The Journey South Begins

On Sunday November 1st, Paul brought the trailer in from the campground. Parked in front of our home, it really looked majestic. We spent the day organizing the closets and stocking the trailer with dry goods for our winter escape. At noon on Monday Nov 2nd, Paul and the Titanium headed for the border. Jane who had gone back to work on a contract remained in Ottawa. Paul crossed the border with no problem, althought the crossing guard did have the colored tag in his hand to send the unit for secondary inspection! After a quick stop at Camping World in Syracuse the journey south resumed. The night stop was in Carlisle, Pennsylvania at the Flying J truck stop - where all RV sites were full, so a spot amongst the Big Rigs was found. Tuesday was a full day on the road, with night finding the unit in Latta, South Carolina at the Flying J. A good meal was followed by a hot shower and that was it for the day. Wednesday morning started with a short 70 mile drive to Little River (just outside Myrtle Beach). The Titanium was unhitched at a storage facility and is now safely stored in the warm south - awaiting our return the first week of January. Towing a trailer out of the snowy north during January is not something I am prepared to undertake - if I can avoid it!

Unfortuately the trailer is enjoying warm weather and Paul turned north to rejoin Jane in frozen country. Let's hope December goes by quickly.

See pictures of the Titanium loading at home :
http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/Nov09

Trip To Morry's Trailer Sales in Walkerton / Hanover

Once we returned from the Kingston rally, we started seriously thinking about trading in the Kralik-mobile for a newer model. We investigated the dealers in the Ottawa but no one had a good selection of the various models that we wanted to see. It is one thing to examine the floor plans on the Glendale web site but quite another thing to actual walk around in the model that you are going to buy. So we scheduled a visit to Morry’s on June 8, 2009 and by the end of the day we had purchased a brand new 2008 Titanium Pearl 33/38 TS (triple slide). We were able to choose our colour scheme – Taupe rather than cinnamon and we were able to add features such as the electric fireplace, comfort fans, French doors and a MorRyde pin box.

Exactly four weeks later, we towed the Kralik-mobile to Walkerton and spent the night in Morry’s yard. On July 6, we spent 5 hours transferring the contents of the old trailer into the new trailer. Late in the afternoon, we hitched the new Kralik-mobile to our truck and set off to River Place Park to camp for two nights to make sure everything worked. Tuesday morning one of the technicians came over to make some minor adjustments to the antenna and the heater but those were our only problems. On Wednesday, we wanted to head Lake Huron to go to the beach but the since the temperature never got above 14 degrees Celsius and it wouldn’t stop raining, we decided to drive back to McGowan Lake. We had a good trip and managed to get the Kralik-mobile # 2 back on our site. We spent the past weekend reorganizing our belongings and putting things away. My only complaint is that I need to grow another 8 inches to be able to reach the kitchen cupboards. The Titaniums are definitely built for tall people!!


See our pictures :
http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/3338TS

Kingston Titanium Reunion - May 2009

On May 23, 2009 we hitched up the Kralik-mobile and headed to Rideau Acres Campground in Kingston, Ontario to join 30 other Titanium owners for a week-long rally. It was fun to see friends who we had met in Kingston in 2008, in Florida and also in Texas. One of the highlights of the rally was the dinner cruise in Kingston harbour complete with a singer / corny comedian. The other highlight was the Celt fest which took place on Saturday May 25 in the field directly behind us. We woke us Saturday morning to the sound of bagpipes and this “music” lasted until around 6:00 pm. Our only respite from the one song that each individual contestant had to play was during our drive to Kingston to buy groceries. The group bands were really good as were the young girls doing the Celtic dancing. It was certainly not something that we would have chosen to attend but we enjoyed it especially since it was right in our “backyard”.

While we were at the rally, we had the opportunity to tour a 2010 Titanium which had come directly from the Glendale factory. We also toured several 2008 models which were bigger and newer than the Kralik-mobile. We also heard a lot of good things about Morry’s Trailer sales in Walkerton, Ontario – the largest Titanium dealer in the province. This got us thinking that maybe it was time to think about trading in the Kralik-mobile for one just a little bigger and with a few more features – especially since the warranties had expired on our 2004.

