We had not planned on doing a review of our stay in Livingston since this was really a stopover from Branson on our way to Rockport Texas but we have had such a great time that we decided to provide an update. Livingston is a little town east of Lake Livingston which is the 2nd largest lake in Texas, almost 40 miles long and 7 miles wide with 450 miles of shoreline. We drove through Lake Livingston State Park and there are some neat camping sites right on the lake.
As mentioned before we are staying at Rainbow's End which is an Escapees park and also the location of the national headquarters of the Escapees RV Club where we have our mail forwarding service. This is a huge campground with home sites and camping sites. There is an activity center and a club house. There is also long term care facility onsite where patients can still live in their RV. But the best part of any campground is the people, your new neighbors for awhile. We met some very nice people and had great conversations about RV'ng, food, eating, all the great topics!
At the activity center is where we had our Thanksgiving meal. The park provided the drinks, turkey and gravy, which we agreed was the best turkey gravy we have had since our moms were makng gravy all those years ago. 199 of our closest friends joined us for this meal. We were broken into tables of 12 who coordinated the other dishes amongst ourselves. We brought mash potatoes and a sweet potato, apple pie filling, and cranberry mixture which was really good if we don't say so ourselves. Others at the table brought a green bean casserole, dressing, salads, rolls and pies. As good as the meal was the potluck the next night was even better. For this potluck all the leftovers from the Thanksgiving meal including the meat and gravy from the park formed a giant buffet line. We worked our way down the line and had some great side dishes.
The highlight of our visit to Livingston though was our visit to Florida's Kitchen, which is a family-run restaurant in a house that's been in their family for years. This place neatly fits into the 'joint' category of restaurants and has been consistently in the Top 40 small town eateries in Texas. We got the sampler platter of ribs and catfish. We have been eating great barbeque in the Kansas City area for years but these were some of the best ribs we have ever had, if not the best. One thing we are certain of is that the sauce was the best we have had. The catfish was lightly bread with a cornmeal concoction and was very good along with the pinto beans being the best we have ever had. Florida's is also known for its Italian Creme Cake so for dessert give it a try along with the very good pralines that we got there. If Florida's is any indication we want to find the 39 other small town eateries.
We are off to Rockport Texas in a couple of days, the next update will be on that area and hoopefully great seafood!!
Till next time,
Bob & Jo
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Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Bob is finally a TEXAN!!
Just a brief note to say that Bob finally got his driver's license and registered to vote, he is finally a Texan! We decided at the last minute to go to the driver's license station before we had lunch on Wednesday and that turned out to be a very good decision. Bob was the last one in the door and while in line the office got the call that they could close at noon for Thanksgiving. They immediately locked the door and the five of us in line were processed quickly.
We are settled in at Rainbow's End in Livingston, Texas which is an Escapees park and their national headquarters. From Branson we decided to head north and west and go through Oklahoma instead of Arkansas. Our plans have always been to travel about 200-250 miles or about 4 hours or so. After traveling a few days we realize that we like being somewhere for awhile a lot more than we like heading somewhere one day a time. The first day to Checotah Oklahoma was a little longer than we would have liked but there was not a good stopping point until Checotah. The roads to Checotah were pretty good, a lot better than our shorter day the next day to Melissa, Texas.
When we got to Melissa it looked like a tornado had gone through our unit. The roads from Checotah to Melissa were horrible and all the stuff in the rear cabinets above the couch, including our printer, was strewn all over the floor and couch. Luckily the printer still works since it hit the couch and not the floor. Bob did some research and we bought some locks for child proofing a house for the cabinet doors that are together and the printer will be moved to the floor each time we travel. If that does not work we will look into bungee cords.
Luckily the road from Melissa to Livingston was much smoother so less chaos upon arrival. We will be in Livingston until early December where we will head to Rockport Texas which is on the Aransas Bay near Corpus Christi.
Till next time,
Bob & Jo
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NOTE: See our photos from places we have visited at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/
We are settled in at Rainbow's End in Livingston, Texas which is an Escapees park and their national headquarters. From Branson we decided to head north and west and go through Oklahoma instead of Arkansas. Our plans have always been to travel about 200-250 miles or about 4 hours or so. After traveling a few days we realize that we like being somewhere for awhile a lot more than we like heading somewhere one day a time. The first day to Checotah Oklahoma was a little longer than we would have liked but there was not a good stopping point until Checotah. The roads to Checotah were pretty good, a lot better than our shorter day the next day to Melissa, Texas.
