We met a wonderful couple last year while we were in Oregon. They are full timers and have been on the road for 18 years. We were hoping that we could meet up with them somewhere and sometime again. It turns out that they were scheduled to arrive at Escapee’s Rainbow’s End in Livingston, TX as we were heading down to Houston. Bingo!
After we got into Rainbow’s End and got set up, our friends gave us a thorough tour and history of the park. Next it was time for drinks, snacks and chats with our friends and making plans for a fun filled day tomorrow. There is a beautiful state park near by, the weather was still great, and the plan was to take a nice walk and check out the campsites there.
Lake Livingston is the largest lake entirely in Texas. It was beautiful and had a lovely and inviting campground with a number of sites on the lake. I definitely want to come back to this place in the future.
After our walk it was off to lunch at Florida’s Kitchen, a very local place. We had huge plates of catfish and barbecue ribs but they hadn’t gotten around to baking the sweet potato pie, so I missed out on that. Finally back to Annie for a well deserved rest.
The next morning was a large breakfast benefitting the care center at Rainbow’s End. We did not leave hungry! (The care center basically provides for assisted living services for full-time RV’ers living in their RV at the park.) Then we had to hustle to get the 5th wheel packed and ready for Annie and the Beast to get a thorough and detailed weighing. This information ensures that we are safe (within all the various weight limits) and helps us better understand how to pack for traveling. Let’s just say that the designers and builders of RV’s build them for comfort and not balanced for optimum safety. No big surprise, but the kitchen side was 400 lbs. heavier than the dinette and recliner side. Something to consider when driving especially making turns. Otherwise, we were well within specifications in all areas on both the truck and trailer. (Escapees notes that more than half of all units they weigh are overweight on at least one specification.)
As we were sitting in the truck, a woman with a Green Bay Packers fleece jacket approached our truck to ask where we were from in Wisconsin. What a surprise that she actually was one of Opa’s former coworkers! She had retired last summer, and both she and Opa were quite surprised. We chatted a little while and will be making plans to visit with them more further along during this trip. Sometimes it truly is a small world.
We said our good bye’s to everyone and set out on the road for one of our favorite drives (NOT!!) through Houston. We have a reservation on our daughter’s driveway and are looking very forward to meeting up with our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids.
The Lake Livingston State Park looks very peaceful. Can you camp by the lake there? Interesting that this blog mentions Annie’s somewhat lopsided weight due to the heavier kitchen. Designers should take that into consideration so as not to cause issues on curves and soft shoulders.
Yes, Livingston State Park has camping with several sites on the lake. It was pretty busy when we were there in early February. I’m sure that it is reservable as well. And yes, designers build trailers for your comfort not safety. It is a problem.