Leaving Florida, Exploring Texas and a Rocket Launch!

Oh wow. I thought I’d come update the blog about our Texas adventures these past few weeks and realized that I haven’t yet even documented getting to Texas!

I guess my brief mention in our 2024 Travel Route & Year in Review post mentally checked those adventures off my list.

So, let’s get caught up!

These adventures start after our cruise out of Miami (which I’m not sure we’ll ever get around to posting more about) on December 16, 2024 – and chronicle our travels up to January 29, 2025 (hey, almost caught up to real time!).

Put on your seatbelts, because we’re in for a lot of miles and stops ahead!

Stop 1: Orlando, FL – Moss Park

First up after the cruise was a visit with my mom for a few days in Melbourne to celebrate her birthday, and to just enjoying catching up with her. We enjoyed time at the Brevard Zoo, and helping her fulfill her duties as a neighborhood elf delivering holiday cheer.

And then.. it was time to start our trek to Texas for Christmas holidays with family, where we’d rendezvous with her yet again shortly!

My mom and I decorated Blooper to bring holiday joy on the road before we left – she looked so festive!

Our first stop was Moss Park in Orlando – a lovely county park with huge treed spaces. Part of a wildlife refuge, the park doesn’t allow pets, so it was someplace we were not previously able to check out.

At just $23/night – we loved it and wished we had more time to linger. We were able to get in Sunday Runday there on the trails.

And it positioned us nicely for one last morning doctors appointment before meandering westward.

Stop 2: Ocala, FL – Ocala Drive In

We didn’t make too many miles after our brief stop in Orlando – just to Ocala.

But we decided to spend the day biking the amazing Santos network of trails. An amazing paved path with mountain biking flow, with many single track trails intersecting along the way.

It had been a few years since we explored these trails, and our first with our new(er) Specialized Vado SLs (another post we are overdue to create – we’ve now had the bikes a year!). We had a blast!

After an afternoon of riding, it was perfect timing for an overnight at the Ocala Drive In to catch another double feature (Moana 2 and Wicked) from our van home! Yet another Harvest Hosts experience with super welcoming hosts!

Fun day.. but there are many miles ahead to make it to Texas by the holidays…

Stop 3 & 4: Pensacola, FL – Big Lagoon State Park

We pulled a long driving day from Ocala to Pensacola. Somehow it never fails that the estimated Google ETA of about 5 hrs when we leave a spot turns into nearly 10 by the time we arrive.

But then again, we make multiple stops to get in walks, lunch, errands and fueling up.

Since we had a ‘work day’ with lots of scheduled calls & webinars to host – we booked two nights at Big Lagoon State Park, a new Florida State Park for us. Rate came to about $33/night with all the service fees.

We didn’t have much of a chance to explore outside of walk breaks between calls. But we liked the park itself with nicely spaced sites.

The next day, we headed to a trailhead at Gulf State Park in Alabama to explore the amazing network of biking trails for the afternoon.

We ended the day overnighting at a Cracker Barrel in Spanish Fort, AL as we continued making miles west.

Stop 5 & 6: New Orleans, LA – French Quarter Public Parking Lot

As we continued our way westward to TX for the holidays, we opted to stop in New Orleans – it had been since just pre-COVID that we last explored the French Quarter.

We arrived to the French Quarter Public Parking lot around noon, paid our $10 for 24-hour parking (overnighting still allowed!) – and enjoyed the day roaming the streets.

This public lot is right next to the visitor’s center and police department, and felt just as safe as our last stay.

We were in search of gluten free and vegetarian NOLA flavors – and found Calas (rice based beignets), vegan jambalaya, and the most amazing GF crepes!

Even for a Friday evening, the French Quarter didn’t seem to be too hopping. The cold weather was keeping people inside. We roamed a bit after dark, but ended up being pretty lame and headed to bed fairly early. Making miles just takes it out of us.

But an enjoyable lovely day nonetheless!

We got an early start in the morning to tackle another long driving day, stopping overnight at Fortress Brewery in Spring, TX – another convenient Harvest Host stay.

Stop 7: Holidays in Bastrop, TX

The purpose for our rapid trip to Texas was to celebrate the holidays with my brother and his growing family. We joined up with he and his wife, and their 1-year old Amelia (my first niece!). Our mother also flew out, and his wife’s family was there too.

Since his house was rather full hosting so many – we opted to split a cute little bungalow on AirBnB with my mother. This worked out quite well to give us all space – and it was a nice taste of what AirBnB hopping might be like.

