Five weeks in Marble Falls Texas

February in Marble Fall was supposed to be a month of kayaking and warm weather. But, that isn't what actually happened. For the first two weeks, we experienced cool and cold weather, along with rain. We did not get the kayaks out at all during that time. It wasn't what we were expecting or hoping for but that is how life goes! On the first nice day, we were out on the lake and we were on the lake everyday after that! Here's a little bit about this area and our campground.

We stayed at Sunset Point RV Resort. It's a nice campground but nothing super fancy. There is no pool or playground. They don't have an exercise room or pickle ball. It's just a beautiful place to stay, right on Lake LBJ. They only allow rigs that are 10 years old or newer. Several campers are here all winter or for several months at a time.

I did not take this photo! 

When I was researching the area, I kept seeing this aerial view of the campground and wondered why the campsites were not out on the point. Why didn't they expand out there? Why did they leave that ugly area just void? But, now we know. This entire area of Texas is filled with huge marble and granite rocks. That is a huge granite rock out there and can't be developed. On a very cold day, we walked out onto the rock to look around.

Here we are on this huge granite rock where cactus and desert plants grow.

This is the granite that kitchen counter tops are made from!

Here is our site.  Nice paved pad with easy hookups and a view of the lake!

This is our view as we sit at our campsite. 

Driving into Sunset Point, the road goes right past the Granite Mountain company that harvests the granite and turns it into slabs.... eventually they end up being your granite counter-tops.

Onto a political topic. So, skip this paragraph if you don't want to go THERE. 
The rig to our west is a large motor home. We met the husband and he seemed nice. But his wife drove up one day in their Yukon and did not make eye contact with me our wave or anything. Just rushed inside their motor home. I didn't think too much about it. One day I was outside washing the outside of our rig. I was wearing a t-shirt that I bought in a West Virginia coffee shop that said, "Filter Coffee, Not People". The woman in the motor home came rushing out and right up to me and said, "I saw your t-shirt and I think it's safe to talk to you!" Wow! I was shocked. As we talked, I learned that she has been accosted one-too-many times by right-wing conservatives in campgrounds and she has learned to keep to herself and not mingle with others. She's right. There are a lot of very strong feelings among campers. Tom and I just make superficial conversations with others and we work hard to keep topics away from politics or religion. How sad that she feels she has to be a recluse. I could also see that she is a very intelligent and well-read woman. She knows more about the political atmosphere (people/numbers/etc.) in every state than any other person I know! She hugged me several times. She was so excited to meet like-minded campers!! Isn't it sad that we have gotten to a point where we are afraid to socialize with others in case they don't agree with us. We are so polarized in this country.

We kayak every day that the weather allows. We met Mike and Mick who also love to be out on the water.  Some days it is overcast and windy with high waves and some days the water is calm and smooth. Our favorite thing to do is to watch the sun set while out on the water. Here are mixture  of our photos of us on the lake throughout our stay here. We found our happy place!

First day on the lake! I had to wear a coat under my life-jacket.

Our friends Mike and Mick, paddling in sync with each other!!

Yes, those are million dollar plus homes back there.

Mick took these photos.

Things we do when we are not on the lake:
I ordered this 5th wheel Lego kit and we had fun putting it together!! Complete with people fishing and taking photos. The inside is so adorable!

The camper opens up and has a full kitchen, dining and bedroom.

Cute little zipper pouches I made from fabric I found in Fredricksburg Texas.

I made this colorful tablecloth that is reversible.
Thank you to Bobbi for helping me pick out the fabric in Newton!

Cool mug I ordered!

I made all new valances! Full of color and adds so much brightness to our home!
I have no idea why RV's are made with one color.... BROWN!

I bought a small desert plant and hand thrown pot in Terlingua, when we went to Big Bend National Park.
Then I made a simple macrame hanger for it.

On a rainy day, we went to the movies! Loved this movie!!

The RV park got a ping-pong table while we were there. Here's Tom playing. He's pretty good! 

Tom's new toy. He has a larger kayak (that can accommodate two people) and was finding it hard to carry long distances by himself so he ordered this dolly. It works great!! He can go out on the lake and fish without me needing to help him get his kayak down there. 

Going fishing!

This is Roxie. She is Mick and Mike's dog. She's so sweet. But, not a great fan of water. She will only get her feet wet and won't go any further! She likes to pretend to be a bookend!

Mike and Roxie

Of course more things to maintain this month! We have duel tires on the back of the truck and a warning came on, saying one had low tire pressure. We ended up taking it to the Ford dealership in Marble Falls and they found that the valve stem was leaking air. Unbelievable but they did not have a valve stem in stock!! AND they said it wasn't covered on our "bumper to bumper lifetime warranty". The truck is only 3 months old!! Well, after triple checking, they finally said it WAS covered. We had the valve stem replaced when it came in the next day. 

