame,

and in order to do the repair, they will need to completely remove the slide from the coach. . .oh Lord!

 

Not only will they remove the slide, they will remove both refrigerators from the slide,

before it is removed. . .so, we emptied out both the fridges. . .

I’m much, much too cheap to let all that stuff go to waste. . .

Thankfully, I had been holding off on grocery shopping until we got to San Antonio. . .

so this stuff managed to fit into the hotel fridge. . .

I know, I know. . .we could have came and stayed with you. . .

there were any number of friends and family who would have been more than happy to have put us up. . .

but. . .we are soooo independent. . .we keep weird hours. . .yada, yada, yada. 

A hotel room was so reasonable, and we were able to be right around the corner from the shop. 

That way, Mr. Dave pops in every day to check on progress!

 

AND. . .prayers going up, fingers crossed. . .

upon closer inspection, our service advisor says,

now they think they can make the repair WITHOUT removing the slide. . .

that sounds like really, really good news to me.

 

Keep us in your prayers that everything will go smoothly,

and we will be back on track in short order. 

Regardless of the cost, having the repairs done

is still way, way cheaper than a motor home payment. . .

well, at least that’s what I’m telling myself. . .

Safe travels,

Janice

Full Time RV Travel–Asheville NC–Wilson’s Riverfront RV Park

Wilson’s Riverfront RV Park

225 Amboy

Asheville NC 28806

(828)254-4676

Located right on the banks of the French Broad River,  which bears the distinction of being the third oldest river in the world, the RV park itself is really great.



As advertised, all of the sites have nice cement slabs, of which, half back right up to the river.  We could sit right in our living room, and watch the kayakers and tubers floating by. . .very enjoyable.



Now making a reservation, and getting checked in. . .that was another story.  Calling for the reservation was very casual. . .the guy simply asked for the dates of our stay, and a last name. . .said, okay then. . .and that was it.

When we got here, he just had our name written down in a spiral notebook. . .but hey, we had a reservation, and a place to stay. . .so it was all good.

The absolutely ONLY negative is that the freeway is RIGHT THERE. . .I mean within spitting distance, so sometimes, when the truckers use their exhaust brakes you can hear it, even from inside the RV. . .



ALSO. . .when you exit the freeway. . .at the END of the exit ramp. . .IMMEDIATELY make a right hand turn into a PARKING LOT AREA that sort of looks like a combination feed store/garage/RV shop. . .THAT IS THE OFFICE. . .and that is where you will check in.  It is a ghetto. . .and smells horrible. . .like wet dog. . .with mess piled everywhere. . .and I do mean everywhere!. . .but once you get past all that. . .the RV park is great.

We did have a WEE bit of a problem with low wattage. . .BUT. . .keep in mind, it was mid summer. . .July, everyone is running their a/c on high I am sure. . .so I think it is just to be expected.

We figured out very quickly, even with 50 amps, to turn one thing off before you turned the next one on. . .and don’t try to run several big things at once.  That is not the norm when we have 50 amp, but we just adapted, and pretended we only had 30 amp, and it worked out great.

If we plugged something in, and the digital voltage meter squealed, we quickly unplugged it, before the SURGE PROTECTOR could shut us down. . .you DO have a surge protector. . .RIGHT?

Now, Asheville NC itself, is just fabulous. . .this has been my favorite stop so far!

I will share a few things we have done. . .but before we get started, let me save you a few bucks.  I found this nifty little trick too late. . .but maybe you can use it. . .and then I will feel better!

Check out the the GO BLUE RIDGE CARD. . .it looks like a pretty good deal.

By the time I discovered it, we had already paid the admission, and done some of the stuff. . .so it wouldn’t have saved us enough. . .but wow. . .anyway, check it out.

Okay, here are a few things we did. . .

We always look for the GRAY LINE TOURS wherever we go. . .we’ve never had a bad one. . .and they are always worth every penny!



They took us to nine different areas in the city, which we probably would not have seen on our own.  NOTE THOUGH, that they DO NOT take you to the Biltmore Estate. . .you can only go to Biltmore Village, which is a fabulous shopping area that includes the fanciest McDonald’s in the world. . .



My poor hubby does NOT usually eat at McDonalds, but he made the supreme sacrifice. . .and suffered through a burger, just to make me happy. . .(thanks Babe.)

We drove a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. . .



where, even though it was raining. . .



and the tunnels felt tiny. . .and dark!



the views were magnificent. . .



Another day, we drove to Chimney Rock State Park, which is about 45 minutes from Asheville. . .the big attraction there is to hike to the top of Chimney Rock. . .which is almost a mile high. . .