See our pictures at
http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/TiReunion

Back at McGowan Lake

After we unloaded the Kralik-Mobile from our trip, I took it over to Vos Trailers in Stittsville for minor maintenance. (IE. a new aluminum rim to match the one I lost back in November).

Well it is as good as new and yesterday I put the Titanium on it's summer homesite.

Camping season begins again.

Paul.

http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/McGowan

Arrived in Ottawa - 8pm Thursday

After a good night's sleep and a relaxing breakfast we left Ashtabula around 10:00 am. The sun was shining and it was good driving. We were surprised how much more the tolls are on I-90 when you are towing a fifth wheel - but it still beats trying to cross at Detroit/Windsor and the 401 Hwy.

Crossing the border was without delay - although I was asked for the truck registration. Guess when you have a newer vehicle they want to check if you bought it in Canada. They were also asking if we had mace, pepper spray, knives or guns - don't know what they were looking for.

We rolled into our driveway at 8pm. So this adventure is now complete. Stay tuned for the next installment. For now we will spend Easter with the family - who are arriving Saturday for an early turkey dinner.

Jane & Paul.

Ashtabula, Ohio

We left Nashville around eight this morning. Had a nice sunny dry day for driving, so we booted it 586 miles north through Kentucky, and Ohio. When we saw the reminants of snow south of Cleveland we decided to drain the hot water tank and pump antifreeze into the plumbing system. So do we think it is getting cold??????? Most of the campgrounds in this area are closed anyways.

We are spending the night in a comfort inn here in Ashtabula. From here Ottawa is a short drive, so we will be home Thursday evening.

Jane & Paul.

Grand Ole Opry

Despite the predictions, the snow missed Nashville and the sun came out although it stayed cold – it barely hit 50 degrees. We started the morning at Camping World where Paul picked up some trailer toys. Camping world is strategically placed next to the Grand Old Opry – so how could we not stop.

We then moved on to the Opry Mills – at the Apple Barn where we tried their fried apple pie, apple fritters and apple donuts which sure beat out Tim Horton’s. We then toured the Grand Ole Opry museum; it was fascinating to learn the history of the Opry and see the memorabilia of the members of the Opry.

Our next stop was the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. It was fun to tour since it is the sister hotel to the Gaylord Palms Hotel in Orlando where Paul attended a conference in July 2002 and where we celebrated our 30th anniversary. Since Bell wasn’t covering the bill for the hotel this time, we returned to the Nashville Country RV park to spend the night in the Kralik-mobile.

We ate supper at the Loveless Café (formerly the Loveless Café and Motel) in West Nashville. This down home southern café serving chicken, biscuits, fried okra, fried catfish and pulled pork is written up as one of the 1000 places to see before you die. As we rolled out of the restaurant, we realized that too many more of these cholesterol-laden meals will mean we won’t get to see the rest of the 999 places listed in the book. Oh well, we will both be back on the Weight Watchers Wagon before long.

Jane & Paul

See pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/Opry

Nashville, TN

This morning before we left Tupelo, we went to Elvis Presley Drive and toured the house where Elvis was born. The gift shop is loaded with Elvis memorabilia (or junk) including an Elvis lawn chair.

We completed all 444 miles of the Natchez Trace - a really interesting and peaceful drive - except for the numerous wild turkeys that kept crossing the road in front of the truck. Almost had one for the freezer. As we got further north on the trace, Jane found it harder to take pictures with the windshield wipers going full blast.

Our next stop for the night is the Nashville Country RV Park - can understand the country part of the name - this place is north of the city and in the country....LOL If you are not a Passport Aamerica member, then find a place closer to the grand ole opry. If you are a PA member and decide to stay, don't plan to wash your rig. There is a $10 charge and you will need a permit before you can start washing. Fortunately the rain washed our rig for us.