When we got to Melissa it looked like a tornado had gone through our unit. The roads from Checotah to Melissa were horrible and all the stuff in the rear cabinets above the couch, including our printer, was strewn all over the floor and couch. Luckily the printer still works since it hit the couch and not the floor. Bob did some research and we bought some locks for child proofing a house for the cabinet doors that are together and the printer will be moved to the floor each time we travel. If that does not work we will look into bungee cords.
Luckily the road from Melissa to Livingston was much smoother so less chaos upon arrival. We will be in Livingston until early December where we will head to Rockport Texas which is on the Aransas Bay near Corpus Christi.
Till next time,
Bob & Jo
You can subscribe to this blog posts and/or comments by making selections under 'Subscribe To' or you can join the yahoo group which will notify you whenever a post is made, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bobandjotravelblog/,
You can also signup to be a Follower of this blog.
NOTE: See our photos from places we have visited at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/
Friday, November 20, 2009
Our first adventure in Branson MO
We consider November 9th as the "real" starting date for full-timing since when we were parked in Peculiar MO it felt like living in a sticks and bricks because we were so close to our old home and our old routines. November 9th was our first departure for what we hoped was the start of the "vacation" lifestyle and boy was it ever like a vacation. It really was weird as the 9th approached both of us were still in the old pre-trip ritual; we need to remember to pack 'such and such' and 'this and that', only to realize that 'such and such' was already in our new home and 'this and that' was no longer needed. Our new pre-trip ritual is on a checklist that Bob downloaded and adapted to our needs and lifestyle. We dump the tanks the day before and put up the sewer hose and support and other outside duties. Most of the checklist though is done the morning of departure; not knowing how long it would take and since we were in a convoy with another couple we got up a little earlier than normal and had a quick breakfast. We went through the checklist and only had a minor issue with the fifth wheel hitch since we have only done this like 2 times ourselves. Our timing with the other couple was great though, they were turning right at our rendezvous point as we were coming towards it to turn left. We drove a couple of hours and stopped for lunch in Bolivar MO at Smith's Restaurant which is highly recommended; the meatloaf and tenderloin are can't miss items and the gooseberry and strawberry rhubarb cobblers were great!! There is a Smith's also in Collins MO that is the original but the new great road to Branson now bypasses Collins so not sure how much longer it will be open since although these bypass roads are great for travelers they can impact the businesses along the old road. There is a Camping World just east of Springfield MO that we went to next since it is a rule that all RVers have to stop at every possible Camping World.
We left Camping World and it was off to the Branson Lakeside RV Park
which is right on Lake Tanneycomo and within easy walking distance to the Branson Landing and the old downtown. The location is also great because you can get to it without getting on 76 Country Boulevard and a grocery store is nearby. We got checked in and found our lot and setup for a fun filled week. After a day of travel we went low key the first night and we ate chicken salad sandwiches and chips that Jo made prior to our departure.
If you have never been to Branson Landing just plan on it soon. Although it is new and a lot of the stores and restaurants are chains it is a great experience. There is a fountain area that has an hourly 'fire and water' show to music each night.
On the lower level you can walk right by the water past the White River Fish House which was so good we ate at it twice and were not disappointed either time. We liked the fried catfish sandwich and the venison meatloaf. The upper promenade is where the other stores and kiosks and restaurants are. If you get the chance get an aqua massage where you lay in a tube face down and water jets massage your entire body up to your head. After a morning walking around Branson Landing we went to one of the other main attractions of Branson, the shows. The show we picked for the four of us was SIX which has six brothers that perform all the noise you hear, from guitar to drums to horns and musical voices. They were incredible and funny, especially Jak, this is a can't miss show if you come to Branson. They really picked on Wayne Newton who tried and failed at a theater in Branson. Another great show is the other show that we saw and that was the Twelve Irish Tenors, although it was only Eleven since one of them dislocated his shoulder playing flag football and was not there. We hope he is not out for long because it could very easily be the Eleven Irish Tenors, they were that good.
