The Lone Star State Part 1

 

            Lake Conroe was our first campground in Texas, located about an hour from Houston.  This campground was really big, and reminded me of Thousand Trails Orlando (see my post November's Adventures [and December's]).  We met friends there, and played several times together while at Lake Conroe.  

             Tuesday's weather was warm, so we went hiking on the Lone Star Trail.  This trail was really long, so we only did part of it.  Mia spotted a tiny black and blue-striped snake on the trail, and we ate a picnic lunch of peanut butter sandwiches and spicy chili lime chips (I love those chips, even though they burn my mouth up).  The trail went by Lake Conroe, and Mia and I had fun climbing on the logs that dipped down into the water.  After that, we drove to the Sam Houston Statue Visitor Center, to take pictures of the 67 foot statue of Sam Houston, Texas's first governor.  The shop offered local goods like jelly and candles, and the visitor's center gave facts about Sam Houston and the town of Huntsville, which is where the statue is located.  

            On Wednesday, we hung out at home and played with our friends.  The weather was warm, but that afternoon brought rain due to the cold front that also brought snow to my home state of North Carolina.  I got some schoolwork done, which I usually try to do on free days, and my mom went to the grocery store.  Thursday was a cold, windy, cloudy day with a high of 45, but we went to Houston on that day and had an awesome time.  

             Thankfully, we spent all afternoon and evening in museums, so we were only out in the cold that morning.  We started our day at Christ Church Cathedral, founded in 1839, which boasted beautiful woodwork and ornate stained glass.  After that we walked to the underground tunnels of Houston, where there were said to be shops, restaurants, and most of Houston's commerce (above ground, the city was surprisingly empty for being America's fourth largest city).  However, the underground tunnels had been hit hard by Covid, and many shops and restaurants were closed.  Very few people populated the tunnels, and it was sad to see what had once been a thriving area empty and lonely.  However, my parents got some coffee at one of the few restaurants that was open a couple of decks above the tunnels, and we sat in cool futuristic chairs to enjoy it.  The sitting area we sat at offered a great view of the streets and sidewalk below.  Once my parents had finished their coffee, we went to lunch at a Thai restaurant and ordered tofu and rice which was delicious.

    Sitting high above Houston in the futuristic chairs

My mom's coffee that she got at the little coffee shop in the third floor of the tunnels. 

              Our first stop for that afternoon was the water wall, which was stunning.  The spray from the huge wall was chilly, but it made me feel like I was on the ocean.  We met our campground friends there, to our surprise, and it was fun talking and taking pictures with them.  Next was the Holocaust museum, a two-story building full of artifacts, displays, pictures, and television screens displaying Holocaust survivors' testimonies.  The museum was very well put-together and very educational, but it described a hideous event in human history.  I broke down right in the museum, and my mom cried too.  The Holocaust museum was a reminder of what can happen if we begin to blame and hate others.  

            After the Holocaust museum, we joined our friends at the Houston children's museum, which was kind of weird going from a museum that told about one of the most horrible events in human history to a bright and cheerful children's museum.  However, we had an awesome time.  There was a little city where you had your own ID card and money, and you could go to and work at all of these places: a bike shop, grocery store, bank, news station, and more.  We had such a blast, and Mia has been daydreaming ever since about shrinking the city down and carrying it around with her so that she can expand it and go in and play whenever she wants.  

            We spent the weekend at home mostly, and hung out with our friends some more.  We had a campfire one night and several times Mia and I met the girls at the playground.  On Saturday, Mia went to watch a movie in the rec hall with the girls, and my mom and I went out for a mother-daughter day.  I found this coffee place online called Luv Coffee, and it was really nice.  The coffee was good, the shop was clean, and it played Christian music that I knew.  It had a really cool vibe, and my mom and I spent a while there, planning activities for our next campground.  Then we went to lunch at Chipotle, as usual, and it was fun spending time together. 

            On Sunday, our friends left to go back home to Colorado for a little while, but we hoped to meet up in Yellowstone this coming summer.  We went to the playground with them one last time and said our last goodbyes.  I had a lazy rest of the day, just hanging around watching TV and playing with Mia.  But the next day we got up before seven to try and beat the rain to our next campground.  We still had to set up in the rain, but we work well with early mornings and we got to Whitney, Texas by lunchtime so that we could be at home for the rest of the day.  Our campsite backed right up to the woods, and we played there with the Hendricks, who were our across-the-street neighbors.  The campground had lots of hiking trails and was close to Waco, Fort Worth, and Dallas.    

            We went to Waco on January 25, and I had the best time.  We climbed long stone steps called Jacob's Ladder, which was really fun.  Then we went to Spice Village, a huge store that was really clean and nice. There was tons to see, from clothes, shoes, and sunglasses to home decor, furniture, books, and games.  There were also candles, which I have recently become obsessed with. Some had cool literary names like Sherlock Holmes or Plot Twist.  Next we went to Magnolia Village, which is probably the main attraction in Waco.  This modernly chic little area was very nice, with a coffee shop, bakery, shops, and refurbished church.  We had a great time looking in all the shops, eating at food trucks, and admiring the clean, modern style.  Our last stop for the day was Homestead Heritage, a Christian community similar to Amish people.  We went to the general store, where they had two adorable gray kittens for sale.  Mia and I played with the kittens while our parents browsed the goods for sale, then we drove back home to Cleo as the sun went down, creating a lovely sunset. 

Mia is such a good little model 

My parents at the Magnolia silos!

Lunch from the Magnolia food trucks!

            While at Lake Whitney, we played in the rec hall and woods with the Hendricks, and even met a new friend Mia's age who was super nice.  We spent lots of time outside playing Star Wars and more in the woods behind our camper, which was lots of fun.  One of my favorite things about being an RVer is the ability to meet so many new friends.  Though you do have to leave them, sometimes you meet up again at other campgrounds; and besides, it's better to have met someone great and spend time with them for only a couple of weeks than to never have met them. 

            On January 27, we went to Dallas.  There were several walking things we went to see, like the giant eyeball, the JFK memorial, and the assassination spot for JFK.  We even saw the infamous sixth window where the assassination shots were fired.  We spent the afternoon at the Creation museum, which is something you MUST see if you're ever in Dallas.  It has automatons, exhibits about the Ark, Garden of Eden, and more, as well as a planetarium.  It gives amazing proof for why the Bible is real, and offers facts about things like the Tower of Babel.  This museum really strengthened my faith and it was such an amazing experience.  

       In the Garden of Eden exhibit, which smelled so good and was so beautifully put together

            The next day we went to Fort Worth Stockyards, which was probably one of our best Texas days.  We did the cattle drive that morning, looked in shops, and then ate a picnic lunch in the truck before the rodeo that night at the Cowtown Coliseum.  The coliseum was a century old, and there were tons of plaques of cowboys, clowns, and bull riders in the lower level.  But above was an exciting rodeo with bull riders, barrel racers, calf ropers, and more.  My first rodeo was very exciting and fun, and was definitely something to remember. 

While browsing the Fort Worth shops, we found the perfect hat for my dad

I had to try on these funky sunglasses

Trick roper at the rodeo 

            As I'm sure you've already figured out from the title, I broke my Texas adventures into two parts that I will write about.  The second part will be published in a few weeks, and it will include our three-week stay in Lakehills, Texas, where we made new friends and met up with old!  I'll also write about our one-week stay in Big Bend National Park!