Texas Fun

Sunday, May 8, 2022

As we ended the last blog post we had arrived in New Braunfels, TX for the Switch It Up Huddle.  For you non-RVers, Switch It Up is a YouTube channel created by two of our friends from Kansas, Todd and Shelia.  They have been RVing for a little over a year and chronicle their travels, ups and downs, etc.  A huddle is a gathering for people who watch the channel.  It’s a time to relax, have good food, give back to the community and meet new friends.  Max and I have also been able to share the NOMADS story with some of the new people we met.  This most recent huddle was held at a new, not quite complete, campground, Camp Fimfo (Fun Is More Fun Outdoors).  Camp Fimfo is a large facility with many amenities including cabins for those who do not own an RV.  It’s definitely glamping instead of camping and when everything is complete will be a great vacation site for families.  Kids will love the pools, water park, play grounds, bounce pad, lazy river, miniature golf, zip line and many other amenities.  We had about 180 people from all over the country and Canada at the Huddle.  After our meet and greet Thursday evening, we were up early Friday to participate in our community give back, at the New Braunfels Food Bank.  We almost overwhelmed the Food Bank because almost everyone participated.  In our 3 ½ hours at the food bank we packed 864 boxes of dry goods (we worked on this), 540 fresh produce boxes, worked in the garden mulching and weeding, gave out food to over 110 families,  worked in the kitchen (they prepare meals for seniors and use this service to teach culinary arts skills), swept floors, cleaned windows and donated over a  $1,800 in spontaneous donations that were given by our group.  It was a great morning and great way to begin our time together.

Friday afternoon we took a relaxing float down the Comal River.  The river was pretty full when most of our group made that trip but it seemed everyone had a great time.

Saturday morning, we visited the Natural Bridge Caverns close to San Antonio.  While not the largest cavern we have visited, it’s one of the most pristine we have seen.  It’s been well protected.  Beautiful.  There was also a motor bike ride, a jeep tour, and shopping at the outlets for those wanting more to do.  Every evening we had a great dinner together and then had entertainment, games, time to just visit and get to know each other.  Sunday we had a wonderful church service with music provided by some of our group and the message by Shelia.  Awesome!  All too quickly Monday morning arrived and with hugs and tears, we all had to say safe travels until we meet again.

Leaving our friends is always hard.  We drove to a Corps of Engineers park, Magnolia Ridge, in east Texas, almost to LA for two nights.  It was a small 41 site campground – camping, not glamping – on the shore of Steinhagen Lake.  Great park!  There were very few campers in the park on Monday and Tuesday so it was so quite and peaceful.  You could hear the birds singing and we saw an eagle shortly after we arrived.  Wednesday we were back on the road and made a quick overnight stop in Laurel, MS, and the arrived back in AL Thursday afternoon.

Shortly after we arrived at Magnolia Ridge we were greeted by a bald eagle flying over. We didn’t have our camera out yet. We kept it with us the rest of the time but never saw the eagle again.  So here are alternate pictures:

We will now be back at work on our aunts’ estates, cutting grass at Helen’s, etc.  We do plan a few quick trips this month but since we aren’t sure what we are doing, you will just have to wait and see what we can get into.  Stay safe, healthy, and use your talents to serve others.