As you can tell we like Branson, from the shows to the old downtown and the Branson Landing. There is a wide range of shows from Country Western to Andy Williams to Irish Tenors to a Japanese fiddler the range and talent is amazing. There are great museums like the Roy Rogers and Veterans and Silver Dollar City is nearby along with lakes and trout streams. If you are coming to Branson check the shows ahead of time because a lot of the theaters will have special guests throughout the year and when you get there get a good map and use the alternate routes to avoid the traffic.
We are also liking the lifestyle, the first morning we woke up in Branson MO with the thought that last night was in Branson but the night before was in Peculiar MO and that all of our stuff came with us making the first night adjustment a breeze. Both of us love traveling but before RV'ng neither one of us slept very well the first night we went on vacation or slept in a strange place; now it is our bed and pillow each night. We also think our cats have adjusted faster and better than we did.
After Branson we are off to Texas which will be the subject of our next post.
Till next time,
Bob & Jo
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We left Camping World and it was off to the Branson Lakeside RV Park
which is right on Lake Tanneycomo and within easy walking distance to the Branson Landing and the old downtown. The location is also great because you can get to it without getting on 76 Country Boulevard and a grocery store is nearby. We got checked in and found our lot and setup for a fun filled week. After a day of travel we went low key the first night and we ate chicken salad sandwiches and chips that Jo made prior to our departure.If you have never been to Branson Landing just plan on it soon. Although it is new and a lot of the stores and restaurants are chains it is a great experience. There is a fountain area that has an hourly 'fire and water' show to music each night.
On the lower level you can walk right by the water past the White River Fish House which was so good we ate at it twice and were not disappointed either time. We liked the fried catfish sandwich and the venison meatloaf. The upper promenade is where the other stores and kiosks and restaurants are. If you get the chance get an aqua massage where you lay in a tube face down and water jets massage your entire body up to your head. After a morning walking around Branson Landing we went to one of the other main attractions of Branson, the shows. The show we picked for the four of us was SIX which has six brothers that perform all the noise you hear, from guitar to drums to horns and musical voices. They were incredible and funny, especially Jak, this is a can't miss show if you come to Branson. They really picked on Wayne Newton who tried and failed at a theater in Branson. Another great show is the other show that we saw and that was the Twelve Irish Tenors, although it was only Eleven since one of them dislocated his shoulder playing flag football and was not there. We hope he is not out for long because it could very easily be the Eleven Irish Tenors, they were that good.As you can tell we like Branson, from the shows to the old downtown and the Branson Landing. There is a wide range of shows from Country Western to Andy Williams to Irish Tenors to a Japanese fiddler the range and talent is amazing. There are great museums like the Roy Rogers and Veterans and Silver Dollar City is nearby along with lakes and trout streams. If you are coming to Branson check the shows ahead of time because a lot of the theaters will have special guests throughout the year and when you get there get a good map and use the alternate routes to avoid the traffic.
We are also liking the lifestyle, the first morning we woke up in Branson MO with the thought that last night was in Branson but the night before was in Peculiar MO and that all of our stuff came with us making the first night adjustment a breeze. Both of us love traveling but before RV'ng neither one of us slept very well the first night we went on vacation or slept in a strange place; now it is our bed and pillow each night. We also think our cats have adjusted faster and better than we did.
After Branson we are off to Texas which will be the subject of our next post.
Till next time,
Bob & Jo
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Saturday, November 7, 2009
Update on Kansas City is NOT Boring!
We are saddened that a cou
We have been following a
We have u
Best Italian - Il Trullo-CLOSED, Lidia’s, Carmen’s, Milano's, Garozzo’s, Cu
Overall To
Tatsu's
Bryant's
Main Street Inn
Stroud's
Il Trullo-CLOSED
Rheinland
Lidia’s
40 Sardines-CLOSED
Jack’s Stack
Cu
Till next time,
Bob & Jo
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Ready to head out on our first big adventure!
We actually may be having fun! We are getting used to living in our new home and we finally got everything from storage and organized into our living s
We do not mean to gloss over the tremendous adjustment it was. When you move from one
We also had to first find the best
Next week we are headed to Branson for a week. After that we will head to
We
Till next time,
Bob & Jo
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