New Trip to Houston but Not in RV

It has been awhile since I have posted anything and since I am traveling, albeit not in the
RV, I thought this would be a good time to get back into the groove.  So where am I - I am currently sitting in my hotel in Houston.  I am here for the Fall International Quilt Festival.  Yeah- I know, you are thinking- her she goes again on quilts.  Well, this is a big festival.  It began last week on the 30th with the International Quilt Market- open only to the wholesale trade (shop owners, retailers, etc.).  Then the second week (the one I am attending) began today (Monday) with classes and culminates at the end of week with the Quilt Show (Th- Sun) and for many attendees, a shopping frenzy.  While the classes occur at the beginning of the week, the vendors from last weeks Market and many of the shop owners who attended Market set up their booths to sell everything that touches the quilt industry and then some. Bruce told me once at looked like the largest flea market he had ever seen around Quilters - although I think I busted his bubble when I told him that there would be nothing close to a flea market price on anything.  Anyway, the Festival is officially over on Sunday, although this year they are also offering, for the first time, a Mexican Star Overnight Tour - Quilt Shopping, TexMex Food & the Alamo the Monday & Tuesday after the end of the show.  Maybe next time I will consider something like that - I love Quilt Tours.  As you might have guessed by no, I will not  be here for the whole thing, so this blog will only cover the part of the Festival I am attending, and my trip back home. 

As all of my friends had other commitments this year, I came to Houston alone (yes I drove by myself- my views on flying have NOT changed), but I took 2 days to make the trip, staying above New Orleans last night and continuing on today.  This trip is an indulgence for me, letting me get away, letting Bruce have some time by himself before we head out after Thanksgiving, so it will not be a trip filled with activity the whole time.  A slow drive over and back and a few fun filled days are all I am anticipating.  So then, if not a whirlwind of activity - just what do I have planned - I know you are just dying to know!!

I arrived after lunch today, checked in, went back out and picked up some take out Mexican food from the food court across the street and a decadent Starbucks Mocha Frappaccino, took it all back to my room and relaxed the rest of the day (after driving through the terrible rain most of the morning, my head felt like it would explode so a nap was definitely on the menu after some food and caffeine).   Tomorrow the day starts officially at 9:00AM (although I will have to get some breakfast of course and all my sign-in goodies first so will need to arrive earlier than 9).  I will be attending an all day class (OK - all day here means 9-12 and 2-5, with 2 hours for lunch, etc. so I guess I could get my sign-in goodies then instead of having to get up too early tomorrow morning) - Intuitive Color Theory given by Jean Wells Keenan and then on to the International Quilt Association (IAQ) Winner's Circle celebration at 6PM - a new activity for me.  This program will allow me to see the tope winners and their quilts as they are revealed for the first time in a more relaxed environment (think NOT with 10,000 others).  Wednesday morning my sister Terrie will fly down from Oklahoma City to join me for some sister bonding time. I am still trying to decide if I should be wonderful and pick her up at the airport or just have her catch the Super Shuttle to the hotel - she arrives at 8:40AM.  What a decision - sleep longer and not get in rush hour traffic or meet her in person - it will probably end up being meet her in person (at the hotel room door.)   We intend to see a few lectures, eat out at one of the nicer places downtown and then hit the Preview Wednesday evening from 5-10. That is when I intend to get in my shopping and see any special exhibits of interest, if we have time.  I know, you can't think of even one thing I might actually need - right?  Relax- I do not intend to buy more fabric so stop hyperventilating.  I know I can already start my own store with what I have.  And - I certainly do not need any new gadgets either, although I am a real sucker in this area so I only hope there is nothing really "amazing" I just have to add to my collection.  I know you will all be surprised, but I actually have an agenda for this shopping spree.  I want a  a Sew-Ezi table for the motorhome.  My big dilemma will be finding the Sew-Ezi vendor in the hundreds there (oh yeah, I can always use the vendor listing in the materials I get tomorrow- but that would be too easy) AND deciding for which sewing machine to have the custom top insert made.  Yes, I know- it is a real problem and one I will wrestle with all tomorrow - but rest assured, I will manage to come to a decision before I order (or just get 2 different table tops). Other than the table, any thing else I buy will really just be gratis shopping.  All right all you realists - yes, I know I could have ordered the table online but I would have to pay $40-50 in shipping  and I can get that for free by ordering at the show and I get to have a nice little vacation doing it.  (no one is to say one word about the cost of the vacation vs the shipping- OK).  Thursday Terrie and I will begin our drive home, stopping in Ft. Walton Beach for an overnight stay on the beach and a wonderful dinner at the High Tide(they have a wonderful fish sandwich, especially when they are serving Trigger) and then stop to see my Dad in Crestview on Friday morning as we begin the last leg home.  Hopefully we will not be too late arriving at our house Friday night.  So yes, this is a whirl wind trip for me - only 6 days, but Bruce can only go so long without me any more.

