2024 Fall in TN & TX

 September 11-December 31, 2024

On Wednesday 9/11 we were on the road early as we had 347 miles to go to Camp Wandering Camels on the TN River in Clifton TN. We arrived in the early afternoon after a good day of traveling. Our contractor did an awesome job of enlarging our driveway, rocking our shoreline, and putting gravel and grass seed spread so we could enjoy sitting by the river.

Dark skies make for some great star and comet watching. 

Throughout our time there, almost two months, Dave worked on getting steps down to the beach. It was slow going, but he’s now got steps cemented in, and he’s a happy fisherman.

We enjoyed a few local restaurants; our favorite is the local grill at the marina. I’ve joined the local library. We’ve found an awesome butcher shop, and while grocery shopping at Walmart isn’t the best, it’s at least better than the one in Shelbyville. An added benefit: It’s next to one of the nicer laundromats we’ve been to in 11+ years of full-time employment.

Most days were filled with walking and enjoying our new lifestyle by the river. We met many other owners as we walked. We spent many days figuring out how we wanted our 56’x60’ open pole barn placed on our lot. We talked with our builder; we’ll order our kit soon after the first of the year. We’re very much looking forward to getting this next phase done.

We’ve gotten to know our neighbors, Elaine and Curley, and look forward to seeing them again in the fall. Thanks, guys for letting us store some stuff at your place.

The biggest highlight of our TN stay was reconnecting with some of our besties from VT. When Carol said they were coming to Chattanooga TN to visit their daughter and her family we knew we would have to meet up somewhere. We chose a little park in Fayetteville, which was a two-hour drive for both of us. It has been 5 years since we were together, but when we talked it was like no time had passed. Carol and I used to be shopping buddies so it didn’t surprise either of us when we discovered we had the same exact purse, we’ve always been on the same wavelength. We spent 4 hours together, it was priceless as we miss seeing Carol and Mike regularly.

Love these best friends

As our time wound down, we discovered our water heater was leaking, thankfully Amazon had one that could get there in a couple of days. One of the downsides of our property is there are limited delivery options, the post office doesn’t deliver to Paradise Landing, only FedEx and UPS do. At least the bagels we order from NY are sent by FedEx. Our water heater was shipped by Amazon to our UPS store in Savannah, we kept an eye on the delivery status, and we ended up at the UPS Store just as the Amazon driver was walking out of it.

We enjoyed sunrises and sunsets from our property and look forward to seeing many more. 

 Sunsets

Sunrises

We even saw some fall foliage across the river from us.

Finally, our river time ended and we're looking forward to going back in September 2025. A quick search on Google Maps for Camp Wandering Camels will take you to our property. 

                       

On 11/3 we left Paradise Landing and headed towards the TX Gulf Coast and our winter home in Port Aransas. A 304-mile ride found us on the east side of Little Rock AR at Willow Beach COE park, a new to-us campground. Willow Beach is a small park with 21 sites with water and electricity. Willow Beach Campground is located near the David D. Terry Lock and Dam of the Arkansas River, just off the Arkansas River. The east side of Little Rock is a short drive away. We didn’t do much while there but did enjoy a wonderful meal at Scott’s Station a local eatery. We’ll stop by again on our way north to IL in March.

Site 9

After a quiet 4 night stay at Willow Beach, we headed onward, a short 169-mile ride found us pulling into Rocky Point campground on Wright Patman Lake near the dam. There are 124 sites, some FHU’s and some with 50amp, shady sites, and some out in the sun. This was our first time at this campground, we used to stay at another campground, but we really liked Rocky Point. There are lots of roads to walk and trails if the weather permits. It’s a little ride to Texarkana, where there are all kinds of shopping and restaurants. We found a really good Mexican place, Loca Luna Mexican Grill, that we’ll revisit when we go through in March.

Site D02

After an enjoyable 3 night stay we headed further south, 280 miles later we were pulling into Spring Creek Park in Tomball TX. This is our go-to spot when visiting Dave’s uncle in Houston. Getting a site is now done online, you have a 45-day window, but your whole stay has to be in those 45 days. It is also no longer but $25 for a FHU site is a great price. We hope to be able to get a site again in March on our way north. We forgot to take a picture of our site, no big deal as it's the site we were at last time we were here. 

We enjoyed time with Uncle Ray and Aunt Beth and were introduced to more great eateries. As is usual for our visits we enjoyed spending an afternoon walking around Old Town Spring where I did some Christmas shopping. 

After 3 nights we headed out for our last travel day, 249 miles later we were pulling into Gulf Waters Beachfront RV Resort in Port Aransas, our TX home. We were first here in 12/2013 and purchased lot 623  in 2/2014, a decision we’ve never regretted. Over the years my brother and his family have made Port Aransas and, the area their home. Now I’m fortunate enough to see him weekly for dinner and gaming. We’ve made some great friends in the RV park, Dave enjoys surf fishing, and we've always enjoyed our winter stays here. 

We are enjoying walking Ellie Rose again this winter, three times most days, she's even accompanied Dave to the beach a time or two. 

Of course, Dave has caught a fish or two. 

We've enjoyed the holidays here, Thanksgiving with family, and Christmas with our good friends in the neighborhood. 

Happy New Year!!!!

Until next time...