It was great to reconnect with family, and spend more time with our Amelia – who is growing so fast!

While there, we got to help my brother build part of his RV-14 airplane – which he mentioned on his N14VE YouTube channel (yup, YouTube seems to run in the family).

Stop 8: Austin, TX – Pecan Grove RV Park

Pecan Grove RV Park in Austin, TX is arguably one of our favorite campgrounds we have ever visited.

Nestled into the Barton Springs area of South Austin, it’s walking distance to so much!

Pecan Grove is just steps away from Zilker Park, Butler Hike & Bike Trail, Barton Springs pool (it got up into the 80s while we were there.. perfect for a swim!), and is right along biking routes for getting around.

Peter Pan Mini Golf is a few blocks away, there are endless dining options, and an easy pedestrian bridge walk into downtown for shopping & nightlife.

We’ve been coming here for years, but it had been over a decade since our last stay. Sometimes getting a reservation is a challenge.

So we were thrilled when we called and Pecan Grove had availability over NYE! We booked a week (a splurge at $80/night) and kept super active in this urban mecca of weirdness.

Austin always has a special place in my heart – after all, I grew up right here! I love sharing it with Chris.

What a way to bring in the new year! We even had a free Third Eye Blind concert and fireworks just a couple blocks away to celebrate!

It was a perfect week long stop to get back to our own pace after the holidays.

Stop 9: Boerne, TX – Cave Without a Name

We absolutely love our Harvest Hosts membership – they have continued to expand the program to include some pretty unique stays!

We decided to next route to Boerne, TX – just north of San Antonio. A perfect spot for a night to kill between campground reservations.

Cave Without A Name has their own onsite campground, but they are part of the HH program and offer a free night to members.

Sounded fun – tour a cave, stay overnight.

The cave absolutely blew us away with its beauty – and we agree with their own marketing that it’s likely one of the most lovely in the nation. They even host concerts underground every so often, which we can only imagine would be amazing!

It’s delightfully built out, huge open ‘rooms’ with amazing formations, gorgeously lit and so well protected (especially for being privately held). And our tour guide was truly passionate about sharing it.

And, they have some lovely hiking trails onsite which we thoroughly enjoyed as well.

Definitely recommend a trip out here if in the area.

Stop 10: San Antonio, TX – Yanawana Camp

Over the past decades, San Antonio has built out over 100 miles of connected bike/hike/run trails throughout the city. In thanks to former mayor Howard Peak, for whom Greenway is named for.

We started out our morning at the Eisenhower Trailhead in northern San Antonio to get in Sunday Runday. It was amazing!

We then transited southward, picking up breakfast tacos on the way (because, Texas) and then got settled into the quaint small Yanawana Camp.

This is basically just 4 back-in full hook-up spots (at $47/night with taxes) in the backyard of two of the most gracious welcoming hosts.

The attraction of this campground for us is that it’s right along the Medina and River Walk portions of the Greenway Trail system. Perfect for exploring all of the missions!

After getting parked, we unloaded the bikes and hit the Medina Trail southbound – out and back for a total of 27 glorious miles in mostly amazing nature, along lakes and some super fun switchbacks (thank goodness for a little power assist!).

The next day, we set off northbound to downtown San Antonio and the Riverwalk. The trails were again spectacular, along the river the entire way. And spent the afternoon wandering around the River Walk area, grabbing lunch and a river boat tour. All and all, another 26 mile biking day!

Thank goodness for all of the running and biking access in San Antonio and Austin lately – it’s helping to offset some of the amazing food we’re enjoying too!

Stop 11: Edcouch, TX – Nature’s Resort

When we saw Nature’s Resort – a nudist resort on Harvest Hosts, offering a free night – we were surprised! We immediately booked two nights (paying for the second).

We’ve love checking out nudist and clothing optional RV parks in our travels, and enjoy many aspects of it. This particular park however is not clothing optional, but has a “no clothing allowed” rule, except for weather.

And that’s thankful, because it was darn cold while we were there.. and honestly, not much nudity except for brief moments getting into the hot tub!

We mostly used the stop to catch up on laundry (yes, it sounds ironic – but nudist resorts usually have great laundry facilities!). The park also had a live music dance while we were there, which was fun.

Otherwise, it’s basically a typical RV resort for South Texas, just without clothing.

Stop 12: South Padre Island, TX – Isla Blanca Campground

When we first started heading west from Florida, we thought we might make it all the way out to Arizona this winter to see Zephyr. But the miles in front of us seemed daunting, and we started to reconsider our options.