We managed to set up in the rain, then we quickly changed and headed over to the Texas Troubadour Theatre - for a tribute to the King. Yes this is definitely Elvis country. The show was super and well worth the drive.

Since the rain is going to turn to snow tonight - we are not leaving tomorrow. We will explore the Grand ole opry tomorrow and do some touring - we'll see if I need the 4x4 tomorrow! Our plan is to leave early Wednesday since sun is forecasted.

Jane & Paul.

See our pictures - http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/Nashville

Tupelo, Mississippi - 8:30 pm

There is not a lot to see in Marksville, LA except the casino so we enjoyed our last of sun and even tried the unheated pool. We found several Catholic churches and attended the one which has a priest who has sideburns like Elvis Presley. This morning we said goodbye to our friends who are all staying a few more days in Marksville, LA and headed north on the Natchez Trace. It was a lovely drive in the sunshine with the trees and lilacs in bloom. We saw several deer and even tried to catch supper – the wild turkeys which ran across the road. We didn’t take time to stop at all the historical markers because we wanted to get to Tupelo, Mississippi – birthplace of Elvis Presley before dark. We are camped for the night at the Campground at Barnes Crossing – a nice private campground with full hookups, wifi that works well and cable TV.

We have been watching the weather and are not sure how far we want to drive tomorrow because they are forecasting snow in Tennessee and points north and east. There were also tornado warnings in Tennessee so our choices are somewhat limited. We may decide to tour Nashville and wait until the snow moves farther east.

See our pictures - http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/Natchez

Marksville, Lousinana

Left Pioneer Village on Friday morning at 7:00 am. After 500+ miles of driving we arrived at Marksville around 5:30pm. Marksville is located in the northern portion of LA - about 27 miles off the Interstate highway. We really started to wonder if this place really existed - but when we arrived - what a beautiful campground. Pics will follow later.

When we drove into the row for our campsite, we ran into John & Lori (Titanium friends) we had met at Disney in November. They were sitting having a glass of wine, so we unhooked the RV and joined them. Then we went into the adjoining Casino for the Seafood Buffet. What a feast of King Crab legs, shrimp, gumbo, etc (no buckets of crawfish). What a way to end a hard day on the road.

We'll see what adventures await today as we explore the surroundings.

Paul & Jane

See our pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/Marksville

Thursday April 2nd - 9:00pm

Just an update on our progress.

We have spent the last two days on Mustang Island (Near Corpus Christi) , The RV park is right on the beach, so today was a perfect sun day, but really windy - with gusts up to 45 mph. We were surprised to see 5 RV's from Quebec and Ontario parked on the beach - it will take them until June to get all the sand out of their rigs. We enjoyed meeting our friends Greg, Linda, Jeannine & Leo from Fun N Sun here and had a few good laughs.

Tomorrow morning (Friday) we are leaving early and heading up to Marksville Lousianna - about ten hours drive from here. It will be a long day of driving, but we will then spend two nights at the Paragon Casino RV park to recooup.

On Sunday we are planning to start heading north via the Natchez trail. Not sure if we get wifi at Marksville, so you might not get any progress emails for a few days. Once we leave Marksville we are 3 to 4 days from home.

So Wednesday looks like a probable arrival time. Will keep you posted as we move up north.

Paul.

See our pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/Mustang

Winter Texan Report #6

We are glad to hear that the snow is disappearing. Let's hope there aren't any surprise snow storms as we head north. We were also told that we have to worry about storms with hail and high winds in "Tornado alley" as we drive north. Of course, it is all hard to fathom because it reached 94 F and 98 F recently so we decided to break down and turn on the air conditioner!!

Well today is the eve of departure. Yesterday Paul did the mandatory safety items, like checking the wheel lugs, tire pressure, and other physical trailer and truck parts. Then he emptied our storage area and repacked it. A few days ago he washed the RV from top to bottom, so it is all shined and ready to hit the road. Today is a sunny warm day, so a few cool ones by the pool sound like the game plan. If I get ambitious I might wash the truck.

