Category: Holidays on the Road
There’s Still More to Love about Texas Food
January 7, 2013 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
Texans take their food as seriously as they do their football. Many Winter Texans and other visitors to the Lone Star State have the good sense to agree with them—that Texan food is that of the gods. 1. Po Po Family Restaurant Bright neon letters spell “CHICKEN, STEAKS, SEAFOOD” across the rock exterior of Po Po Family Restaurant. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Bright neon letters spell “CHICKEN, STEAKS, SEAFOOD” across the rock exterior of Po Po Family Restaurant, just off I-10, 37 miles north of San Antonio at the Welfare exit #533. The neon and the notice tell you what to expect at Po Po’s: a menu that requires no translation, featuring traditional American and Southern fare, cooked to order. Po Po is not just your ordinary restaurant. This eatery has a unique history with a cast of unique characters and circumstances, a matchless plate collection, as well as some of the best food in the Texas Hill County. The warmth and hospitality are hard to beat. If you have ever... [Read more...]
Start the New Year Off on the Right Foot with a First Day Hike
December 27, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
With New Year’s Day just around the corner, people everywhere are zeroing in on their new year’s resolutions for 2013. Some will vow to add more exercise into their routines, and others will promise not to stay indoors as much. You can start the New Year off on the right foot, the left foot, or any foot by tackling both those resolutions at once and at the same time create a new family tradition by participating in a “First Day Hike” at a park near you, and together start off your year in a new direction. America’s State Parks announces that all 50 state park systems will sponsor guided First Day Hike Programs on New Year’s Day 2013. First Day Hikes originated over 20 years ago at the Blue Hills Reservation, a state park in Milton, Massachusetts. The program was launched to promote both healthy lifestyles throughout the year and year round recreation at state parks. State involvement has grown to the point where, for the first time in 2012, all 50 state park systems joined... [Read more...]
May you all have a Blessed Christmas, no matter where the season finds you…
December 24, 2012 by Dana Ticknor · 8 Comments
This year will be our fourth year celebrating Christmas in an RV; the 3rd in this particular 5er. And we couldn’t be happier about it. While we no longer have the 8′ tree, or the strings of lights outlining the rooftop, or the fancy Christmas dinner with a dozen sides like in the sticks n’ bricks, Christmas still holds the same wonder. Sure, we have had to make some changes in how we celebrate, due to our compact abode, but we are finding that we prefer many of our altered traditions. In the RV, we don’t go all out decorating, mostly because we don’t have room to haul decorations around with us (we still love to look at other RVer’s lights!), but we do have a small tree that the kids decorate, and we trim the slides with garland and small colorful balls. We don’t buy gifts based so much on money and number anymore as we do size, and we now prefer ‘experiences’ over physical stuff. We no longer cook on the same scale as we did in our... [Read more...]
Merry Christmas to All
December 22, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
It’s Christmas weekend, the most wonderful time of the year. Season’s greetings fellow RVers, campers, snowbirds, wanna-bes, birders, photographers, hikers, and everyone who loves the great out-of-doors…and all Woodall’s blog readers! Thank you for reading our camping blogs this past year! Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday season. May the miracle of this wonderful season fill your heart with peace and happiness and bless your life throughout the year. As we approach Christmas Eve we’re on the Alabama Gulf Coast enjoying balmy Gulf breezes, discovering the beauty and diversity of the area, and indulging the palate in fresh from the Gulf shrimp, oysters, and native fish. For me, the ultimate experience of camping and RVing requires a camera. Without a camera I bring home memories. With a camera, I bring home a series of images of the memories that I can return to over and over and share with readers of my posts. Memories become more complete and... [Read more...]
Last Minute Christmas Shoppers Must-Read!
December 18, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · Leave a Comment
Are you feeling stressed out by the mad holiday rush and last minute Christmas gifts you still need to get? It is usually around this time of year, with less than a week to go before Christmas, that I really start to feel the pressure. I feel it all month long, really, but it’s especially bad in the last home stretch, with less than seven days to go, that I really feel the stress. Really, I should just bite the bullet and go shopping for all of those last minute gifts, but this year money has been especially tight and I have way more last minute gifts to buy than normal. So with that said, my goal now is to do my best with what I have and then pray that everyone gets taken care of, just in the nick of time. Read-on for Practical Tips that will Save You Time and Money! My Goal is to do what I can to finish as early in the week as possible, so that by the weekend, all I have left to do is the wrapping (my favorite part!) Here is my Plan of Attack (that you are welcome to follow... [Read more...]
