When we were imaging our road trip from Florida to Texas, we had in our minds we’d be able to squeeze in several 3-4 night stops in awesome places along the way. We’d have time to chill out in wooded campsites, enjoy nature, hiking trails and get some work done too.
Sometimes, the vision doesn’t meet reality – especially when you’re on a time schedule. And 3 weeks just never seems like enough to do it all.
Heck, nearly 12 years on the road and it’s still not enough.
So instead of trying to find several special gems along the way, we opted instead to make miles and focus on finding one awesome spot. And that we did.
First, the video version of this post:
First Segment
And then next, the making miles segment as we transited Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana:
Stop 1: Rainbow Plantation SKP RV Park – Summerdale, AL
We left Topsail Hill Preserve State Park with aims to make it well into Mississippi. We even had our eyes on cutting further north this trip trying to avoid I-10 and Mardis Gras caused booked up campgrounds.
But then we hit traffic in Destin. And our plans for stopping for lunch to catch up with friends and making 200 miles that day were dashed.
We were simply too exhausted after the high social time at the last stop and dropping ourselves back into being ‘visible’ after relative anonymity in the boating world.
And quite honestly we were questioning the sanity of this whole RV trip. Especially as the weather forecasts along the way were diminishing into cold and wet. And intimidation of being ‘on’ for a week at the upcoming summit was building fast.
Were we really up for this with having so little down time since August?
Part of us was yelling ‘TURN AROUND AND GO BACK TO FLORIDA’.
So instead, we called an old favorite just a few miles up the road – Rainbow Plantation, the Escapee’s Park we evacuated to during Hurricane Irma. They happened to have one spot open for the night, and we eagerly booked it.
It was just what we needed to let the wave of emotions flood through us. We talked the angst out. We got on the phone with Heath & Alyssa (organizers of the summit) to do a sanity check – and they were incredibly supportive of whatever decision we made.
In the morning, we were feeling better and had a new game plan. We were catapulting ourselves to Texas the quickest way possible and finding one spot for an extended stay to recharge at.
The plan also allowed us to meet up with Kyle & Olivia of Drivin’ and Vibin’ after all.
2 Overnight Stops in Louisiana
After lunch with friends, we set our sights on overnight stops on our way to Texas. We picked Slidell, LA which had multiple options at the same exit.
We pulled into Cracker Barrell’s RV lot, had dinner there, got permission to stay overnight and enjoyed a restful stay.
The next evening, we picked a spot just north of Lafayette at a brewery participating in the Harvest Hosts program. Bayou Teche was a great stop where Chris got to sample several yummy IPAs.
Stop 4: Hanks Creek Campground – Huntington, TX
For our ideal extended stay, we were seeking a campground that would be relatively empty, scenic and in nature and had iffy but usable cell signal (so we could test some antennas and boosters). Not a tall order at all.
We did some digging around, and found an Army Corp of Engineers park in East Texas not too far off our path. Recreation.gov shows only a few sites booked at Hanks Creek Campground during our open week, and several sweet looking waterfront sites that would fit the bill.
And top things off, a Campendium review reports usable AT&T but lousy Verizon.
Perfect. We booked for a week and of course arrived on an evening of another government shut down. Thankfully, this time not long enough to halt park services.
It was a delightful week spent in relative isolation. Our site was perfect with a water view. And the entire time we only counted a handful of other campers. (And only one recognized us – thanks for the Valentine’s wine & chocolates guys!).
It was mostly cold and dreary, but that was perfect for getting lots of work done and preps for the summit. We also indulged in extensive video streaming (all in the name of testing internet of course.)
It was good for the soul and exactly what we needed to start recharging our batteries.
Next Segment
Next up, was the final miles into the summit… with a couple stops along the way. Here’s the map:
Stop 1: Messina Hof Winery – Bryan, TX
We selected another Harvest Hosts location, this time at Messina Hof Winery just outside College Station. Since it was the day after V-Day we indulged in a romantic dinner at their onsite restaurant and a tour of the winery.
