Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It:  Motorhomes of Texas, Nacogdoches, Texas

August 9, 2020

Temperature 95 Degrees Feels Like 105 Degrees With Humidity

Nacogdoches Visitor Center

One more day, hopefully, in the asphalt jungle.  If all goes well tomorrow we should be on the road around noon tomorrow.  Whatever way it goes is OK by us.  We’ve learned over the years that the first rule of full time RV living is to be flexible.

Little did we know when we arrived in Nacogdoches that this quaint little town is considered to be one of the prime tourist stops in Texas.  Wanting to know more about the town and its history we decided to visit

the visitor center located in the historic district of town.

When we asked if the historic district would be hard to find we were told just look for the red brick road.

Once we found the historic district locating the Visitor Center was real easy to locate.  Outside the visitor center is a beautiful park.

  Walking in the front door you learn immediately that it is considered the oldest town in Texas.

 

The earliest settlers of this area were the Caddo Indians.  They were the most advanced Indian culture in Texas.  They lived in tall, grass-covered houses in large settlements with highly structured social, religious, and political systems.

 Over the course of its history, Nacogdoches had nine differently flags rather than the six for the rest of Texas.  The flags included the Spanish, French, Gutierrez-Magee Rebellion, Dr. James Long Expedition, Mexican, Fredonia Rebellion, Lone Star, Confederate Stars & Bars and of course the United States of America.

Nacogdoches was the American’s gateway to Texas.  They began coming into Nacogdoches and Spanish Texas by the 1800’s.

The Spanish lost ownership of Texas and Mexico in 1821 after the Mexican Revolution. In order to prevent Anglos from the United States from flooding Texas, the Mexican Government passed colonization laws and granted impresario grants to individuals to settle families in Texas. Disagreements over land titles led to the Fredonia Rebellion.

 By the early 1830s, relations between Mexico and Texas began to spiral out of control. The first clash between Mexican and Texans occurred on August 2, 1832 with the Battle of Nacogdoches. Aided by local resident Adolphus Sterne, a group of Texas revolutionaries forced the Mexican garrison out of Nacogdoches, and freeing East Texas from military rule.

By 1839 all of East Texas was occupied and under the control of the Americans who came through the Nacogdoches gateway to Texas to settle the new Republic of Texas.

After the turn of the century, local citizens began to lobby the state for an teacher’s college in Nacogdoches. In 1923 Stephen F. Austin Teachers College opened with an enrollment of 158 students. Over the next several decades, the college began to expand to accommodate a large student body. Under the leadership of President Ralph Steen, the college achieved university status in 1969 and a student population of nearly 11,000.  The university continues to thrive today.

Nearby was the site of the riverport community of Pattonia (also called Patton’s Landing),

founded by Robert S. and Moses L. Patton in 1844.

Pattonia was situated at a bend in the Angelina River.

 To test the feasibility of riverboats, the Patton brothers purchased the flat-hulled Thomas J. Rusk in 1844, loaded it with 192 bales of cotton, and floated it downriver to Sabine Pass, where they traded the cotton for supplies. With these supplies they opened a store in Pattonia.

 

Successful in their initial efforts, the Pattons purchased the steamboat Angelina and soon established regular commerce on the river between the new town of Pattonia and the Gulf of Mexico. Boats carried cotton downriver, while supplies were sent upstream to Pattonia, where they were unloaded and sent overland to Nacogdoches and other locations by wagon.

By the 1880s, boats no longer served the port community. Erosion of the river banks, lowering water levels, obstruction by fallen logs, accumulation of sandbars and other factors contributed to the demise of the port and made navigation on the Angelina River difficult. The emergence of dependable rail travel made Pattonia’s river commerce obsolete. The Pattons moved their mercantile businesses to Nacogdoches, and by 1900 the settlement had been abandoned.Today, nothing remains of this once vital link to river trade in east Texas.

Another day is in the books on The Road of Retirement.  Our time here has definitely not been wasted.  Once again God brought us to the right place at the right time.  Serious safety issues were corrected regarding Elvira.  Upgrades were accomplished.  We finally got our front AC working properly.  We got to do some shopping and replenish some of the staples we keep on board.  We had a wonderful time sightseeing and learning about the unique town of  Nacogdoches.  We also just chilled out and enjoyed our time together in the asphalt jungle.  If you ask me, we definitely came out the winners in this little detour.

