Tobacco Road

Six years ago, on our first circumnavigation of the United States, we economized on accommodations.  We stayed in cheap RV parks wherever possible, surrounded by broken down trailers and neighbors out of Deliverance.  Walmart parking lots were favorites, because they were free, if noisy and lacking in ambiance.  We saved some money.

But by this time we had come to the conclusion that life is too short to waste in lousy trailer parks.  After leaving Ben Lomond a month ago we've stayed in the finest parks available regardless of cost.  Money no object.

And for Christmas week it was doubly important (especially to Nancy) that we spend our days in a pretty RV park surrounded by happy people enjoying the holiday spirit.

But by the time we had solidified our plans - had been clear on which dates we would be in San Antonio and Austin - most of the parks were full, all the spaces reserved by folks visiting kin.  Finally Nancy located an RV park about twenty minutes outside Austin.  It was a new facility and had only one lukewarm review, but Nancy called and the owner was friendly and had space available.  Besides, we had no other options.

Here's where we stayed Christmas week:

We had wanted the Ritz and got Tobacco Road.  If you look carefully at the hand-lettered sign you may be able to make out that a small plant has been strategically placed over the price, which at $40 a night would have discouraged bargain seekers.  The "park" was grass and dirt with a bit of gravel and poorly defined RV spaces - but at least it did have all the necessary services - electricity, water, and sewer - and if it didn't rain we should be okay.

Christmas was saved by our visit with Nancy's cousin, Jeff Meisenhelder, and his family.  Delightful people, they welcomed us into their home near Wemberley, Texas, in the Texas hill country, for Christmas dinner.  While most of Texas is flat desert or pastureland, this part - to the west of Austin - has rolling hills covered with trees and is quite attractive.

Jeff is a retired petroleum engineer who lived with his wife Peggy most of his working life overseas in one exotic locale after another.  China, Australia, northern Africa, and so on.  They have a son and a daughter visiting for the holidays with their significant others.

Son Cole and his girlfriend are both physicists.  Daughter Kelsey is a geologist and her boyfriend is an IT engineer.  As Nancy's sister Julie said, this is obviously the brainy branch of the Meisenhelder tree.  They couldn't have been nicer and their hospitality was incredibly appreciated.

Back at our RV park outside Austin, the weather was cold and drizzly, and we never saw another soul at the facility except for the owner, Jose, who checked us in.  Just a depressing place all around, and its only saving grace was that it was good material for this blog.  Except that the Verizon signal in that hellhole was so faint that we couldn't get onto the internet to post a new chapter.

We did drive our Ford Ranger (the vehicle we tow behind our motorhome) into Austin one afternoon and planned to eat at the magnificent Driskill Hotel bar we enjoyed six years ago - but the dining room was closed and there was no room in the bar for happy hour.

We ended up wandering up and down the very lively First Street, one of the main venues for the Austin music festivals, and had a nice dinner at a small restaurant.  The next day, while Tammy Faye and Sophia were being professionally groomed in Austin, we learned about Texas history at a downtown museum.  So we did have a bit of fun in Austin, but admittedly our planning sucked.

Yesterday we left Dogpatch and are currently hunkered down in the wonderful hill country town of Fredericksburg.