New Adventures – Familiar Places

Taking the RV down the tree-lined roads of east Texas to our latest home for the week, New Adventure RV Park & Horse Hotel, I immediately felt at home before even arriving. I spent many years in the Piney Woods of the Lone Star State and was happy to pay a visit to them once more.

New Adventure opened just a couple of days prior to us checking in and we truly loved being the first to stay. Though the days were hot like just about every other place in the U.S. in August, the evenings provided a glorious night to view the stars.

As a photographer, my favorite time of day was in the early mornings when 100’s of dragonflies filled the sky. I saw a variety of colors including red, yellow, green, blue, orange, and black and white. My camera was busy trying to capture the beauty of each.

Other wildlife included rabbits, lizards, and a number of birds, particularly hummingbirds and cardinals. The latter tend to be elusive to me so I have very few photos of them.

Just a few miles from the RV park is Lake Livingston State Park. Tip – If you are visiting Texas for any amount of time or if you’re a resident, make sure and purchase an Annual State Park Pass and take the time to use it. You won’t be sorry.

Dan and I had the opportunity to catch up with my girlfriends from high school and college along with their spouses while we were in the area. We enjoyed dinner at Farmhouse on the Lake in Onalaska, Texas, and then we were blessed with a beautiful orange sunset from the deck of the restaurant.

For this Native Texan, no trip to Texas is complete without a stop at Whataburger. It’s been over three months since I had one and that’s just not right. I know everyone has their favorite burger place and they vary from state to state, but this is not your ordinary fast food, at least not to me and millions of Texans. As a child, our family mostly ate at home but I remember as grandkids visiting my grandparents and going with my grandma to Whataburger. Opening the yellow wrapping and unveiling the delectable treasure under the fold was like pulling Christmas paper off a package and finding your favorite toy inside. In fact, I still feel that way. Yum!

Since I also have family in the area, I caught up with many of them. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to visit the Gulf of Mexico, only a couple of hours south of the park, but my cousin did. He brought us back fresh Gulf Coast Shrimp from Rose’s Seafood, Inc. to take with us on our travels. We can’t wait to eat them.

All is all it’s been a great trip to my old stomping grounds. If you have a chance to visit east Texas, I highly recommend it. The tall pines will welcome you as you explore all there is to see and do.

Safe travels!