You will recognize this place name, we have been here several times over the last 8 years. It might seem repetitive. Maybe so especially for those in a constant state of exploration, seeking new places, and moving on more frequently. We have friends who rarely stay anywhere for more than two weeks and others who will land in one spot and be there for six months. We are somewhere in between.
When we started our RV journeys back in the 1980’s we had a camper van. It was perfect for us when we were in our 30s. We traveled for 10 months with our Malamute, Xenia, and carefully came to a balance sharing our 54 sq ft of floor space. We had a small refrigerator, a small water tank, and a small waste tank. And limited battery capacity with no solar only a small 600-watt Honda generator. All of our stops were without any hookups except for an occasional overnight in a real RV park or at a friend’s place or for a week in San Fransisco and a week near Disneyland. So we would run low on food and battery every three or four days and would move on. Sometimes a long way, sometimes just to the nearest grocery store and used book store. We spent a month going from Portland, OR to San Francisco. We stopped in just about every state park down the coast. We remember the Oregon Parks fondly and have been back to revisit many of them, at least the ones we can get into now with a bigger motorhome.
The California parks had a much different feel. Just not as friendly. But that was a long while ago. Maybe things are different now.
In 10 months we had reservations in only a few places. With no phone or computers, it was just hope for the best. It worked. Times were simpler then, we rarely stopped to find there was no room. We even stayed in Yellowstone NP for 6 weeks changing campgrounds when batteries ran low and we didn’t want to run the small generator. We never needed a reservation, there were no reservations then. We got up in the morning and went to the next campground and got in line and got in, first come, first served.
When we got our motorhome it was a lot of three and four-day trips, then a week, then two. It was a steep learning curve. How does everything work? Where are we going to stay? These days reservations are needed for most stops. You even should call ahead to stay overnight in a Walmart parking lot.
It was a year before we had enough confidence in our coach and ourselves to try a month. Would we survive? Could we leave the house? Yes. We went to Nacogdoches, TX where our coach was built for service, and saw another Foretravel for the first time. And started meeting other owners, many we still know today. Then on to Big Bend National Park. And Santa Fe. And a state park just north of Denver and then home in a big rain storm (we stopped in a rest area) that produced hail not too far ahead of us. And then to an overnight at a Walmart in Omaha where there had been a tornado an hour earlier, and then home. All in a month. We survived and were ready for more.
We have been to Florida, North Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Oregon and every state that you go through getting there. We have seen places that are calling us to return for so many reasons. And we return.
We also want to just go somewhere in the winter where the weather is nice, the accommodations are friendly and there are things to do. Most places offer significant discounts when you stay for a month compared to a week or two. Some, like the park in Alabama, have all of the things we like and an even bigger discount for 90 days or more. So we stay for 3 months.
Both Orange Beach and Fredericksburg are smaller towns. Everything we need is nearby, 10 minutes or less and we think the small-town feel is appealing to us. And winter weather in Orange Beach is pretty nice compared to Minnesota. There can be some cold days, days when it rains, and those gray, blah days. There are also sunny days, days in the 70s, a nice beach walk, a great bike ride, and many more days that are just days when we just do whatever we do. Not a lot of plans or too much organization. We are not on vacation, we are living in our coach right where we are.
And Fredericksburg brings 70 and 80-degree days, often with big puffy clouds. A bit of rain sometimes, usually overnight. The warming temperatures of March and the increasing sun and some rain wake up the Hill Country. The wildflowers start to bloom, by April, everywhere. People’s front yards, along almost every highway and back road, along most fence lines. The most popular are the Texas Bluebonnets.
One of our favorite drives is the Willow City Loop. It is a narrow, winding road through private ranch country north of Fredericksburg. Up over ridges and down through gullies, a fence line on either side, and each ranch starts and ends with a cattle guard.
We saw many fence lines like this, with a cowboy boot on each post. It was supposed to be a sign that the owner was home, maybe he was just drying the boot out.
It is either a lot of ranchers at home or one guy who has been here a long time.
It is the Hill Country, hilly. Big hills and valleys. It is really quite nice.
And why would you not expect to see an ostrich? It is Texas.
And of course, a calf.
And more flowers of all types, colors, and sizes.