AND, Tom noticed that a tire on Honalee was wearing only on the outside. We have to get the axle re-aligned.  Of course no one around here does it!! We already bought the new tire and now we have to drive it into Ft. Worth on our way north to get it re-aligned. And of course we LOVE Ft. Worth traffic!

Tom sold our hitch which was a Pull-Rite Slider hitch. It was made for short bed trucks and now, with the larger truck, we didn't need it. Tom ordered and installed a B & W Champion Hitch.

Our bug guard on the truck warped and was rubbing the truck. So, we contacted the company and they sent us a new one which Tom installed. 

Here is our one year anniversary picture. A year ago on February 18th, 2017, we had our Estate Sale and moved into our beautiful new home. After a year of living with only what we need, we just couldn't be happier. We had been completely and totally tied down to our home, our yard, our work and all the STUFF we had accumulated over the last 40 years. We spent every day off work, maintaining our yard and our home. We wanted to experience more.

We have lived the tiny lifestyle for a year. We began actually traveling in Honalee 6 months ago. In those 6 months we have: traveled to 13 states, 3 National Parks, a countless number of National Forests and State Parks, 28 campsites, over a dozen museums, two caves, spent many hours on lakes kayaking, endured weather as cold as negative 13, spent time with family and relatives, met wonderful people.... the list goes on and on. Each experience has a story to tell that we would have missed if we had not changed our lifestyle. Sometimes I imagine what we would be doing if we still lived the same life after retirement. We would have missed all of this! We may have gone on one or two vacations but we never would have done all that we have done this last year.

Our friends Joe and Sheryle gave us this plaque:

Okay, here are the beautiful photos of sunsets on Lake LBJ. Gosh, it just can't get more peaceful and clarifying than this. And  I'm a sucker for sunsets!

Our friends here at the campground took these pictures. Thanks Mick and Mike!

 

More courthouses! Every courthouse we see, we stop and take a picture. It's really for our friend Joe but we love looking at this buildings too. They are usually old and full of character of the day.

Blanko Texas. This one is in the town square. Not sure if this one is still used as a courthouse or not.

The old courthouse of Fredricksburg Texas. It is now a library. But, what a beautiful building!

Llano Texas. Another courthouse on the town square.

In our travels, we never see familiar faces! And while at Lake LBJ, we enjoyed two days of seeing familiar faces and time with friends! First we went to Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood Texas where the Flyin' A's (Hilary and Stuart) were playing. It was a raining day but the rain had stopped just in time for them to start playing. Hilary is our son in-laws cousin and we have met them several times. So good to spend the evening with them and with their music! See you again Christmas 2018!

Stuart of the Flyin' A's.

Tom, Kathie, Hilary and Stuart

The Flyin' A's!

The very next day we met with Tom's childhood friend and our good friends Danny and Liz. They were in Dripping Springs Texas for a family wedding! So close to us! So we met in Blanco Texas for lunch. So incredibly good to see them and relax with friends.

And while we were having so much fun, our family had adventures of their own. Our daughter Sasha was named Assistant Principal of the Year for her school district AND she applied for and was offered the position of Principal!! She'll be Principal of Renner Elementary School for the school year 2019/2020. We are so proud of her!

Sasha, accepting recognition as Elementary School Assistant Principal of the Year for her area.

And here is Haley wearing the pajama pants she sewed herself!! Good job Haley!!

And, Haley had her first semi formal dance! Looks like dad is in shock! She's beautiful!

And these two were both sick with Strep Throat! Looks like they are feeling better now!

Karis has been busy with activities specific to Washington DC!! She always has exciting things to do and see there! The Cherry Blossom Festival is coming up. Sasha is flying out to visit her soon. Karis is also training for a 10K run this spring. Recently the Newseum was the location for the filming of House of Cards! How exciting!! And, finally, Karis is planning a vacation with friends to Balise next month!!!

Usually, after a few weeks, I'm ready to move on. But this place is so peaceful and so relaxed and it has such a large beautiful lake right outside Honalee, I'm going to miss it. I'll miss going out on the lake whenever we want to (and when the weather permits!). We'll be back!

We had the extra difficult task of saying good bye to Mick and Mike. Mick said it was so easy to talk and it felt like we had known each other a long time. Yup! I felt that way too! We are proof that we can all get along in our world and be friends with each other, even those who have different political views! I'm so thankful for the friendship we shared and will continue to share. And Mike was so helpful to us "newbys". We are still learning and with a new truck and new hitch, he was right there to help.

Right before we left we went on an extra long paddle. We think we paddled 3.5 to 4 miles. Toward the end the wind came up and we were glad to be heading back home.  Here we are going on our last paddle. But, we made plans to meet up again next year!!

For the next 3 months we will be very mobile. We have stop overs in Ft. Worth Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Washington DC and Acadia Maine. Then, we head North to ... Newfoundland! Home of icebergs, whales, fishing, kayaking, Puffins and some of the most kind and friendly people on earth!

Newfoundland, it may take us 3 months.... but we are headed your way....!