When we leave on Wednesday we will head up to Mustang Island (Near Port Aransas) and spend two nights right on the Gulf of Mexico. Our next stop will be about a day’s drive somewhere in Louisiana. We then plan to hop onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. The 444 mile Natchez Trace Parkway commemorates an ancient trail used by animals and people that connected southern portions of the Mississippi River, through Alabama, to salt licks in today's central Tennessee.

We should come out around Nashville, TN – at which point the weather will determine how quickly we make a dash north for the border. Paul keeps threatening to make a right turn and head back down to Florida… :-)

Check our rv park pictures at : http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/PicsAtRVPark

Check pictures of flowers and trees at : http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/FlowersTreesAtRVPark


Jane & Paul

Mike’s Tour – March 26, 2009

On March 26, 2009, we spent 4 hours on a “monster truck” with Mike Rhodes, president of Rhodes Enterprise and owner of Bentsen Palm Development in the City of Mission, Texas. 10 of us toured part of Mike’s 2600 acre property and learned about his vision of the community he is developing. Having retired from the meatpacking industry at a young age, Mike became a land developer in the Rio Grande Valley after touring the country in an RV with his family.

Mike built the Bentsen Palm Village RV resort next to the Bentsen Rio-Grande State Park at a cost of $ 5 million when the State Park decided to discontinue RV camping within its boundaries. The RV resort is landscaped with native trees and shrubs, each designed to attract certain birds, bees and butterflies and is one of the most beautiful resorts we have seen. Mike donated money to secure the World Birding Centre Headquarters in the State park and also donated land for the establishment of the North American Butterfly Association butterfly park which is part of his planned development.

Mike’s property includes 2 miles of frontage along the Rio Grande River which we explored with him. He has built a picnic area for his campers and residents and will soon complete a boat dock for his canoes, kayaks and soon to be purchased pontoon boat. Much of his land is still being farmed and he explained to us about the necessity of irrigation and the subsidies that farmers receive for growing sugar cane.


We were glad that Mike explained the reason that a $60 million levy had been build between the Rio Grande River and his property. Apparently according to FEMA, since land is in the floodplain all landowners would need to buy flood insurance. Engineering studies done by a joint U.S. Mexican commission disproved FEMA’s theory and emphatically stated that since the Mexican shoreline is much lower, it would flood but the U.S. side would not. FEMA ignored this study but did offer an alternative - the residents and the City of Mission could build this strange looking levy that divided property and appeared to be quite useless. The City of Mission was able to recoup the $60 million by applying to another U.S. agency that was distributing economic stimulus money – sounds like the Canadian government, doesn’t it.

Our last stop was Retama Village, his ACTIVE-ADULT community built as an age-restricted and privacy-gated community. In Retama Village, you can purchase an RV site with a “coach house” – a 12 X 12 shed complete with plumbing, with prices starting at $44,000 U.S. He is also building one and two bedroom homes, complete with an RV port which contains full hook-ups for your rig. What an interesting concept – you don’t need a large home because you can use your RV for additional space when you have guests!

Bentsen Palm Development also contains several single-family home developments and will include another “over 55” development. Mike has also build a charter school on his property which is part of the “Idea School” network in the Rio Grande Valley – in addition to becoming a land developer, he is also now an educator.

We were fascinated by Mike’s energy and vision to develop a Master Planned Community based on eco-tourism and habitat restoration. If we ever win the lottery, we might even think about Retama Village – the small homes with an RV-port are really lovely!!

To see our pictures of this day : http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/MikeSTour

Jane & Paul
For more info on Bentsen Palms see: http://bentsenpalm.com/

Winter Texan Report #5 - Amy's Visit

It hardly seems possible but we are already starting to plan our route north back to Ottawa. Many of the Americans have already left Bentsen Palm Village RV resort to head north and some of the Canadians have headed to northern Texas or beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. We are still exploring this area of the Rio Grande Valley and are not at all ready to think about our trek northward.

