2022-05-17 Livingston Old City Cemetery

 One final sightseeing excursion in Livingston TX.

We got directions from the curator at the museum and headed to the Old City Cemetery. No one new has been been buried here since 1940 but there were very few after 1906.as the cemetery was full. There are not markers for everyone but they are working on that. Also, please do not think this cemetery is not well taken care of....it looks kind of wild right now but they are waiting for all the wild flowers to go to seed before the next cut which will be in a couple of days.

Plans are already established for repair of fences as well as for the next mowing. You can still see a few wildflower stragglers.

Some markers looked relatively new for the burial date shown.

Therre were pathways but we also braved the longer grass to see some of the headstones.

When we returned to the park, we made a last tour around to see some of the areas we didn't have photos for.

You can see quite a bit from this observation tower.

The docks didn't look real busy.

They have kayaks for rent.

One last sunset. Five of us leave for Martin Dies Jr State Park in the morning. No big rush to head out as it is only about 1 to 1 1/2 hours away.

We all really enjoyed Lake Livingston State Park.

2022-05-15 Lake Livingston Revisited

 The rally ended with the Hitchup breakfast so now Carolyn, Mary, Sheryl, Irene, and I were free to relax with no more events to worry about. We did check out a few area places during rally down time which I am including here as well as things after the rally as we stayed until Sunday.

Carolyn and I visited the Escapees Headquarters in Livingston as we have both been members for a long time.

Someone was getting their RV weighed while we were there. They weigh all four wheels and provide you with a lot more info than just whether you are overrweight.

We also visited their famous Care Center where Escapees can stay if they have medical problems or even if they need to quite RVing. The volunteer gave us a very nice tour even though it wasn't the day for tours. We were impressed with all they do. It is nearly all staffed by volunteers and we have a mutual friend that volunteered here for a number of months. One of her primary duties was to drive individuals to medical appointments in Houston primarily at the big medical center.

There are several nice RV parking areas and we had some friends that were staying there for a month because friends were gathering to play cards.

This neat trolley was parked across from the office.

We also drove out to the Indian Reservation a few miles out of town. 

Several ladies had been to the casino several times during the rally but Carolyn and I prefer to spend our money RVing. I didn't get a picture of the casino but it was large and the parking lot was full. We found this interesting sign.

There were several village offices in the same area as the casino.

 There was a nice campground called the Lake Tombigbee Campground which is open to everyone on the reservation. I didn't get any photos but they had tent sites, water/electric sites and some full hook-up sites in addition to cabins.

Carolyn and I also visited a nice little museum. 

There were all kinds of exhibits that were housed in a house donated by a local resident.

There was also an interesting exhibit for World Bee Day.

The museum really covered a lot of ground in a relatively small area.

Right next door was the Polk County Heritage Park. There was a cabin in the process of restoration.

A late blooming bluebonnet in a very dry area.

This engine has a long history with hauling logs.

Our next stop was a visit to a very old cemetery but that's another story.

2022-05-13 Lake Livingston State Park - RVW Rally

 The Heart of Dixie and Texas Ramblin' Roses Chapters of RVing Women (RVW) got together for a 5 day joint rally at Lake Livingston State Park. An event like this is always challenging for a number of reasons. First, Texas Ramblin' Roses rallies are always pretty big and then you add in the Heart of Dixie ladies. Then you add in a Texas State Park. Reservations are always a challenge at our state parks. That is why we scheduled the rally for Monday through Friday. Things were further complicated by the fact that this particular state park was closed twice for a problem with the water system. It was scheduled to open on 2 May.....our rally started 9 May so we had some tense moments waiting on the opening date. Fortunately all that went well. So well that 73 of the 80 ladies that planned to attend actually made it and checked in. The final challenge was the weather since we had no rally room. Again, fate smiled on us and we had beautiful weather all week. Yes, it was hotter than normal but the area between several of our sites was well shaded and we had a decent breeze most of the time plus evenings cooled off.  Great start, right?!

Registration started on Monday at 6:00PM with our Meet and Greet. I built an xcel spreadsheet with everyone's name, site number, and phone number on it so I checked in everyone that I recognized as I saw them and checked in everyone else as they came up to the sign in sheet. It was a lot of advance work but it sure did simplify things and save a lot of time.that night.

Instead of having everyone bring something for each event, we assigned responsibility for bringing food for each event by first names. We didn't know how that would go over but everyone seemed to like it. We had plenty of great snacks provided for the Meet and Greet.

We were lucky enough to have a very large shady space between two RVs where we could get together. Everyone brought chairs and just left them there for the duration. We also got great cooperation with everyone either walking if they were close enough or carpooling if further away as parking was really limited. We had women in every RV camping loop plus a couple in shelters.

Tuesday morning there were several events going on. Bike riding.....

Hiking......on several different days, different groups, and different trails.

Geocashing was also an event....

The intrepid kayakers kayaked in different places on different days. The Texas Ramblin' Roses have a very active kayaking group that meet weekly around San Antonio for a paddle.

Tuesday night we had a potluck with the hosts providing fried chicken and another group of ladies bringing side dishes. There was plenty of food for all. The hosts provided 5 tables and several other ladies brought tables as well plus we had the picnic table.

Wednesday morning there was a small group doing yoga. 

A couple of the hosts demonstrated techniques.

Wednesday afternoon, a lot of us headed over to Lisa's site for a card party.

This was not just an ordinary card party. We were there to learn about the Forgotten Wishes Foundation.

This foundation supports the Forget-Me-Not Friend Club for People with Disabilities. They ensure that these individuals receive cards for all important events like birthdays, Christmas, etc., plus other cards during the year. Lisa supplied card stock, stickers, colored pencils and pens, sharpies, etc., virtually anything needed to make cards.

You don't have to be a great artist to make someone's day. Everyone made several cards and Lisa will send them off to the individuals on her list.

Thursday morning at 11:00 AM sharp, we took a group photo. Almost everyone made it. Our previous TRR president set a precedent of taking the picture right as scheduled or you would have some ladies standing around for a long time waiting for the late comers to show up. You can't make everyone happy.

The picture taking was immediately followed by a Champaign Brunch. The Heart of Dixie ladies made four slow cooker breakfast casseroles. They got up in the middle of the night to get them started. The champaign tub was filled numerous times so there was plenty of champaign or mimosas for all along with orange juice.

Another group of ladies with the appropriate first names brought numerous breakfast items to share.

Everyone enjoyed a great brunch.

The brunch was followed by games and relaxation.

The last official event of the rally was the Friday morning Hitch Up Breakfast. This is a smaller event but hard to plan for as you really have no idea how many will show up. Once again the ladies assigned for food did a great job. We had apples, oranges, muffins, croissants, cream cheese, jelly, orange juice. breakfast bars, melon, etc. and lots of ladies showed up because it is for farewells even if you aren't leaving. 

All in all, the rally went really well and everyone said they had a wonderful time. The 4 hosts breathed a big sigh of relief.  Did I mention that the sunsets were magnificent?