Enough of my plans, time to get some sleep so I can be rested and ready tomorrow.  Sweet dreams from Texas.

Happy Mother's Day Greetings

Today is another beautiful day. We were blessed with cool temperatures this morning and abundant sunshine. Bruce built an early fire so we smoked up the neighborhood all day. It was too cold to cook outside- at least for us fair weather campers. All those electric appliances we hold so dear cool off rather quickly when the temperature hovers in the mid-50s. So - I cooked (Bruce's excuse was that he only cooked outside- not in the camper.) He offered to take me out (of course after I was up and had coffee in front of the fire), but when you are already in sweats and need a shower- who wants to change for something that minor so I made one of my favorite breakfasts - fried eggs, hot country sausage links, hash browns and biscuits - yum- kept me full until 3 this afternoon.  Jeremy called with his greetings and we talked about a trip he wants to take next year with a friend to the King of the Hammer race and to maybe even try their hand at boondocking with an RV.  Bruce is already looking at our schedule- but February may be too early for us to be able to get out to California- we would not want to come back until fall and that might be hard to make happen.  We do want to do a very long trip next year, so who knows if it will begin then or not.  We still have some time to make plans.

We saw most of the campers leave this morning or by early afternoon - with children, school, jobs and regular life to return to on Monday.  I remember that time fondly - NOT!  Boy am I glad we both jumped as soon as we could- who knows how long we will be able to enjoy getting out and around or will be able to even afford it.   Anyway, only a few of us were left to cruise the campground with maps in hand marking our favorite spots for next time. In fact, we just completed that review and will definitely be back here next year (or maybe even this fall). We had done the same cruise for the first 2 COE campgrounds we saw last week and we completed the other 3 (Springfield, Watsadler and Paynes Creek) on Friday.  All in all - this is the best one for our needs with Springfield second. They will be keeping one loop open here at Twin Lakes beginning this winter and we have talked about maybe giving it a try (most probably before January). That is only if this coming winter is less fierce than the one we just saw and does not show up too early.  We can't really find much to do outside when the weather is in the teens and below and snow would probably just send us (and Hazel) into a tailspin.

We did have a wonderful Mother's Day today  here at the campground, culminating in dinner of course - pork tenderloin on the grill, twice baked potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce. There was apple crisp with ice cream and whipped cream (Bruce went wild when I sent him to the store) for dessert. I know,  you are all thinking how lucky I am that my husband would cook such a delicious meal for me but that of course was not the case.  We had both already agreed we would rather eat my cooking this time- although he did clean up everything while I got to use the campground shower (with almost no campers in the park) for a leisurely hair washing. Smoke from the fire does stick with you and then your clothes smell, your camper smells, your hair smells- you get the picture.  Anyway, we are now both relaxing in the camper, watching the sun set, he  reading a book and I, of course, electronically chatting with all of you!

Tomorrow will be a trip to  the Quilt Shop of Anderson for some material shopping for me as I am going to visit my friend Julie Friday and we plan to participate in mystery quilt evening at her local quilt shop. I need to be ready to sew, sew, sew (you know, get something done besides visiting, eating, visiting, shopping, etc.) so will try to get my material bought AND cut for the quilt before arriving at her house. I can't wait - it has been way too long since I have spent any time with her. I will be leaving Bruce alone with both cats and Hazel for at least overnight during that time - no telling what could happen to him with no other wheels.  Think good thoughts for him :-)

Tomorrow we will also be getting ready for our move Tuesday to Bald Ridge Creek on Lake Lanier (just outside Cumming, GA). Since it is only about 81 miles, we don't need to leave too very early - which means coffee outside while the sun comes up and reflection time before we start on Tuesday.  For the readers who followed us in 2009 you might remember that Bruce tells everyone we meet that my idea of travel is 4 hours on Wednesdays so we never get very far. He always kids - but when we look at how we like to actually drive/stay and what we have been doing- it is not too far off, although this trip the 4 hours travel seems to be occurring on Tuesdays instead.

