Blue Bell

So once we found out the home for Blue Bell ice cream was just a short 30 minute drive west of here on Hwy 290 I felt we were obligated to hop in the truck and take the tour. We drove to Brenham, Texas on our day off for a little site seeing. The building is very nondescript with only Blue Bell posted across the top.

Signs outside lead us to the tour entrance, inside the lobby where you pay $6.00 to take the tour is the history of Blue Bell in pictures. Pretty interesting. Just an FYI, no cameras are allowed on the tour. Every 15 minutes a new tour begins. Our guide was very knowledgeable and informative. She answered everybody's questions along the way.

It was interesting to see almost the entire operation automated, with humans there to do the most minimal of tasks. Like turning a box over after the machine fills it with 6 cartoons. The ice cream sandwich station moved along at quite a clip. The lady there only had to load the machine with cake slabs. Within seconds a completely wrapped ice cream sandwich zipped down the line to be boxed by another machine.

As the tour came to an end we all knew what was coming, a free scoop of ice cream.  We entered an old fashioned ice cream parlor and were treated to sixteen

different kinds of ice cream to choose from. Also part of the parlor was a gift shop with everything under the sun with Blue Bell stamped on it.  A little to much for me.  All in all, it was a very interesting tour and some really good ice cream,  I would recommend it to anybody who finds themselves in east Texas with about an hour on your hands. 

Froggy

Since I'm in charge of the putt putt course here at Yogi Bear Jellystone Park. It was no big surprise to get a call on my radio to go to the first hole on the course to handle a problem. As I drove up I was greeted by four little kids and a teenager from the rental office.

As I was asking what's going on I noticed the maintenance supervisor standing about 30 yards away just laughing his butt off. I instantly knew I was in trouble since practical jokes are away of life with some of these guys, Myself included. I soon found out I had a serious situation on my hands, at least in the minds of the kids.

Seems a frog got down under the hole and got stuck trying to get out again. It was half out and half in. What to do? The kids were making all kinds of suggestions on how to remove the frog. All I could think of, Why me? After a few minutes of thought, and I mean a very few minutes. Come on its a frog. We pulled, no good. We poured water on it hoping the frog could wiggle its way out some how.

I finally convinced the kids if we just leave the frog alone and let him relax maybe he would be able to wiggle himself out. I told the kids everybody gets a Hole-in-One on this hole and move on to the next hole and I would check on froggy in the morning. After convincing the kids that caution tape around the hole was not needed. I did leave the flag laying across the tee area.

Well all's well that ends well. Saturday morning as we set up the course for the day we found Froggy wasn't there anymore. Thank Goodness. Thankfully the rest of the day was uneventful except for all the calls for animal control. Not Funny, Guys. 



Safe Travels and I Hope To See You Down The Road

Texas Barbecue Part II

I was told the best barbecue joints will be found in gas stations. I was a little skeptical about this to say the least, but willing to give it a try. Some of the local guys that work here at Lonestar Jellystone Park told me to try Waller County Line BBQ. Its located at the intersection of US 290 and FM 362. That's right, in a gas station.

We got there about 1:15 in the afternoon and the place was packed. We walked in and saw a very long line that we of course got in. A large area beyond the line was the dining area packed in between the beer coolers and the bakery area. The menu was on a letter board above the deli area where you placed your order.

You then inched your way to the register counter where you could buy candy, cigarettes, pay for your order and pay for gas. All this took about 15 minutes. We made our way to a table, popped the top off of the Styrofoam container and was amazed how large our sliced beef sandwiches were. Barb decided right off a fork was needed, I felt the only way to eat this monster was pick it up and just go for it. Here's a tip. Every table has a whole roll of paper towels on it. You will need them. Trust me on this.

Outside to the side of the building is where the magic happens. Wood is stacked up and the smell is unbelievable. Two guys smoking all kinds of meat were hard at work keeping the deli counter stocked and two ladies inside filling orders just as fast as they were able.

Our sandwiches were hot and juicy, the meat was tender with a nice smoke flavor. the over sized bun was fresh.  Bottom Line on Waller County Line BBQ.  If you leave hungry, It's your own fault.  

I know this is only the second BBQ joint we've been to so far, but even Barb agrees Waller County Line BBQ was the best of the two. We will continue our search for great barbecue places as we get to travel a little while in Texas this summer.

Safe Travels and I Hope To See You Down The Road

Things we've learned in our first month

First of all, I'd never pulled a 5^th. Wheel before picking up our Sprinter at the end of February. We left the dealer and pulled straight to a campground to try and figure out how everything was going to work. Looking back I should have found a large and I mean really large empty parking lot so I could practice turning, backing, braking, did I mention backing, yes backing is a BIG part of towing. There's a comfort level you need to obtain in order to move down the highway.

After two days we hit the road. I had a white knuckle grip on the steering wheel the entire day because I wasn't confident in what I was doing. That makes for a very tense day. After a couple of days on the road I felt better about how the truck and 5^th. Wheel would handle as we got passed by big rigs, winds, and bridges.

Back to our first day on the road, we drove 350 miles before stopping for the night. After that I instituted a new driving policy. We call it the 2/2 rule, stop driving by 2PM or after driving 200 miles. It works so much better. You have plenty of daylight left to set up and relax. Getting up the next day refreshed ready for the road.

                                                                         

Always ask for discounts when checking in at the campground. We joined Good Sam Club before leaving at a cost of $25.00. We stayed a total of 7 nights on our way to our first workamping job and saved the cost of the membership in those 7 nights.

One thing we didn't try out our first 2 nights in Georgia was the oven. Since we didn't have to pay for electric we bought a 2 burner electric hot plate to save on propane. The only problem was we had the plastic sink cover under the hot plate sitting on the stove. The heat from the oven melted the sink cover just enough to bend it out of shape. Oh well, Live and Learn. Turns out we now get our propane free since I'm in charge of landscaping now.

