From Lake Tawakoni we traveled south following the sun and
arrived at Thousand Trails Lake Conroe in Willis, Texas. TT Lake Conroe is one of the jewels in
the Thousand Trails system. It’s
roads still need a little work, but it is obvious that the park has had work
recently and that ELS considers it one of the parks worth putting a few dollars
into. The park has both a cottage
program and an annual site program, but they are both in their own areas and
the regular areas are just as nice.
We had a nice level site with 50 amp (an extra $3 per night fee) and
were very happy with the park.
This park still has a café on the weekends, activities for adults and
children, and an entry gate that is functional. It did rain while we were there, but the water ran off of
the sites and dried within a few days.
The only negative we can report was the lack of water pressure. We would give this campground a 9 out
of 10 on the Moore scale and would not hesitate to return. Here are a few pictures.
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| Our site at Lake Conroe |
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| Getaway Cabins |
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| Lake Conroe from Park |
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| Tennis Courts |
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| Swimming Pool |
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| Lawn Area at TT Lake Conroe |
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| Shower & Bathhouse |
Of course we ate our way across Southeastern Texas. Our first culinary stop was the Willis
café, but don’t recommend it. The
Pizza Shack was quite good, although because of our g.p.s. we ended up eating
at the one in Montgomery rather than Willis. The “parrot” Mexican restaurant came highly recommended but
was a bit mild for our taste.
The Cracker Barrel is just one exit south of the TT Lake Conroe exit and
we ate there several times. We
like the Cracker Barrel for breakfast, but are not wild about it for lunch or
dinner. In Lake Conroe we ate at
the Texas Roadhouse – ok but not outstanding. We also hit the Outback steak house – they were good as
usual … we recommend the big rib eye.
We also met our RVing friends Susan and Phil Daniels at Panera Bread in
the Woodlands Mall. Panera has
some great soups, salads, and sandwiches … always very reliable! It was great to meet up with Susan and
Phil again and catch up on their adventures on the road. We last saw them over a year ago in
Forest City, Iowa.
While in Southeastern Texas we ran over to Camper World west
of Houston. I needed an “O” ring
for my water filter and thought I could find one there. No luck. When I asked at the counter, they acted as if I had grown a
new head … If their parts
department is that bad I would never take my rig there for service. It seems that these days Camper World
is more interested in selling Travel Trailers then they are in providing one
stop shopping for RVers. Too bad,
but I will no longer drive out of my way to find a Camping World. Nevertheless we still purchased a new
barbeque and some jack pads. On a
positive note we had Cody (our dog) groomed at “Bed, Bath, and Biscuit” outside
of Willis. The service was great
and the people very friendly. We
would recommend them for grooming, and they also offer boarding with veterinary
services located next door.
On the brighter side there is some great sight seeing in the
area. While in Huntsville we
visited the Texas Prison Museum that was interesting, but grim. I think I will stay on the straight and
narrow! We also visited the statue
of Sam Houston. The statue is very
visible from interstate 45, but it is worth getting off the interstate and
visiting the museum. The docent
was extremely knowledgeable and we got a great deal of history on Houston and
the early Republic and state of Texas.
Here are some pictures.
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| Lynda with a lifesized Houston Head |
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| Sam Houston Statue ... Note Lynda by feet |
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| Sam Houston - First President - Republic of Texas |
Since we were in the area we slipped over to Livingston,
Texas to visit the headquarters of the Escapees RV Club. The headquarters building is new and
modern and all of the staff are as friendly as can be. The park itself, however, was not what
we expected. The park is huge and
is spread out across many acres.
There are no gates or security so access is unimpeded. We can imagine that it began as an RV
park in the traditional sense, grew to a park with deeded property where RVers
built big “car ports” for their rigs and transformed into a neighborhood, with
houses. Today it is a mix of all
three. If we were the new managers
of the Escapees, we would consider moving the national headquarters to a new
modern location with the amenities that baby boomers are looking for, as the
current park was definitely built for the “greatest generation” and is today a
bit dated. Here are some photos
from the trip.
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| National Headquarters Building |
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| Activities Building |
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| RV Sites |
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| Deeded Property with RV "Garage" |
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| Deeded Property with RV "Garage" |
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| House on Deeded Property within Park |
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| House on Deeded Property within Park |
One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the George
H. W. Bush library and museum in College Station on the campus of Texas A &
M University. A visiting exhibit
on DNA was on display at the museum along with the very extensive collection
from the life of the first President Bush. The library has a lot to offer and is definitely worth the
trip. Here are some pics.
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| Entrance to Library & Museum |
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| Kim at Entrance to Museum & Library |
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| Oversized DNA |
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| Bush for Congress Poster |
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| Bush Car |
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| Replica of Capital |
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| George seems interested in what Kim has to say ... a very patient listener! |
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| Mock White House |
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| Bush's Oval Office |
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| Bush's Limo |
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| Lynda handling crisis in the Situation Room |
Until next time keep doing what you love!