Amy spent a fun week with us although the weather hardly cooperated. The day before she arrived (March 11), the temperature reached 88 degrees F but that evening the temperature feel to a low of 54 degrees F. From March 12 when she arrived until Monday March 16, the temperature never reached above 60 degrees F and the sun never came out. Although it rained everyday, there was not enough rain to alleviate the Texas drought – it was just enough to make it cold and miserable. The rain we did have during that time was the most rain they had here since November. Go figure – neither of our daughters had good weather while they were here and they don’t believe us when we tell them how hot and windy it can get.

During the days the weather was uncooperative, we took Amy to Mexico, the outlet mall three times and the large local shopping centre so she did get to experience Rio Grande Valley shopping. Fortunately on Monday the sun returned so she got to enjoy the pool and the outdoors for the final 3 days of her stay. On Tuesday she and Paul set off to the state park on bikes borrowed from our RV resort. While in the park, they saw a number of birds and several javelinas – a native Texas animal which sort of looks like a pig and is quite ugly in comparison to all the lovely birds that are in the same environment. They weren’t too far into their exploration of the park when Paul’s bike got a flat tire. He struggled to ride it back to the resort -oh how I wish I had been there with the camera! It seems that Paul has problems with tires on all types of vehicles.

On March 19, we joined a group from our rv resort for lunch at Pepe’s on the River - a bar / dance hall right on the edge of the Rio Grande River. After lunch while some people were dancing to the country western music, we noticed a commotion on the patio. It turns out that 2 Mexicans were crossing the river clinging to an inner tube. Many of us photographed this crossing and watched as only one of them returned to Mexico. We are not sure how long the other stayed in the Texas before the U.S. border patrol found him. We are just amazed at the number of border patrol cars and helicopters that we see on a daily basis.

March 21 was Tourist / Winter Texan Appreciation Day in Nuevo Progresso, Mexico so we joined thousands of tourists who crossed the border that day. They closed the main street so that the vendors could display their wares and set up stages for entertainment at several places along that main street. We had a great time buying souvenirs and watching the entertainment.

That same evening, we went to the Chicken House Opry, located in Music Valley RV park, just a few miles from here. There were a large number of musicians who performed throughout the evening as well as a few comedians. We were glad that we went since it was the last performance for the season here in Texas; they will be starting in Branson, Missouri in late April.

View our photos at : http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/WinterTexanReport5#

See our Mexico pictures : http://picasaweb.google.ca/pjkralik/TexanAppreciationDayMexico#

Winter Texan Report #4

We have been at Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort for a week now and we finally made it over to The World Birding Center (Bentsen Palm State Park) – the major draw for this area. How can you tell we are not really birders! It was over 90 degrees so after a few miles, we opted for the tram and rode the rest of the way. Oh yea, I think we did see more birders than real birds!! The tour guide on the tram apologized that we had not seen more birds but said it was due to the high winds. Since this RV park provides free park passes, we will have other opportunities. We actually have seen quite a few common birds because we are parked next the couple who lead the birding tours for this park and they have 4 bird feeders behind their 5th wheel – much to Paul’s dismay since he is trying to keep ours clean.

This park is lovely – we have a concrete pad to park on along with a concrete patio. Each site is divided from the next site by flowering shrubs and most sites have a small palm tree on it. However, the only social activities are a Margarita hour on Wednesday afternoon and coffee and donuts on Saturday morning. Fortunately there is aqua fitness class 3 times a week to which I have gone.

Since there is not enough to keep us busy here, we have explored a few neighboring RV parks which have entertainment or meals open to the public. Saturday morning we went to a flea market north of the City of Mission where we are staying. We should have realized that we might not be in the right place when we parked in a lot with farmers selling calves, goats, sheep, chickens, ponies and calves. During our tour through the main part of the flea market, we encountered very few “Winter Texans”, the rest of the shoppers were local Mexican Americans. Most of the stalls contained used clothing or other prized junk. When we returned to our park, we mentioned something about the flea market and the comment was – oh, you went to the Mexican flea market. Needless to say, we decided to pass on another flea market in the neighboring City of McAllen and on Sunday we returned to the Donna / Weslaco flea market which caters to tourists. I bought two bathing suits from a French-Canadian couple from Laval, Quebec.