No pics this time - just prose, so will sign off before I get too very lengthy.  Until we get to Bald Ridge, unless of course there is just too much news about the quilt shop tomorrow ---------

2010 - A New Year to Travel

We have finally begun our "travels" for 2010 and as you can see, the road is ahead and the passengers are ready. The trips will be shorter, 4-6 weeks, and spread out this year.

We are currently on our Spring Tour of the SE- where we started with a full service of The Beast in Gaffney, SC by Freightliner Custom Chassis Service Center. "The service took 1 1/2 days, even with 2 people on it because we had to have the exhaust brake replaced and they ordered the part. We arrived in Gaffney on Tuesday, May 27 and stayed in their "camp area" for 3 nights. They have electricity at each site, water available to fill your tank but not on site and a dump station. We were definitely not the only ones taking advantage of their expertise, the 6 service bays were in action the whole time we were there. We left Thursday afternoon and took a short run down I-85 towards Clemson, where we had reserved a space in Twin Lakes Campground. This is one of 9 COE parks ( 7 have electricity & water on each site) on Hartwell Lake.

As you can see, the site is nice and spacious. We are on the Lake, overlooking an inlet on one side and the Lake on the other. The site is a back-in and has a steeper grade than I expected. I had to have Bruce take the hitch off to ensure we didn't dig ourselves into the site, but once that was accomplished we situated The Beast rather quickly. It is very private and no other site really overlooks us or we them.  The best of both worlds.

Obviously leveling The Beast, hooking up the utilities and getting the table situated was very strenuous work so a rest was in order before dinner. Even Hazel needed R & R.  As you can see, there is no rest for the person making dinner, that idea clearly represented by the empty seat next to Bruce. (Yea, I know- someone has to be taking the pictures, that is unless I am very, very clever with the camera's timer - Not!)  In any case, the day concluded with a lovely sunset (again caught on camera by the elusive picture taker).

It has been a week since those pctures were taken and I have not been inclined to take too many others.  The weekend came and went and we stayed in the campground- watching people.  Of course we had to ride around at least 3 times on Friday to spy who had arrived and what they were using as their "home away from home".  The weather was overcast Saturday but still nice to be outside.  Sunday the rain set in and we spent the day lolly gagging inside, reading books and dozing.  Even Hazel refused to go outside. I, of course, got in quite a bit of library book reading over the first several days when we stayed in camp ( last count 7) and now just have to keep renewing the books I was foolish enough to bring with me until we return or find some way to get them back to the St. Johns County library without breaking the bank - Time to explore how many books will fit into a priority mail package.  I guess as long as no one else requests them  I can chance just renewing them- what a dilemma.
 
Monday was shopping and laundry day, so of course very uneventful.  On Tuesday we began our COE park review process . Of the 6 other parks with facilities, one is a group camp and is discounted in this review. By visiting the other 5, we can look at the park and its facilities (showers, sites, internal roads, etc.), talk with the hosts and understand the condition of the roads getting to them.  That is always a consideration when you drive a brick on wheels.  The surprise elevation change backing into our own site at Twin Lakes has made us much more curious than we might have been if all of these campgrounds were was more level ground.  So far we have reviewed 2 of the 5- (Oconee Point & Coneross) and are still partial to Twin Lakes.  For you COE enthusiasts- we only founds 4-5 sites in Oconee Point that would take our motorhome easily and nothing in Coneross, it is really set up for smaller rigs and trailers.

Yesterday we spent the day exploring Anderson, including of course the thrift stores.  The downtown is wonderful, historical buildings, lots of small shops, and restaurants - definitely set up for the tourist and university trade to enjoy.  Today we visited Clemson, both the town and the University and the close city of Seneca.  Clemson University is beautiful and the town is typical university town, very small, most things within walking/biking distance of the university and definitely supporting the school.  As well as Clemson University being here, Southern Wesleyan is in the vicinity too. So we have had a nice time riding around, visiting the area, etc. Tomorrow we hope to get to the other 3 COE parks in the morning and then get back here for the arrival of all of the weekend campers.  That is always the highlight of  a stay in one of these parks, watching the people back in and set up new campers, motorhomes and especially pop-ups and tents.  All campers are subject to this same review when  they arrive at any park, so our plan is to always try to arrive in mid-week and early, before we are the highlight for the other campers.

Well, I am up to date and it is time to put this to rest and post so until next time.