Our First Week in Texas

We limped into Texana Park and Campground near Edna, Texas on Saturday, 1/21. The first order of business was locating a new set of chassis batteries. Edna is a flyspeck of a town, so Rog made several calls to business in Victoria about 30 miles away. A bit of a drive, but since you get to go 75 mph it doesn’t take too long to get there. Lol.

His preference was for a set of Interstate batteries which were out of stock until Friday. We booked eight nights here so we had some leeway on the time and found another brand in stock which would work – so with a Plan B in place we felt comfortable waiting. Our spot has full hookups so we could plug in and not worry about the chassis batteries holding a charge.

The campground is nice with several walking trails and it’s situated right on Lake Texana. But that is about the extent of the activities. Luckily there are several herds of deer wandering around for entertainment. We’ve seen a dozen lovely does together and a macho 8-point buck minding the harem. We’ve also been serenaded by a huge owl. There is nothing quite as eerie as an owl hooting right outside your window in the dead of night. Lol.

We've seen as many a dozen does right outside our coach.

Here comes Mr. Macho to make sure the girls are behaving. Lol.

Handsome dude.

Lake Texana at dusk.

Silhouetted against the sunset. What a poser. Lol.

We’ve used the time just to catch up on some housework and do a little coach maintenance.  Of course, we are also committed to getting in our steps. My brother Tim and I are engaged in a 30-day duel on Stridekick to get at least 10K steps every day.  We’ve been at it for 18 days and so far we’ve both been successful. Rog said it’s like we’re in a staring contest to see who blinks first. Hopefully our weather will hold, without the option of a treadmill, I’m thinking the first truly miserable cold, rainy day will give Tim the lead. Lol.

Morning coffee. Domestic bliss. :)

This huge, old live oak looks like he has his elbows on the table. 

Red Shouldered Hawk

Fields next to the campground.

Sunset on the lake.

We did get the kayak out for a paddle here around Lake Texana. So, let me tell you a little story about that. While we were inflating the kayak an older guy stops by and chats us up. Did we know there’s a 14-foot alligator in the lake? No, we didn’t. The “Danger, Alligator” signs are everywhere, but then we’ve seen them in nearly every campground since Florida. Yeah, he says. The Ranger saw it too and said it must be at least 14 ½ feet long. Really? Hmmmmm.

Rog and I launch and begin our paddle. I keep a sharp eye out for gators of any length and don’t see anything. However, the water is so murky and muddy you literally can’t see down 3 inches. It’s a nice sunny day, not too windy and we’re enjoying the paddle. Then something bumps the boat and I feel it swim under my butt. What the hell?? The water dimples about 8 feet away, but we never did see what it was. Now, I’m not saying a 14-foot alligator swam under our boat, but I am saying something sure did. Rog felt it too. He thinks it might have been a monster catfish since we were in fairly shallow water. I’ll go with that theory. Lol.

Muddy waters of Lake Texana - anything could be hiding in there! Lol.

Got a huge kick out of the American Coots - these birds can walk on water! :)

Mr. Turtle enjoying the sunshine too. 

We took the bikes out one day and rode about 10 miles on the campground trails and explored the Breckenridge Recreation Center across the road. They have sports fields, a horse arena, mini-golf, and a paintball course. But there wasn't much going on in the off season. Guess I could go one-on-one against Rog in paintball, but only if I have a death wish. Lol. We went into Victoria on Wednesday to do some shopping and check out the park. The Guadeloupe River was too high and fast to kayak and the park trail was only 2 miles long, so not worth biking.

However, we did find a great place to eat in Victoria – the Guerrilla Gourmet. Originally just a food truck, they’ve expanded to small café open only for lunch. Creative food with fresh ingredients. We were talking with the chef about our travels and found out he was born and raised in New Orleans and that’s where he learned to cook. He brings out some of his gumbo to sample. Oh yes. I had the “Alligator Egg” – a half avocado stuffed with pulled pork, lightly breaded and deep fried served on fresh greens. To die for good. Rog opted for the “Eat What I Tell You To” special which is essentially chef’s choice and they made him a boudin (Cajun sausage) stuffed pork chop with baby carrots and fresh greens. Rivaled anything we had in NOLA for sure.

Guerrilla Gourmet - awesome food!

Rog couldn't resist!

Delicious!

We were heading back into town on Friday with a long list of errands and to pick up the batteries. We couldn’t get reliable cell phone service at the campground and then the Wifi went down. Luckily there’s a Starbucks in Victoria so we planned to take advantage of their Wifi to download some tax documents and make some phone calls. I also wanted to get the laundry done, Rog needed a haircut and to get a prescription filled. All the usual stuff that gets just a little more complicated on the road. Even more so when you have one of those OMG can you believe I did that senior moments.

Friday morning we gather up all our stuff to head into town. Got the computer, mouse, charger. Check. Paperwork, prescriptions, addresses for where we’re going. Check. Laundry baskets, detergent, dryer sheets, hangers, quarters. Check. First stop – laundromat. We drive the 30 miles to Victoria, pull into the laundromat and I turn around and look in the back seat. Crap! I look at Rog. What did we forget?? He turns around. What?  The CLOTHES! Lol.  Guess what I’ll be doing on Saturday. 

We leave here Sunday, 1/29, and head to Padre Island on the Texas Gulf Coast. It will likely be out last shot at oceanfront living for a long time. We are hoping the weather will be a little more cooperative this time. The forecast is looking pretty decent, we’ll see if we actually get some sunshine to go with our sand. :)