 Thanks for your company.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It:  Motorhomes of Texas, Nacogdoches, Texas

August 8, 2020

Temperature 98 Degrees

Taking Care of Business

Ever Wonder What A Million Plus Dollars Will Buy You In An RV

I had just one project to complete today.  That was setting the proper air pressure in each tire on Elvira.

Out came my air compressor.  This was one of the first things I purchased when we bought our first rig and I’ve never regretted my decision.  I’m absolutely fanatical about keeping the proper air pressure in Elvira’s tires so it does get used frequently.  This morning it got another work out and now all tires are at their proper pressure.

Ever wonder what a million plus dollars will get you in an RV?

This is a Newell, a coach that when new usually sells for well over a million dollars, often closer to two million.  I’m not sure what year this is or the current asking price because it is not listed on the Motorhomes web site.  My guess would be based on others listed it is probably around a 2005 or 2006 and would probably be listed at something close to $200,000.

The entry door.  But how to get in since there is no door handle.  It is hard to see but facing the door, on the left is a silver button the size of a small button.

Press the button and schamz the door opens just like the door on a bus.  It is air activated.  Dig those stairs leading in.  Oh yeah, not your every-day-run-of-the-mill coach.

The driver’s cockpit.  A real wood grain dashboard.  What a view from the driver’s seat.

Looking back toward the bedroom.  This is definitely a coach for two.  The table is so small.  The kitchen counter is likewise.  But did you notice the special space for your wine glasses!

A small two burner induction cooktop.

This is a shower I could learn to love.

The back bedroom.

As one would expect of a coach of this caliber the fit and finish is impeccable.  However, it is definitely not my cup of tea – even if I had the money.  Since I never will, that settles that.  But it was fun seeing how the jet set goes RV’ing.

Time for lunch.

This is the restaurant all the locals recommended.

This is Dolli’s Diner.

What a down to earth restaurant with a family friendly feel.  The food did not disappoint either.  Ms Barbara had a Reuben sandwich and I had a genuine Cuban sandwich.  Both sandwiches were delicious and we rated them a genuine 5 stars.  We’ll hopefully be able to return one more time before we leave this area.

That was our day from the asphalt jungle on The Road of Retirement.  We have the whole parking lot to ourselves so there is no problem with social distancing!  We’re keeping busy, shopping, sightseeing, doing odds and ends, watching our favorite shows on DISH and of course playing Mexican Train.  We’re home, in our house, and very comfortable.  Life is good.

I leave you with this sign I noticed when at Dolli’s Diner.

Hope you had a great day.  Thanks for your company.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It:  Motorhomes of Texas, Nacogdoches, Texas

August 7, 2020

Temperature 93 Degrees

The Situation is The Boss

Motorhomes of Texas – Upgrades and Repairs, Day Two

Another early morning inasmuch as they were coming for Elvira by 7:30 am.  Thankfully, we can sleep in on Saturday and Sunday.

The Situation is The Boss.  Sometimes you just have to remember this and not fight it.  If you fight it you’ll just end up getting yourself all worked up for nothing.  So, we just chilled out and let things play out over the course of the day.  The result being, we’ll be here for the weekend and repairs will be completed early Monday morning.

Here is our girl in for phase one of upgrades and repairs.  This is where we stand as of now:

• air leak in the front – actually a number of them, various lines, fittings and all other kinds of valves.  Everything is now fixed.
• dash air – turned out to be low on Freon and there was a disconnected wire in the back.  We now have dash air.
• shocks –

Out with the 15 year old original shocks

On with the new.  Now we should no longer go bouncing down the road whenever we hit a dip or a bump in the road.

• our front rooftop AC unit – they discovered it was wired wrong and because of that a start capacitor had quit working.  We’ve been back in Elvira now for just a little over three hours and the AC has not quit once.  It’s running like it should.
• converter/inverter – unfortunately, parts were delayed and did not get here until late today.  Therefore, this last upgrade and the real reason we came here, will be installed early Monday morning.
• ball joints and tie rod ends – will eventually have to be replaced.  As of now, though, we’re good to go.