The Willow City Loop is a nice drive, most of the time you will only see a few other people on this road. You can go as slow as you want and see what is there.
Maggie was now about 7 months old. Her favorite spot in the coach was on the back of the couch and on the window sill.
She gets to see out of the side window and the front window. She just got trimmed so she looks small.
We went out for lunch with friends once or twice a week. We like the Airport Diner, Alamo Springs Cafe, Backwoods Barbeque, Woerner’s, and Camp Verde. One of our favorites, Emma and Ollie’s closed in January.
Mike, Susan, Judy, Bruce
Peggy, Jackie, and Mike
Several of us went to Camp Verde for a nice lunch topped off with a peach cobbler (and chocolate camels) that got shared.
Camp Verde has army camels in its interesting history.
Mike and Jackie had us over for lunch one day. They had moved to Fredericksburg from Nacogdoches last winter and finally had their new home the way it needed to be to be their home.
It was a nice lunch and fun to see their home. They have lots of small collectibles in glass cases, many handed down from their families. Mike likes to collect paintings and pictures. Almost every spare wall space is covered with them.
My sister, Judy, and her husband Bruce came to visit Fredericksburg while we were there. They also drove on day trips to see Austin, San Antonio, and New Braunfels.
Springtime evenings in Fredericksburg are usually pretty nice and perfect for a campfire. Sometimes there are S’mores and always interesting conversations. Ralph was staying over in Lady Bird Johnson Park on his way home in Illinois. We have seen them here before and last summer in Sault St Marie in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Judy brought all the fixings for a “Swedish” dinner. Our family on my Dad’s side all came from Sweden so there was a long history of Swedish meals with all of the fixings at most of the holidays. Swedish sausage and meatballs, pickled herring and beets, cheeses, fruit soup, scalloped potatoes, barbecued pork ribs, baked beans jello salad, cream cheese balls rolled in chopped nuts, lingonberries, julekage (bread), lefse with butter, sugar and cinnamon, rice pudding with raisins, lots of fancy cookies and deserts, and a whole lot more. We were kids, hard to remember but each of us remembered in our own way. And what we recalled after 60 years, each living half a continent apart was unique. If you asked each of us to put up a “Swedish” dinner, what we would serve would have common elements, some common preparations, and a few diverging items. But all in the realm of what might have been.
Dinner was wonderful, Judy brought all the right stuff. I ate more than I should have. My Dad’s brother, Jimmy, used to push back from the table, slap his bulging belly, and declare, “If I eat any more I will burst and splatter all over the walls.” We had a laugh remembering that line from almost every meal we shared with Uncle Jim.
On a few evenings and after our Swedish dinner we played Quiddler.
As always, way too soon, it gets to be that time to head for home. Spring is in its full glory in Fredericksburg, the trees have leaves, the grass is green, the springtime flowers are everywhere, and it is warm enough that the air conditioning in the coach feels pretty good on a few late afternoons. Evenings and overnight temperatures cool down and are quite comfortable.
It takes 4 days to drive home, 4 reasonable days, not too far, leave at a civilized time, and stop by 4 o’clock or so. Each day is like a trip through time, going backward. The first day, not much changed. On the second day, the grass might be green but not as many leaves. The third day shows us brown grass and trees with early leaves. The last day sees the trees change to just buds and mostly brown fields.
We have been getting home later in the day for the past few years. We park outside the barn, go in the house and turn up the thermostats and turn on the water heater. Then we spend our last evening and night in the coach. In the morning the house is warm, the water hot and we can start the slow process of moving from one home to another.
The good thing is that when we get back to Hastings, spring is just on the verge of bursting out. Grass is quickly green, fields are planted, and leaves unfold on every branch. We get to experience spring again.
The woods around our home are bare in the winter and it feels open and visible. As the leaves come out there is a sense of the woods closing in on us, enveloping us, sheltering us. In a month the cocoon is developing and continues to fill in.
It is good to be home. The list of planned projects is long and many more will be added. Maggie is scheduled to be spayed. I can get back to building at Habitat for Humanity. Susan is ready for garden chores. Time to get busy, we leave again in just over six months.
More Later. Much Love.
Roger, Susan, and Maggie
Home2 with Roger and Susan 