Masters of RVing Adventures

Our destination this past week was on the Bolivar Peninsula, off the Texas Coast of the Gulf of America. More specifically, we were at Crystal Beach enjoying the amenities of Camp Margaritaville Resort for the AIM (All Inclusive Motorhome Club) Beach Rally. AIM is an RV club open to anyone who has a motorized, drivable camper from small class B’s to long Class A’s to Class C’s and Super C’s, regardless of manufacturer. For those not familiar with RVing clubs, it is a way to encourage community and fellowship among campers coming together in interesting places that allows you to (according specifically to AIM members) “learn about motorhome maintenance, life on the road and tricks of the trade through members-only content, tech-talks and exclusive rallies.”

Day 60 – Monday – Arrival

Upon arrival, we were greeted with a small sampling of their famous margarita and escorted to our site. A number of club members had already arrived and were set up; however, after we set up, we did get to watch the last arrivals as they came in. (A great past time of RVers is to watch others maneuver into their sites and see how well they do!)

Texas Grass Burrs

I was distracted from watching late arrivals after discovering our site’s grassy area was covered in the pesky Texas grass burrs. With Timber, this was not going to be a fun week constantly pulling those burrs out of his paws! SOOO, I took a pair of scissors and spent two hours cutting all of the burrs out of our site!! Talk about tedious and getting strange stares! The rest of the week was still a challenge when walking him, as the rest of the campground’s grassy areas were plagued with these prickly infestations!

Even though the official Happy Hour began at 6pm, most everyone was walking around and greeting each other by 5pm. The resort catered our dinner and then everyone enjoyed a live band at Camp Margaritaville’s outdoor stage and seating area.

Day 61 – Tuesday – Naval Museum

While I worked during the morning hours, Mark attended back-to-back seminars on various RVing topics. Our afternoon and evening were comprised of a bus trip via the free ferry over to the Galveston Naval Museum on Galveston Island. After touring the iconic WWII vessels, USS Cavalla (SS-244) (submarine) and USS Stewart (DE-238) (destroyer), we experienced a moving patriotic recognition of all the military vets in our group, had a pleasant outdoor dinner and listened to a jazz band playing war era music before returning to our campsites.

Images left to right: Free ferry that runs between Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula, Pleasure Pier boardwalk, entrance to Pleasure Pier, USS Cavalla (foreground) & USS Stewart (background)

Day 62 – Wednesday – Moody Gardens

Again, we had morning seminars for the rally participants (and work hours for me), free time mid-day and then an outing for our afternoon and evening. I’ll interject here and say that AIM feeds you a lot! All breakfasts, lunches and dinners are included, as well as happy hours!

We boarded our buses for the ferry ride over to Galveston, this time to the Aquarium at Moody Gardens. Our after-hours visit ensured the aquarium was only for our group. As we explored the many exhibits, with cocktail in hand, the aquarium staff were available to answer questions and allow us to engage with the sea creatures in the touch tanks. The catering staff were busy preparing for our dinner. Kudos to the aquarium for allowing us a nice buffet dinner set up throughout the two floors of exhibit spaces. We selected a table in the Rockhopper South Atlantic Penguins section and enjoyed great conversation over entrees of chicken and porkchops, salad, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and desserts of chocolate cake and strawberry mousse. Another big shout out to the AIM team for arranging this great outing!

Day 63 – Thursday – Beach Day

While the morning was again filled with seminars and work time, we chose to spend a few hours of the afternoon by the resort’s pool and swim up bar. The water was a bit too chilly for me, but lounging in the chairs under the warm sun was bliss! We did a pre-happy hour with a few friends at their coach before heading down to the beach for the evenings ‘Happy Hour and Seafood Boil on the Beach’ theme. It was a little windy, but that’s to be expected on the beach. The staff strung lights, had picnic-themed tablecloths on the tables, coolers of water and soft drinks (you had to trek up the boardwalk for alcoholic beverages!), chauffeured golf cart rides to/from the beach, and table delivery of the seafood boil! It was a fun evening to wrap up the week!

Day 64 – Friday – Sayonara

After our goodbyes over a continental breakfast, we left the AIM rally, Camp Margaritaville, and the Bolivar Peninsula and headed west to KOA’s Holiday San Antonio/Alamo campground. To our surprise, our DRV camping friends, Liz & Mike, were waiting for us at this campground and decided to stay as well, enroute to the DRV rally in Kerrville.

Day 65 – Saturday – Pearl District & San Antonio Riverwalk

Our other very good DRV friends, Carolyn & Scott, texted us that they would be in San Antonio around 1 1 AM and could we meet for lunch at the Alamo Cafe. They lived for years in Austin and said this was one of their favorite restaurants in the area. If they had not recommended the cafe, I am sure Mark and I would have dismissed it. It had little curb appeal, but the made-on-site fresh tortillas and excellent entrees convinced us it was the perfect choice!

A friend from AIM told me to make time to go to the end of the Riverwalk to the Hotel Emma and Pearl district. So, after lunch, that’s where we headed. We loved the restored old brewery warehouses and manufacturing sites into hip restaurants and boutique shops. We were quite enthralled with the Pullman Market – a grocery store with interior specialty shops, mini restaurants and more – you can’t really describe the vibe!

After walking around this area, we made our way down to the Riverwalk. Deciding it would take too long to walk the pathway to the uptown section where all the main attractions are concentrated, we opted to take the Go Rio river cruise for a comprehensive sightseeing tour. After an hour baking in the sun as we plodded along, Liz and I decided to hop off at the next stop and do some tourist shopping. If we didn’t catch back up to the cruise at a future stop, then Mark and Mike could pick us up in the Bronco. Needless to say, Liz and I shopped, walked around AND made our way back to our starting point and still beat Mike and Mark in the cruise boat! The guide was great and being in the boat for the locks and dam was interesting. Below are Mike and Mark on the “cruise” and one of the many sculptures along the Riverwalk.

Day 65 – Sunday – Kerrville & the DRV Rally

We had a quick one-hour drive north to arrive at the DRV Rally, being held at the Old River Road RV Resort. Next post will have a new section of our route mapping our way home…