Houston, We have No Problems

We drove into Texas the in the early evening. It was a long drive from Louisiana and we enjoyed the sunset while driving through Houston. We forced the kids to look up from their iPads to look at the city – it was as close as we intended to get. We all took note of the vastness of the land in Texas. Our campsite was about an hour west of Houston. We were very nervous when we arrived because that crazy winter storm had just rolled through and we weren’t sure what the area would be like. There were food and water shortages everywhere. We had stocked up before we entered Texas, but still.

It was dark when we pulled in and we were told there was only 1 site left with sewer hook up and we could squeeze into it if we wanted. It was on the inner circle (already done that) and backed to cabins. The other options were closer to the playground and backed to a pecan orchard – but no sewer. Basically, no sewer means exactly what it says, there is no place to drain your dirty water – any of it. We’ve done it before and we would only be here for 4 days, so we opted for the privacy of the Pecan Orchards. I am so glad we did! We had so much space. It was beautiful!

We enjoyed 4 glorious days of space and privacy and good weather. The kids (including Roxy and Raleigh) ran and played in the orchard. Sloan and Jackson loved the playground. Ben and I drank coffee by the fire and watched the deer in the morning, Roxy may or may not have chased them! It was truly spectacular. We were near the Colorado River, so Ben and Jackson even got to go fishing. There were trails for us to walk and bike on. The kids broke out their science kits, boba tea kits and played with their toys. We never left the campground. The only downside was that it was hot and the pool was closed for repairs. Boo hoo, it was still a very relaxing and we were reluctant to move on!

We heard that our next campground, close to San Antonio, allowed you to feed the deer. While I have mixed feelings about this, the children were very excited. It was on lake Medina and looked beautiful. We were excited to visit the city of San Antonio and possibly head up to Austin so off we went.

What we saw when we arrived was a broken down old farm house and an RV park with half of the sites blocked off. Not the best first impression. Again, we were in a site with no sewer to try to have a little more privacy and a “view” of Lake Medina.

We made the best of it, but also worked to move on to South Padre sooner rather than later. The weather was going downhill and we had no reason to stick to this site (other than to save money of course). We hiked the sides of the almost non-existent Lake Medina. Since it is a reservoir, the water is frequently taken and while we were there is was at least 30 feet below normal levels – there goes the view. The kids played in the woods and, indeed, fed the deer. They also played very supervised on the death trap of a playground that existed. We hiked the trails on “National Take a Walk Day” and looked through the windows of the old haunted house. It was really haunted – at least for Halloween. They must have used it for a Halloween tour because there were bloody handprints on the windows and “Help me” written in blood on the door. Otherwise…..

So, we took Austin off the list and did a whirlwind day touring the city of San Antonio. That’s a city we had a great time in. Pictures are below, but the kids even made their first vlog so check it out for details. Then we left. 3 days and out. On to the gulf coast.