This last one I've read about so many times I can't even put a number to it. Gunk and you know what I mean gets stuck to your black tank senors so you never really know how full your black tank is. But you'll learn how many days you can go before its time to empty the tank.

These are just a few things we've learned so far. I'm sure their will be many many lessons learned as we head down the highway.

Safe Travels and I Hope to See You Down the Road

What it takes to get set up in this lifestyle or at least us

Now before anybody says anything like, It didn't take much for us or That's all it took you. I know getting started as fulltime RV'ers will be different for everybody. We started from scratch. Barb and I hit the road with what we kept from our house and the little starter bucket from the dealer.

Let me say first off the cheap little 10 foot sewer hose they supply you with is totally worthless. So go out and buy a good quality sewer hose and while you’re at it get a hose support to raise the hose off the ground. A quality water hose is also a must have, and don't forget a water pressure regulator so you don't blow out your water lines.

We invested in a Progressive Industries surge controller, it monitors everything at the power pedestal and shuts down power to our RV if something goes wrong. Somewhat pricy but good insurance and piece of mind. Anything with wheels will rock side to side and front to back so we purchased a 5^th wheel tripod and stabilizers for the large slide out.

Storage will always be an issue in any RV so learn to deal with it. One item we bought was an expansion pole with 3 adjustable storage trays for the bathroom. Decorative baskets will also be a big help to store and organize a lot of stuff.

Now for comfort, we got 2 zero gravity chairs, a nice big mat to go under the awning and a small gas grill. We already had a couple of folding end tables to hold a refreshing beverage while listening to some music or grilling out. And now here's the big tip of the day. COMMAND HOOKS are your friend. Nails and picture hangers are not going to work in most RV's (at least not the ones we looked at). Walls are to thin for pop rivets and the ever popular Command Hooks work well. Just be sure to follow the instructions and use the correct weight hooks for what you are hanging.

I know there are still a lot of things I want to get for the RV and things to make our lives easier. But I've been cut off for now so I'll have to add these things to my wish list for a later date. Bottom Line is only you can determine what is important to get first and what you can wait on. Just a little hint here, you will need water and a way to dispose of your waste. So keep that in mind when you go shopping to outfit your RV.

Be Safe and I Hope to See You Down The Road. 

Texas means Barbecue

Texas means Barbecue

We're sitting here in Texas waiting for our workamping job to begin the first of March. Not much going on just settling into our new 5^th. Wheel. That in itself is a fulltime job. Anyway, I got up this morning and while having my coffee I thought Hey we're in Texas, we need to have some BBQ.

So I get online and start searching for BBQ places here in Tomball, TX. After reading reviews I decide we will try out The Original Rib Tickler. No its not a comedy club, its a little place that holds maybe 50 people at a time. I know it was only the first place we went to so far but It had the best BBQ I have ever had. I think they could smoke a roll of paper towels and it would be tasty, not to mention finger licking awesome.

They had smoked beef, sausage, chicken, and pulled pork. I think they would smoke about any meat there is. Barb had a pulled pork sandwich on a bun bigger than my out stretched hand. It had to have had a quarter lb. of pork on it and some potato salad. I on the other hand had the beef brisket dinner. This consisted of a plate full of beef thinly sliced and smothered in a tangy sauce. I don't believe you can order BBQ without having a side of baked beans. They were just as good as the beef, and as anybody that knows me knows if they have mac-n-cheese. I'm going to have some. It was fantastic along with everything else.

AT the end of the serving line was a stack of napkins that were very much needed along with a big basket of the ever popular Wet Naps. Needless to say the Rib Tickler was the first of many (I hope) BBQ places we will be trying while we're here in Texas. As we stumble on to other barbecue joints I'll be sure to let you know about them. The Original Rib Tickler is located at 28930 St. Rd. 249 in Tomball, TX.

3 Days on the Road

3 Days on the Road

Well we did it. We left Woodstock, Georgia on Thursday the 19^th. And haven't looked back. Our first 2 nights we stayed in a campground not far from the dealer just in case. The first problem we had was the water hose froze, luckily we had the dealer fill the fresh water tank before we left so there was enough water for the 2 days we were there.

No major problems so on Saturday we headed for Alabama to see my sister before heading our way towards Texas and our first workamping job. The first day we over did it and drove for 3 hours, way too much for our first day. We found a nice little campground just north Mobile and stopped for the night. Sunday we were thinking of using a little rule I had heard about somewhere on the internet. The 2-2 rule. Drive 2 hours or 200 miles and stop for the day. We did just that and had plenty of daylight to set up our rig, square away a few things and have some dinner. I was able to plot out the next portion of our drive for Monday, getting us to Lake Charles, La. In about 2.5 hours. We'll see how that works.

We've learned quite a bit and I'm sure we'll continue to learn something every day of this new adventure. Just a few things learned already are. If a campground doesn't post the mileage from the interstate on their sign, plan on driving a good distance to get there and don't even think about looking for any signs saying campground ahead _____ miles. Or how about this Slow WAY down when going over railroad tracks. Some of those crossing are ROUGH, enough said. Don't expect other drivers to know, understand, or care what the word merge means. I believe most drivers thinks it means, you better get out of my way because I'm coming through and I'm talking on the phone so don't bother blowing the horn at me I'M RIGHT and you are wrong. But it might just be me.

I've heard it many many times from people on the road a lot longer than us but believe me when I say campground wifi is slow if at all. But its only been 3 days so we have so much more to learn.

But at least we haven't killed each other yet, That's a good thing . Right? Well tomorrow is another day of traveling and learning as we go.

Be Safe and I Hope to See You Down The Road.