The admission price is $12 per person, and they made sure to tell us the elevator was out. . .but there’s stairs all the way from the bottom to the top. . .right?. . .and we are in fair shape. . .right?  HA!  I thought I was going to die. . .but I made it. . .



the views, which on a clear day, can be up to 75 miles, were just wonderful. . .but. . .I DON’T KNOW. . .



unless you are under forty, and in fantastic shape. . .I think I would wait for the elevator to be fixed. . .seriously. . .it was a very, very difficult climb. . .especially in the heat. . .even with water. . .I will think long and hard, before I try a moderate to difficult trek again.

Back to Asheville. . .we finally made it to the Biltmore Estate. . .



It was just magnificent. . .absolutely stunning.  There are no words or pictures that could ever describe the overwhelming presence of such a glorious place. . .inside and out.  You must see it for yourself. . .

All I can tell you is. . .it was worth every penny of the admission price of $49 per person (online ticket price) $59 at the door. . .and once I found out that they do not accept any government grants, but are totally self sufficient and self reliant, I was even more appreciative of such a wonderful experience.

We were advised to rent the audio equipment, which is available as soon as you enter the mansion for $10. . .I would say that was also a wise investment. . .it was less expensive than paying for a guided tour, and allowed us to go at our own pace, and enjoy the ambience of each room.

Overall, Asheville NC, has been a wonderful experience, and I am glad we came to see it. . .

One last note. . .the WNC (West North Carolina) Farmer’s Market is really great. . .so if you are here in your RV, make a trip by there, and support the local growers. . .really tasty stuff!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our trip as much as we’ve enjoyed experiencing it, and if you ever decide to head to Asheville, be sure to contact us. . .and we’ll tell you all the other details we left out here. . .have fun. . .

Safe travels,

Janice and Dave Evans

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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–We must live a boring life

We have friends who write RV Blogs almost every day about the exciting things they do. . .museum tours, hikes on the beach, wonderful places to eat. . .so I’m trying to come up with something exciting to write about. . .you know. . .just to let everyone know what we’ve been up to.
Sorry to tell you. . .our life is just not exciting.  I mean, we are never bored. . .we love anything and everything, so just going on a hike is an adventure that we thoroughly enjoy. . .but it’s just not spectacular.
Nevertheless, for the sake of friends and family, I will share a few pics, so you will know where we are, and what we are up to. . .here goes. . .

We made lunch for Dad and my brothers on Father’s Day weekend. . .then headed out. . .

Started up the Natchez Trace Parkway at Jackson MS. . .here’s more on those adventures.

not sure why the Duke’s of Hazzard Vehicles were parked on the side of the road in Leiper’s Fork, on the Natchez Trace, but it was interesting, so we took a picture. . .

and ended at the Terminus Bridge in Nashville. . .we didn’t drive every inch of it. . .but we drove enough to get a good feel for the experience.   I certainly would not want to have walked that almost 500 miles through the woods. . .

Enjoyed meeting up with our good friends, the Portman’s who came all the way from Houston to spend the week with us. . .actually they love Franklin TN so much. . .any excuse was a good enough reason to be there. . .

and they were right. . .

it is a beautiful little town!

even the birds were extra beautiful. . .

Spent a day touring Nashville. . .what can I say. . .it’s a big city, and the best way to see a big city is to take a tour. . .which we didn’t do. . .so I’m sure we missed lots.  We’ll come back some day when it’s a lot cooler. . .and spend more time exploring.

and of course, I must have a shot of the Tennessee State Capitol Building for my State Capitol Album

another shot for another album. . .this time my Bucket List Album. . .I would love to visit every National Park. . .all 247, or however many there are!

So what do you do at Mammoth Cave National park?
You hike. . .

and then you rest. ..
One little boy about four years old asked us why we both had sticks. . .I told him it was because we were old!

You enjoy the view. . .

hike some more. . .

Three and a half miles. . .uphill both ways.
Just glad I didn’t KNOW about the rattlesnakes ‘til we got back!

and of course. . .you MUST tour Mammoth Cave. 
There are all sorts of tours to choose from. . .but we chose a photography tour of Frozen Niagara. . .

It was really great. . .

unless. . .

You’re a little claustrophobic. . .
So that’s about it. . .all the excitement we experienced for the past month. . .
and, if you’re not bored to tears. . .
you can see the rest of the pics. . .here

On the Road of Retirement - A Day in Nashville

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.

Join us on our FACEBOOK Ready To Go Full Time RVing Page. . .where you’ll meet lots of other RV’ers just like you. . .traveling and enjoying this great adventure.