On Thursday and Saturday evenings we went to Borderfest - an outdoor cultural event with a small midway that takes place every year at this time. We listened to lots of good music which even included a Mariachi band from a local junior high school, several Mexican groups, country and western bands and Jamaican reggae bands. The highlight was to see Charo in person – she is really a good performer and plays classical guitar very well. This festival is called Borderfest because it is held in Hildago, TX which is just across the bridge from Reynosa, Mexico. We chose not to go over to Reynosa because there has been a lot on the local news about the drug wars and shootings in that city. Instead we do our Mexican shopping in Nuevo Progreso because that seems to be a safer town and they rely on Winter Texans for their livelihood.

We are pleased that we can buy diesel for $1.86 – since in this area everything is far away. Mcallen is the largest industrial city in the valley, but we are out in the rural area – so even the closest grocery store is miles away. Amy will be visiting this week, so we get to play tourists as we explore more areas.

check our photos : http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/WinterTexanReport4

Jane & Paul

Winter Texan Report #3

Our first month in Texas is quickly coming to an end and we will be changing RV parks on Monday March 2. Now that we have made friends here at Fun N Sun and have participated in the activities, it will be hard to move to a smaller park. However, I might get a chance to read one of the 12 books I brought with me or maybe even do some birding.

We decided to reserve a spot here at Fun N Sun for January to March 2010 but we wanted a spot with a concrete pad instead of the grass we have now. We walked the entire park and then Paul cycled around the park but when we went to the office we found out there was only one spot (which we didn’t like) available in the area near our friends. So we have reserved our grassy spot and might have to buy patio stones if it rains too much next year.

We have had very little rain this month but unfortunately some of it came while Jenn was visiting us so she didn’t get the heat she was hoping for. Then a real downpour came on Saturday February 21st – the day of the Mardi Gras parade. We could not believe how much rain could come down in such a short time. However, by the time the parade disbanded and people had changed clothes - the local Jaycees had arrived with the margueritas, and the sun was shining again. A few disappointed parade participants held their own parade on Sunday in the bright sunshine. The Mardi Gras dance on Fat Tuesday was also fun but we actually liked the band that had played for the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s dance the week before. We were glad to learn that country & western, and square dances are not all they hold here.

We also attended a performance by Susan Hudson Carmen, a country singer from Memphis Tennessee who also performs in Branson, Missouri. I think we are slowly becoming accustomed to the country and western music.

We have also tried the indoor shuffleboard courts – they are really quite impressive. We were glad our friends took us on Saturday night so that there were not too many people who could see that we were definitely beginners.

Monday the 23rd was the Titanium Owners luncheon at an RV park about 30 minutes from here. Since we didn’t win the big door prize, $1000 off a new Titanium, we will be returning to Ottawa with the Kralik-mobile.
We made another trip out to South Padre Island to go to the beach. We were amazed that we could actually drive over 10 miles along the beach even though the road heading north ends at about the 5 mile point from where we started. We were disappointed to see the amount of garbage and debris along the beach – we are not sure how much of it was caused by the hurricanes and how much by beach goers. The wind was very strong so the red flags were up warning of a strong current and it really wasn’t warm enough to go into the water. It is amazing that there is a 15 degree Fahrenheit difference between where we are and the Island.