Ringing In The Heavenly! New Year
December 15, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · Leave a Comment
With the weather being downright cold outside, I was sitting here listening to Christmas music with a warm fire burning in the fireplace, thinking it is time to start planning an epic New Year’s Destination Vacation! Our plan this year is to head north for the most ultimate New Year’s celebration in a place we have never been before: Lake Tahoe! While we have been to some great snowboarding places closer to home, such as Big Bear’s Snow Summit, Bear Mountain, and even Mammoth; we have been contemplating checking out Lake Tahoe for the past several years. Luckily, my cousin has a connection so we have a cabin to stay in for free this year. With accommodations taken care of, our next step was to look for a place to go snowboarding nearby. In speaking with my cousin, it sounded like Heavenly and Kirkwood are the two closest places to go near the cabin. Once we looked into choosing from those two, it didn’t take long to choose Heavenly! Just the name itself kinda... [Read more...]
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!
December 13, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · Leave a Comment
Deck the Wheels with Bells of Holly! Whether you are traveling somewhere in your RV for Christmas or are a full-timer, there are many ways that you can decorate your RV for Christmas: like you would a house just on a smaller scale. While walking through a campground in Southern California over Thanksgiving weekend, I already spotted a few RVs that were decked out with their Christmas décor. These campers wasted no time in getting their Christmas décor out and up in their RVs. To be honest, I thought it a bit early (being Thanksgiving weekend, I suppose that is not sooo early). Then upon second look, I realized just how nice and homey it made the RV look from the outside. You could see the dash board was covered in some kind of lit-up village and there were lights and garland all around. A small Christmas tree was sitting in a pot in the front and the RV just emanated the warmth and cheer that Christmas seems to bring every year. Decking your RV out with Christmas Décor this... [Read more...]
Some Days Are Diamond: Florida Man Finds 1.95 ct. Brown Diamond
December 9, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
The second-largest diamond found so far this year at Crater of Diamonds State Park was certified on the afternoon of November 28. Doug Lay holds his newly found 1.95-carat dark brown diamond. (Credit: Crater of Diamonds State Park) The 1.95-carat dark brown gem is about the size of an English pea, with a round shape and a pitted surface. 40-year-old Doug Lay, a certified nursing assistant from Hernando, Florida, discovered the coffee-colored gem around 1:00 p.m. while wet sifting in the East Drain, a trench along the east side of the park’s 37 ½-acre diamond search area. Lay is no stranger to diamond finds; he has found more than 30 over the past four years, but this is his largest find yet! Lay first learned about Crater of Diamonds State Park from his father, one of the park’s longtime diamond miners. “Dad’s been coming to the Crater of Diamonds off and on for about 17 years. Whenever I’m on vacation, I like coming to Arkansas to spend time with him, and we enjoy searching... [Read more...]
Stairs: The Hidden Danger In RVs
November 30, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · 4 Comments
The day after Thanksgiving, the full day of eating whatever we want; we set out for a fun weekend of camping at the beach. The beach camp spot my aunt reserved this year was at Leo Carrillo State Beach, a scenic stretch of canyon leading to gorgeous coastline, where the Santa Monica Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. You access it from the Pacific Coast Highway, just south of where we live. My dear aunt was only one day late in reserving our typical spot at Carpinteria State Beach and, lo and behold, there were no spots left! So we settled for second best: Leo Carrillo, where I grew up camping and loving every second of it. Leo Carrillo is just off a narrow, windy stretch of highway along the coast with no bike lane, so bicycling with our kids in tow to the campsite was out of the question (although we did enjoy riding around the campground and over to the beach side)! We packed up our bikes and set off with the RV and a handful of tents for two nights at Leo Carrillo State Beach... [Read more...]
Georgia on My Mind: Cumberland Island Turns 40
November 28, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
Cumberland Island National Seashore recently (October 23) celebrated its 40th anniversary. Access to Cumberland Island is by a concession operated passenger ferry, The Cumberland Lady. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved When President Richard Nixon signed federal legislation creating the national seashore off the coast of Georgia in October 1972, it culminated what Park Service officials said was “a long and complex process of obtaining support from various individuals and groups to make Georgia’s largest barrier island one of America’s national parks, reports nationalparkstraveler.com.” Before the National Park Service acquired most of the island for a national seashore, 90 percent of it was the private domain of Lucy and Thomas Carnegie (brother of Andrew) and their descendants. The Carnegies bought the island in the 1880s and built five mansions on it during the next two decades. The most superb house was the opulent 59-room, Queen Anne-style Dungeness on the island’s... [Read more...]