Not exactly ‘free’ camping – but all and all, it was less than a night at a marina (our entire scale of pricing has definitely changed since boating – RVing is downright cheap no matter how you slice it!).
It was a lovely stop, and I think our first time to have actual vineyards as our view when overnighting at a Harvest Hosts location.
We’re thrilled we managed 3 such overnights on this trip – their new app really makes it so much easier to plan our routes around these unique stays.
Stop 2: Cedar Breaks Campground – Georgetown, TX
Next up was our last pre-planned stay before the summit. We had spotted that the new touring Cirque du Soleil show (on ice!) ‘Crystal’ would be in Cedar Park during our transit – so we planned our route to intersect.
Cedar Breaks is another ACOE park, and we stayed at this same campground nearly 3 years ago, and had enjoyed it – and it was one of the closer options to the show.
We booked 3 nights, and enjoy getting some hiking in and stocking up at a huge HEB grocery store near by. And the show was simply fabulous.
Real Time Update:
We have arrived to the Texas Wine Country at the location of The RV Entrepreneur Summit in Fredericksburg. It’s still only the pre-event hosted by the Xscapers, but it’s already off to a fabulous start!
The official Summit starts on Thursday and goes through the weekend. It is a completely sold out event (so if you’re in the area, don’t plan to be able to stop on by – tickets are required). But they are live streaming the main stage sessions on Facebook for free.
You can get details on that on their Facebook Event Page.
We will presenting on Saturday (the 24th) at 3pm CST on Mobile Internet and sharing a bit of our story of how we found our niche business running the Mobile Internet Resource Center.
Malachi says
We would love to meet you guys sometime. We’re in the same area and just started full timing. I spent the last year building our rig. We were in Livingston, then Brenham, and now in the Sam Houston National Forest somewhat near Huntington. I think you guys do great work.
Cherie Ve Ard says
Congrats on your new adventure! We were in Huntington a couple weeks ago, and now in the Austin area for a bit.
Sandy Smith says
I was walking my dog at Rainbow Plantation and waved as you pulled out. 🙂 You probably didn’t see me and I figured you were on a mission to get on the road. BTW, we haven’t met. I saw you in VT at Escapade, but was to shy to say hello. I am introverted like you, so I ‘get’ the need to be away from attention for a while. Just wanted to say thanks for your blog and welcome back to the road. You guys got me on the road full-time.
Cherie Ve Ard says
Thanks for stopping in on the blog and saying hi! We know fellow introverts get it – and we always feel bad, because we know it’s even more difficult for introverts to approach us (and very likely we’ll get the most recharged by spending quality time with those who also appreciate the smaller group & deeper interactions!)
Susan and John @Life en Plein Air says
We always get a chuckle somewhere along your posts. The marina cost comparison did it – lol. Used to do a fair amount of professional public speaking (and glad that is in the past) and it was always a gut wrenching experience until it was happening. You two are so good, and terrific together and you will be facing a supportive group. Cheers!
Cherie Ve Ard says
It’s crazy how we used to balk at a campground fee above about $30… now we’re thankful for anything less than $150! 🙂
The public speaking aspect doesn’t intimidate us at all… that’s the easy part. But as an introvert, it’s all the social. We just have to pace ourselves and not overdo it.. because there are a heck of a lot of awesome folks out there.
Judy Blinkenberg says
Oh, if I could live anywhere, it would be Fredericksburg, TX. I have been there about 3 times, not camping though. The town is wesome and I love the overhang signs on the Main Street. We have been to the World War ll Museum. Yes, I want to live there, but living in our little RV is ok for now. We have been 2 months in Quartzite, AZ and we leave next week. Take care.
Cherie Ve Ard says
The wonderful thing about RVing is that you CAN live in new places.. lots of RV parks in Fredericksburg, hope you can make it as part of your adventures 🙂
Patricia Neuzil says
I’m glad you got a chance to relax and recharge before the event. We’re looking forward to tuning in.
Cherie Ve Ard says
Glad you’ll be able to tune in! Wish we could follow up with an in person hug. Hope you and G are doing great!