A couple of weeks in Texas

March 13^th – 26^th

Rainbow’s End at Escapees RV Club Park (Livingston, TX)

We checked into the Escapees Rainbow’s End RV Park in Livingston, TX on Thursday, March 13^th.  We plan to stay a week or two, depending on how long it takes to complete the process of establishing residency in Texas.

Since we sold our house in Kentucky we technically didn’t have a permanent residence.  A physical residential address is required in Kentucky for things like driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations.  Kentucky also doesn’t accept PO boxes, UPS addresses, mail-forwarding addresses, etc. as proof of a physical address.

We were aware of this when we sold our house and planned on traveling full-time after retirement.  With that in mind, we looked into states that both accepted mail-forwarding addresses as legal addresses and were advantageous to us as far as personal property taxes.  Many full-time Rv’ers establish residency in South Dakota, Florida, or Texas for these reasons.  We chose Texas.

We had already registered our Ford F-450 and the Heartland Landmark Grand Canyon RV (the Land Yacht) and needed to get driver’s licenses while we were in Livingston, TX.  We also needed to get a Texas Department of Transportation inspection performed on the truck.

Friday, March 14^th

Today we just chilled out.  We had started watching the South Eastern Conference (SEC) Men’s Basketball tournament when it started.  Unfortunately we lost our local broadcast TV stations on our Direct TV system when we moved out of the local broadcast beam.  I was aware of this but didn’t know in advance the size of the local beam.  As it turns out, we moved out of the beam after we left Bowling Green, KY.

I had a Direct TV application printed out for “Distant Network Services” (DNS) that would allow us, for $12 per month, to receive the East or West coast local channel feeds.  We mailed the application to Direct TV today.

Many of the tournament games were either on TBS, TruTV, or TNT.  These channels are included in our Direct TV package so we are able to watch most games.

Saturday, March 15^th

Today we didn’t do much other than watch men’s college basketball conference games.   The SEC semi-final games were on CBS so we went to the Club House to watch

Rainbow's End Club House

the games.  Here at the RV Park the Escapees have several different buildings used for various functions.  In the Club House there is a large activity room with restrooms and a fully functional kitchen; a media room; and video and book libraries.  We took advantage of the big flat screen TV in the activity room to watch the Florida/Tennessee and Kentucky/Georgia games.  Florida and Kentucky won each of their games and will meet in the SEC finals tomorrow (Sunday).

Sunday, March 16^th

Today was the SEC Men’s basketball championship between Florida and Kentucky.  It was a great game other than Kentucky lost by one point.  It was on ESPN so we were able to watch in the RV on Direct TV satellite.

Later we watched the NCAA Men’s Tournament Selection Show.  Three Southeastern Conference teams are going to the “Big Dance”. Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee will be playing later this week starting on Wednesday.  Defending national champion Louisville also made the tournament.

Monday, March 17^th

Tomorrow Lisa and I are going to apply for Texas driver’s licenses so today I studied the Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Handbook to prepare for the written exam.  I had downloaded it from the Texas DOT website several months ago.  Because the gross combined vehicle weight rating (GCVWR) of the truck and RV is over 26,000 pounds, drivers are required to obtain a Class A non-commercial driver’s license.

The test will include much of the information required for the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) without the air brake information.

We also went to a Ford dealership to have the truck inspected.  They found that the exhaust pipes were loose and said that it had to be repaired.  I looked and it seemed that a bracket had either broken or a bolt had fallen out.

We went to a local muffler shop and they confirmed that a bolt had fallen out.  They replaced it and we went back to the Ford dealership. The truck passed inspection and they installed the sticker on the windshield.

Later on we went to eat at Shrimp Boat Manny’s.  It was a seafood place with pretty good food.  They didn’t serve beer or alcohol but customers could bring their own into the restaurant.  That was a first for us but we expect to discover many things different from what we’re accustomed.

Tuesday, March 18^th

Today we went to the Polk County Department of Public Safety to obtain Texas driver’s licenses.  Lisa completed the application process and will receive her driver’s license in the mail in 4-6 weeks.  I took the 20 question written test and passed.  The earliest we were able to schedule the driving test is for next Friday at 3 pm. The test requires that the RV be connected so we will have to pack up like we’re moving to a new campground.

So now we are planning on leaving Livingston, TX next Friday (March 28^th) after the driving test (assuming I pass the test) and head south from here.  We are tentatively planning on taking I-10 East near the southern coast.  The meal at Shrimp Boat Manny’s yesterday only wetted my appetite for seafood.