Since we had to be out early this morning and really didn’t have an opportunity to cook breakfast

we headed to Denny’s for breakfast.  Let me tell you we’ve eaten in many restaurants all across this fair land and we’ve never until today had a breakfast of such quantity and quality like we did today.  The food was perfectly cooked and both of our omelets had so much in them that they had to be over 8 inches long and a good 4 inches or more high.  They were loaded and they were scrumptious.  I guess it is really true everything is bigger in Texas.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  We’re once again backed in between two overly large rigs and hooked up to 50 amp.  Both AC’s are working like they should so we are cool and comfortable.  We picked up some TV Dinners and some more spring water today so we will neither go hunger nor will we run out of water to drink.  We also have ample spirits on hand to complement the water!  We’re free to come and go as we please since the gate is not locked.  In so many words, though we didn’t plan on being here this long it is all good.  Matter of fact, we both agree that once again God has smiled down on us since we caught and corrected some serious issues during our time here.  Oh yes, we are two of the most fortunate and blessed people on the face of the planet.

Thanks for checking in with us today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Stay safe, wash your hands and wear your mask.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

(We have added another new stop to our link)

Home Is Where We Park It:  Motorhomes of Texas, Nacogdoches, Texas

August 6, 2020

Temperature 92 Degrees

Smart Weigh – We’re Good

Travel Day

Motorhomes of Texas – Upgrades and Repairs

What a whirlwind of a day.  With an early start.  We were up at 6:30 am since we had an appointment to keep at 8 am.

This is where we began our day.  I’m a firm believer in knowledge is power.  In this case I wanted to know the four corner weight for Elvira so that I could properly set the air pressure in each of my tires.

Up on the pad we went so that Chris could first check the corner weight on each of the front tires, then each of the rear tires.

This is what we discovered

• we have a weight rating for the front of 12,000 pounds.  We are more than within limits even with a full tank of fuel and a full propane tank.  We are also evenly balanced.
• we have a weight rating for the back of 20,000.  We are more than within limits.  However, we are really unevenly balanced as you can see.  Not a big concern but something to consider, perhaps move a few things from the passenger side to the drivers side.
• Until now I’ve been inflating the front tires to 98/100 when they really need to be at a minimum of 105.  The back tires I’ve usually set at 95 when they really need to be at a minimum of 100.  Now I know.
• we also measured the height of Elvira and discovered that to the top of our AC unit we are 12 feet.  I’ve always said 13 feet and I’m going to keep thinking that way.

Smart Weigh completed it was time to get on the road.  But not before I set each of my tires to the proper inflation.

In just under two hours we were at our day’s destination.

This is where you come to buy a used high end motorhome.  They have Newell, Foretravel, Country Coach, Newmar, Tiffan, to name just a few.

We, however, weren’t here for another coach.  We were here because their service department has an excellent reputation.   Meaning, we were here for repairs and upgrades, such as:

• a new pure sine wave converter/inverter which is suggested for use with a residential refrigerator.  Our current one is a modified sine wave and 15 years old.  It is time.
• four new shocks.  Currently when we hit a bump we bounce like a pogo stick.
• new front brakes which we’ve discovered are not necessary.  They just need to be adjusted.
• repair the air leak in the front, something we weren’t expecting.  However, since such a leak is a safety hazard – you could loose your brakes or the coach could drop while driving – it needs to be located and repaired.  We weren’t expecting this but so glad they noticed it.
• a complete check of the front end.  The ball joints on this year coach are a known issue.
• repair the dash air.  This is the last on the list and will be done only if we don’t run out of money!

Ah yes, I can feel my wallet getting lighter by the second.  I will say, though, I’ve seen much higher in the past.  This is actually what I would call reasonable.

They have a really nice waiting area.  They have free beverages.  A nice area to eat lunch.  There is also free secure wifi.  The big downside, we are the only ones wearing masks.

Here we are in our new home.  We have two 45 footers on either side of us so we look like a dwarf among giants!  I was hoping that everything would be done by tomorrow afternoon but that was only a dream.  It appears that we will be here over the weekend, perhaps Monday as well.  Ah well, we have 50 amp so we’re good.  Of course the front AC unit is doing it’s crazy on and off and on again routine.  If and when it decides to run like it should we ought to be cool and comfortable.  One can hope.

That was our early to rise day on The Road of Retirement.  I’m so glad I now know what each tire needs to have in terms of proper air pressure.  I’m glad that we are at a shop with an excellent reputation.  As for spending a few extra days here, oh well I can think of worse places to be.  All in all it’s all good.  We are still together, we still consider ourselves to be two of the most blessed and fortunate people on the face of the earth.  We’re still traveling together, hand in hand singing our song.  Life is good.

Thanks for traveling with us today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Stay safe, wash your hands and wear your mask.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!