Thousand Trails Lake Conroe

Last Thursday I went up to TT Lake Conroe to attend a Texas Free Spirit rally.  I went on Thursday as there was supposed to be a fun race Thur. night.  Our sailboat is in a marina less than 2 miles from TT.  The race was cancelled.  I was headed to the boat anyway to check on it and one of the club members tagged along.  It was such a pretty night, we went out on the lake for a while. 

Folks came in and set up all day Friday.  It was great seeing old friends and meeting new members.  I think we ended up with around 18 rigs.  Lots of sitting under the shade tree talking and telling tales.  The sailing club had a spinnaker race scheduled for Saturday morning that I wanted to watch.  Larry and Sharon said they wanted to go also, we left the park at 9:30 and went to the marina.  They asked if we could see from there and I said no but we could see great from the boat in the middle of the lake.  Wind was blowing.  I put up the 150% head sail and no main.  We had the rail down in the water several times and were moving really good.  We saw the race boats down near the dam and waited for the start.  We stayed back out of the way and watched.  With the high winds, several boats were having troubles flying the spinnakers.  A Catalina 25 was cruising down the lake and the spinnaker ripped from side to side in half. 

Sure thought the boats were closer to us than that.  I was rather busy sailing the boat rather than taking pictures. 

Saturday night was the usual Mexican Train dominos.  We had 8 at the picnic table and had a great game.  We had popcorn, cream cheese dip w/ritz crackers, and oreo cookies.  The dogs enjoyed being outside with all their dog buddies for a lot of the weekend.  Sunday morning came way too soon and it was time to pack up and head for home. 

Monday, I removed the roof vent over the bedroom and enlarged the opening.   Tuesday, with the help from some friends we set the new AC unit on the roof and I went to work mounting the AC unit and running the wiring to power the unit.  We now have 2 AC units, so we should be able to stay really cool this coming weekend in Johnson City at the Boomer Rally. 

It is Wednesday morning.  Got to pick up around the house!  I pick up Ellen at the airport a little after 8 tonight.  Yea, my lady friend will be home.

Saturday in IL

We ate breakfast Saturday and hit the road again.  We drove to Arthur, IL to go to a Amish market that is there on the 3rd Saturday each month.  The market was not all that much, but the town was great.  Lots of shops.  Beautiful Amish furniture.  We went into Yoder's Lamps and shopped antiques.  I bought a cast iron corn bread skillet that cooks the corn bread in pie shaped pieces.  I love the crunchy edges on corn bread.  We also bought a couple of old oil lamps. 

This is a parking lot for the horses and buggies.  Horse is under the shed to protect him from the elements.

They travel on the shoulder of the roads.  We saw a farmer planting his field.  He was using 5 horses to pull what looked to be a 12 -15 row John Deere planter.  Modern planter pulled by horses. 

We then drove over to Tuscola, IL to an Amish outlet store.  Some interesting items in the store and a lot more furniture.

These are cut into wood.

We went back to Arthur and had dinner at the Yoder Kitchen.  Ellen had Broasted Chicken and I had Country Fried Steak.  Both were really great.  The chicken is fried in a pressure cooker.  Not greasey at all and meat is moist. 

On the way back to Robinson, we passed Eastern Illinois University.  The main building is quite interesting looking.

We got back to Robinson and went to bed.  Sunday was a slow morning.  Clean up and pack.  Off to Ellen's office to print my boarding pass and see where she works.  Once again, we stopped in Terre Haute at Wendy's and ate a light lunch.  We then headed back to the airport and I had to come back to Houston.  Hard to leave the beautiful country side for all our paved enviroment.

Friday in IL

We light Friday morning.  Ellen said that Moonshine IL that had been featured on 60 minutes was not far.  They server hamburgers for lunch.  The grill closes "promptly" at 12:30; so get there early.  My GPS had never heard of the place, but we found it with instructions Ellen had printed from the internet.  Hamburgers are hand made patties cooked on a griddle.  They put the pattie on a bun and you add all the fixings you want from a table in the middle of the old store and then go outside to eat at picnic tables. 

 Now you have seen the town of Moonshine, IL (pop. 2).  People live over the store.  Hamburgers were really good.  1 burger, 1 cheeseburger and 2 bottles of coke was $9.56.  Good eating.

We left and went to an antique shop in Marshall and then an Amish store near Robinson.

We had a great day.

Indy 500 Hall of Fame Museum

I arrived in Indianapolis Wednesday evening by plane.  Ellen picked me up and we headed back to Robinson, IL.  We stopped in Terre Haute and ate a light dinner at Wendy's.  Ellen's apartment that the company is new and really nice.

Weather on Thursday was supposed to be rain, so we drove back to Indy to the 500 Hall of Fame after Ellen made omlettes for us.  Great way to start the day.  We got there just as the truck with Tony Kanaan's hauler was getting to the track.  Practice started on Saturday for the 500.  The museum is full of antique cars and race cars.  So much history there.

This is the roaster that won the 1964 race driven by AJ Foyt.  My Dad and I attended that race.  Was a lot of fun and great memories.

The 3 wheel car on right is deemed the 1st ever automobile built in 1886.  The one in the foreground was a 1888 model.  Both were steam powered.

Top picture is the turbin car that led most of the race until a $6 gear broke.  The 2 #14 Foyt cars are Indy winners.  The left AJ won with in 1967 and the right one 1977.

We stopped in Terre Haute on the way back to the apartment and ate dinner at Outback.  Sure was good. 

Weekend at Cagle

We joined friends at Cagle Campground in the Sam Houston National Forest this weekend.  I must say it is a beautiful place.  We really enjoyed ourselves and are ready to return as soon as we can. 

on the hiking trail

We left home in the rain and thought we were crazy for going.  Ran out of the rain on way up Friday afternoon and was rain free for the rest of the weekend.  We took several hikes along the paved trails in the park.  Sits were large.  Full hook ups for only $20/night.  Boat ramp in park and appeared to be great fishing from what we saw being caught.  This is one campground we will return to.