Canyon Lake TX and family time

The week went by very fast, especially considering we usually stay a month or longer in our old hometown of College Station, Texas. Before we knew it we were back on the road!

The drive was about 130 mi to a place we stay at often, primarily because of its beauty, Potters Creek Park in Canyon Lake located in the Hill Country of Texas. It was a little sad when we pulled up because the lake was so low. This area is in extreme drought and the lake was sitting at about 47% full on the day we arrived. 

Boy how things would change during our stay.  As many of you know by now, the Texas Hill Country, especially around the Kerrville area, was hit by torrential floods which sadly  took many lives. The river hit was the Guadalupe River, the same river that feeds Canyon Lake where we are staying. While many lost their lives and more yet are still missing, the water causing it all ended up in Canyon Lake. As a result the lake is now sitting at nearly 65% full. A very high cost for the water so sorely needed in this lake.  

So even as we end our stay in Canyon Lake, it is nice to see the lake as full as it's been in several years. Officials have even opened some of the boat ramps which will revitalize the economy around the lake (also sorely needed). Several businesses had closed down and many were running on fumes. 

Our main mission for coming to this area, other than loving the lake, was to visit our son and his family who now live about 10 minutes away from our campground. We used to camp here when he lived in San Antonio, Texas but that drive was close to an hour. It was so nice being able to pop in to see them so easily now. 

Other than spending a lot of quality time with our son, daughter in law,  grandson and grand-dogs, we also took some time to visit our favorite places when it wasn't raining. Our favorite sight around here is driving along the Old River Road which runs from Canyon Lake to New Braunfels, Texas. 

 

We planned to do many other things, but unfortunately it rained a lot while at the lake. Just as we began planning our next stop, rain is in the forecast for the day we leave, sigh. Such is life on the Road of Retirement...

Back in our old hometown and replacing an A/C

    

It was time to leave the greater Houston area, and we didn't have a very long drive to return to our former hometown. College Station is where our RV travels began. I wasn't really looking forward to the trip because I knew I had to drive through North Houston and sure enough there was plenty of traffic.

 

Nevertheless, we did make it through and pulled into the park we typically stay at when we make our return visits called Holiday RV Park. It's proximal to the campus of Texas A& M University which is where I went to school as well as where I worked for over thirty years. 

It's always fun to revisit our hometown to see the changes. And sure enough, we saw a massive building going up close to campus. It appears to be another high-rise dorm as the campus is now the largest in United States at nearly 70,000 students. 

We hoped to do more while we were here, but the rains that have been plaguing us since we left Mississippi continued to find us. It rained off and, on several days, but between showers we were able to get in some hikes and of course, to walk around Texas A&M University campus. We also enjoyed a visit to the George Bush Jr. Presidential Library.

We were also lucky in that we happened to be there during a dual birthday party held at a friend's new home with a pool!  It was a chance for us to reacquaint with a lot of folks we hadn't seen for a while and to notice our friend's kids now have little kids of their own! It's also a reminder that we actually now have way more friends whom we've met on the road than we did when we were living in this town. We cherish both the old and new friendships!

Not only the rain kept us close to home but unfortunately our rear A/C went out requiring research to have a new one shipped and then installation. United RV Parts worked with me ensuring a perfect replacement and C5 Mobile RV Repair came the day after it arrived. Everything actually went smoothly! Both were great people to work with!

We were able to have our happy hours rain or shine mostly at Brookshire Brothers who has an upstairs sitting area overlooking the Texas A&M track and Kyle Field Stadium. We were joined once by a College Station friend we apparently inspired to sell everything and fulltime RV like us! Fun!

Our next stop will be at Canyon Lake in the Hill country of Texas. Our son lives nearby so we will be visiting him shortly after July 4th. We are looking forward to the quiet time on the lake as well as quality time with family.