Movin' Right Along

Brownsville, we have left the city.  After three completely enjoyable months, consort and I have loaded up the trailer and returned to the road.  Our stay in this southernmost point on the United States-Mexico border was magnificent.  The weather, the beaches, and the park activities added to our pleasure-filled time in Texas, but what was most noteworthy were all the Winter Texans we met at 4 Seasons RV Park.  They are wonderful, good-hearted, fun-loving people and we will miss seeing them all each day.  I will especially miss my favorite Canadian, even though she never did learn to make scones.

After leaving Brownsville, we headed north.  We're currently at Willis Creek Park on Granger Lake, an Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the San Gabriel River in central Texas.  Willis Park is five miles outside of Granger, Texas.  Did you know Granger, Texas, was the site for the filming of the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the 2010 remake of the movie True Grit?  

We've stopped at this COE park for two important reasons:  One, to purchase replacement furniture for our fifth wheel and, two, the barbeque.  Central Texas is world famous for its barbeque.

We've been looking for the past six months for furniture to replace a worn-out set of recliners and a very uncomfortable sofa that were in place in the trailer when we purchased it.  We have a forward living space in our fifth wheel which means you climb up three steps into the front of the trailer where you'll find yourself in our living room.  The furniture is basically built into the slides on both the left and right side of the fifth wheel.  To replace the original furniture means finding items that fit within the original furniture dimensions.  Not an easy task.  Did I mention we've been searching for six months?

When we were in San Antonio, I saw wing chairs at IKEA that I fell in love with and was pretty sure would fit within the available space of the slides.  All of the products IKEA sells are made in Sweden and are much smaller in size than their American "super-size me" counterparts.  Consort, however, wasn't convinced the IKEA chairs were the solution and voted to continue looking.  And, so, the search for furniture continued.    

Fast forward three-and-a-half months and here we are, settled in for a week at Willis Creek Park because there's an IKEA in Round Rock, Texas, a mere 18 miles from our campsite.  We bought two matching chairs to try out.  We knew if they did not work, we could drive them back to IKEA for an easy return.  And voila!  The chairs fit beautifully!  You have no idea how wonderful it is to finally sit down in your own home and be comfortable.  Personally, I have a whole new outlook on life.

Now that the furniture issue is resolved, it's time to move on to bigger and better things, like the pursuit of barbeque!  

If you're a regular reader of the blog, you'll know we have stayed at Willis Creek Park previously.  You'll also know that we found sumptuous barbeque at Davis Grocery & Bar-B-Q in Taylor, Texas, home of mutton ribs extraordinaire.  This time around we left the three mangy mongrels at home and decided to try our luck at the second option listed for "barbeque near me," a restaurant in Taylor, Texas, a short 15-minute drive from our campsite.

  

We stopped in at Louie Mueller Barbecue today for lunch.  We tried the pulled pork, we devoured the burnt ends, we feasted on sausage links and spareribs.  I gobbled up the potato salad while consort, picky eater that he is, stuck with Lay's potato chips.  

I have eaten a lot of barbeque in my life, but I have never had barbeque as good as this.  The website for this little slice of barbeque heaven says the store closes daily at 6 p.m. or until sold out.  I'm guessing they have never been open much past 3 p.m.  When we were there at 1:30, we bought the last of the burnt ends and spareribs.  The barbeque has won numerous awards, and the restaurant has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  If you're ever in the area, get on over to Taylor, Texas, and arrive early.  You can thank me later.