Wednesday, March 19^th

Quite a while ago we had gotten rid of the couch and recliners that came with our fifth wheel.  We never did like either one of them very much.  Originally we had anticipated needing to order an RV because we didn’t think we’d find one on a lot that we’d like and with all our requirements.  We were planning to order it without furniture so we could choose and buy the furniture ourselves. 

Our house sold before we officially had it on the market so we didn’t have time to order a fifth wheel RV.  When we went to the RV show in Louisville, KY in August 2012 we found our dream RV that had furniture included. To read more in detail about how we came to live full-time in an RV visit our website at http://www.landyachttravels.com/how-did-we-get-here-1/.

We had bought two nice recliners when we got rid of the furniture but hadn’t replaced the couch.  We have been talking about buying an ottoman to increase the seating and also gain some storage space.

We went to Walmart today and purchased groceries and looked at an ottoman but it wasn’t what we were looking for, but that motivated us to start seriously thinking about buying one soon.

While we were at Walmart we bought a few things that we’ll need when we start working in Yellowstone National Park this summer.  We’ll be working at the Canyon Village general store from June 5^th to September 29^th.

We ordered an ottoman this evening.  We couldn’t get a guarantee that it would arrive before March 28^th so we are having it shipped to Vidor, TX.  That’s along the route we’ll be taking next week when we leave Livingston and we’ll pick it up on our way through.  We expect the ottoman to be there when we drive through.

Thursday, March 20^th to Wednesday, March 26^th

Rainbow’s End at Escapees RV Club Park (Livingston, TX)

We haven’t been doing a whole lot – at least not a lot to write about.  We’ve been watching many of the different games of the NCAA tournament.  At least we watch the ones that aren’t on local networks.
On Thursday, March 20^th, we emptied out the large outside storage compartment, reorganized and repacked everything.  Then we did some reorganization inside the RV.  We’re trying to make it easier to pack and unpack when traveling.

We also grilled some burgers and brats. It was nice to be able to grill out.

Friday, March 21^st, we went to the Club House and watched the movie Frozen Ground with Nicholas Cage, John Cusack, and Vanessa Hudgens. I liked the movie and would recommend it.   Lisa didn’t like it as much as I did.  The folks that run the campground show a movie two or three times a week.  They pop popcorn and provide other snacks. 

After the movie everyone left.  Lisa and I stayed and watched the University of Kentucky Wildcats against Kansas State Wildcats in the NCAA tournament at the main room of the Club House on the same TV as the movie was shown.  The UK Wildcats won and advance to the next round.

Sunday, March 22^nd, we went back to the Club House and watched University of Kentucky vs. Wichita State in the NCAA tournament.  It was a very close game with several ties and lead changes but Kentucky pulled out a two point win.  Kentucky is seeded eighth and Wichita State was one of the four number one seeds.  Go Cats!

Kentucky will play the University of Louisville in the “Sweet Sixteen” next Friday.  That should be a good game.  They are big in-state rivals as it is, but meeting in the NCAA tournament takes it to another level.  Louisville won the NCAA tournament last year (2013) and UK won it all the year before (2012).

Each day we try to work on optimizing the storage space in the RV.  We’re making good progress.  It’s a challenge!

When we were driving here from West Monroe, LA a trim piece on a shelf in the bedroom closet came loose and nearly fell completely off.  It looks like the piece is warped and probably had pressure on it when it was installed during original construction.  We more than likely hit a bump somewhere and it popped loose.  Anyway, on Monday, March 24^th, we reattached it with some screws so it’s more secure.

Also, on Monday we cooked corned beef and cabbage with onions, mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots in a slow cooker.  It was really good and we have enough leftovers for at least a couple of additional meals.

We went to Walmart on Wednesday, March 26^th, and bought a few grocery items in anticipation of leaving on Friday, March 28^th.  We’re finding that things like sliced cheese and crackers or chicken salad and crackers are very handy on traveling days for a quick on-the-road lunch or snack.  We also make our own trail mix and are planning on incorporating that into our travel menu. 

We have an expandable six-pack cooler that’s just right the right size for bringing along a few bottles of water and a plastic container with cold food in it.  We love it when we have something that’s useful and the perfect size!

We received an email yesterday notifying us that the “Convertible Bench” that we ordered has arrived in Vidor, TX and will be available for pickup until April 8^th.  We’ll be driving through there this Friday, March 28^th, in the evening.  We’ll pick it up then stop somewhere for the night.

I’ll post again tomorrow.