Winter Texans Report #2

On Monday February 9, some neighbours took us to Nuevo Progreso, Mexico which is only about a half hour drive from our RV park. We parked on the Texas side of the border and walked across the bridge that spans the Rio Grande River to Mexico. The main street of this small town is filled with sidewalk vendors selling jewelry, knock-off purses, belts and other assorted items – much like a giant flea market. The biggest surprise was the number of pharmacies and dentist offices that line both sides of the street. People had told us that the Americans and Canadians go to Mexico to buy their prescription drugs but we were amazed to see the number of people doing so. We also talked to people here in the park who have had their dental work done there at a substantially cheaper price than at home. While Linda and I walked down the street, we were offered prescriptions, dental work, laser eye surgery and even cosmetic surgery. The funniest thing was the store selling jewelry and liquor which advertised that if you spent $25.00 you got your teeth cleaned for free.

The liquor was quite inexpensive in the shops – many of the pharmacies also sell liquor so you can be medicated one way or another. Once you leave Mexico and walk back across the bridge, the Texas state liquor board collects a small tax of $1.00 or $1.50 depending on the size bottle you have purchased. .

People had mentioned to us that this area of Texas is quite windy but we were not quite prepared for what they meant. The winds blow here constantly and we have had a few days of above average wind. Hurricane Dolly went through this park last summer and we met a couple who stayed here through the hurricane in the park model rv.

The park presents entertainment two or three evenings a week – last night we heard Jennifer Wilson from Branson, Missouri. She is just one of a group of entertainers touring the whole Rio Grande Valley performing for the Winter Texans. This is quite a poor part of the state so the Winter Texans do a lot to subsidize the local economy.

Well it is time to head off to my aqua fitness class. We will report back again after our visit with Jennifer who arrives tomorrow on Saturday the 14th.

Winter Texan report #1

We are in Texas and are back in the Kralik-mobile full time. On Jan. 30th we arrived at the Lagoons RV resort in Rockport, Texas. It is a coastal town about 30 miles north of Corpus Christi and was recommended to us by an RV’er from New York State whom we met at the Texas welcome centre. We explored this area to find the beaches and the northern portion of Padre Island National Seashore. On Feb 1st we headed to the Rio Grande Valley and checked into the Fun ‘N Sun RV resort where we plan to spend the month of February.

We had a good 2 weeks on the road getting to Texas. We left Ottawa on January 18th. Our first stop was St. Augustine, Florida where we toured the old city and found some good seafood restaurants. We then headed south to Cocoa Beach where we spent 3 fun-filled days with Guy and Monique in the condominium apartment they had rented overlooking the beach. Since the weather was so cool Monique and I only made it into the hot tub, not the pool. Paul enjoyed a game of golf with them on a course where the alligators regularly harass the golfers searching for their balls.

Our next stop (On Jan 24th) was the Sheraton Vistana Villages vacation club resort in Orlando. The weather warmed up enough to enjoy the pool and deck. Unfortunately we had one incident while we went out to dinner in Kissimmee – the back window of the truck was smashed and our GPS was stolen. Incredibly the local sheriff deputies were able to recover it for us since they caught the criminal who had broken into 3 vehicles that evening. We found a local glass repair shop which replaced the window so we were able to leave the resort on January 28 and head to Tampa to hitch up our Titanium. The trailer had weathered December and January well, so we started heading west with our RV. We spent the first night parked with other RV’s at the Flying J truck stop near Tallahassee, Florida. We then drove through Mississippi and into Louisiana where were we stayed in a motel in a suburb of Lafayette (just like real campers….LOL). We didn’t take time to tour the city but managed to find a great Cajun restaurant where we enjoyed local specialties of crawfish, gumbo and catfish. We hope to tour these areas next year because there is so much to see.

Paul had to navigate the Kralik-mobile through the construction in Houston, Texas but once through there, the drive south was great. We passed lots of cattle, a few small oil wells, lots of pickup trucks and very few houses. We were surprised to find the Lagoons RV resort right in a residential area. We headed down toward the beach for dinner and found that it must still be off-season because the restaurants were not busy.

The Fun N Sun RV resort is an over 55 park – so we are definitely on the younger end of things. The park has such an activities calendar we hardly know where to start. But the 8 am ballroom dancing class won’t be part of our daily program… YIKES!

We’ll report back later.

Jane & Paul.

View our pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/WinterTexansReport1#