With a Starship launch scheduled down in Boca Chica in mid-January, and having never explored the Rio Grande Valley area – the decision was made. Chris called Isla Blanca Park Campground on South Padre Island – a prime viewing location – and grabbed the last spot available for the projected launch date.

Now it’s important to note.. we are space and technology geeks, which was our driving force to witness this. And as part of running the Mobile Internet Resource Center, we have to cover the revolutionary mobile internet solution that this particular launch will be building.

But we are most definitely not fans of the leader and owner of the company behind this launch, and especially increasingly in current weeks, months and years. 

But first we took a detour over to Starbase in Boca Chica – and drove right up to the Starship launch pad being prepped for launch. We parked right in front of the fuel depot, with a perfect view of the pad.

We spent the day in awe. Is this real?

Can we really get this close?? (YES!)

Can we really walk around the back of the pad too? WOW!

We had lunch, with a view of S33 out our window.

We could have slept there overnight too. CRAZY!

Instead, we moved over across the bay to South Padre Island to take up our reservation on what the staff affectionally called ‘Sardine Row’ (much more packed spaces than the rest of the campground).

And we waited with each delay, extending our reservation – which at $50/day added up. The weather was mostly windy, cloudy, drizzly and cold. We made the best of it, with some minor dips in mood.

We explored around SPI and Port Isabel in-between rain drops – Sea Turtle, Inc. (amazing turtle rescue organization) was a highlight. We also climbed the local lighthouse, and enjoyed some great food – Hopper Haus, Ceviche Ceviche, Mahi Nix and Yummies were some favorites.

And we even met up with friends we made over at Starbase who were also waiting things out.

And then actual launch day came.

After staying up late to watch the Blue Origin launch on livestream, we woke before 6am to move the van over to a prime viewing parking lot before others arrived..

And then 4:37pm, after a day of hanging out with a sea of fellow space nerds (and a nap) …

… Ignition!

Starship Launch #7 slowly ambled into the sky right before us. Now I’ve been to many a launch having lived on the Space Coast for years.

Nothing I have ever witnessed compared to this.

The rumble was immediately in our chests. Beneath our feet as the booster lifted the ship into the sky on a blue column of flame.

They separated, and the ship was out of our site.

But the booster fell back towards us. At one point, it looked like it would be right on top of us.

And then, like magic it floated right back towards the launch pad and was caught… but not before reverberating sonic booms pounded us.

As tears ran down our cheeks from the experience, we learned that communication had been lost with the upper stage. And soon after, we confirmed she went kablooey out of our site with a Rapid Unscheduled Disassbemby (RUD).

There’s something deeper in the loss after having spent a day together.

RIP, dear S33.

But wowie wow wow.. what an experience!!

We filmed two videos on this experience.. first, our personal excitement with launch footage included:

And we also filmed one about the Starlink V3 mock-up payload on S33 and the dispensing system that was supposed to be tested on this mission. And the significance of Starship to the Starlink constellation as part of our mobile internet coverage:

Stop 13: Brownsville, TX – AirBnB

One thing we miss when traveling in the van is a comfy lounge spot.

We generally do fine with the seats and little bench, or using the bed. Afterall, we’re usually out exploring not hanging out in the van.

So with a unusual cold snap coming after the launch, we opted to splurge on an AirBnb in Brownsville, TX (as opposed to heading further north into the freeze & snow!).

Yup, we rented a big old corner couch that comes with an apartment.

We enjoyed long hot showers, a washer/dryer, space to do yoga and indulging in binging on this couch while keeping warm.

Because even in the Rio Grande Valley, we had snow flurries!

It was nice to spread out after 8 days parked on ‘sardine row’ at Isla Blanca Park awaiting the Starship launch.

Before the cold snap, we did get out exploring Brownsville. Our rental was nearby the network of bike trails, which we used for getting around.

Brownsville has an amazing zoo – being in a typically tropical climate their AZA designation has them caring for some really unique endangered species.

And the Sabal Palms Sanctuary was a pleasant hike, but a bit too chilly to spot too much wildlife.

While there’s tons and tons of authentic yummy Mexican cuisine to be found – our favorite dining discovery was Crepe Town (near the zoo and Farmer’s Market). Delicious GF and vegetarian crepe options made with lots of love.

Stop 14: Corpus Christi, TX – AirBnB

Moving on up the gulf coast of Texas, the next town was Corpus Christi. I actually briefly lived there about 30 years ago, but don’t recall too much about it.

Not finding appealing RV campgrounds near ‘stuff’ to explore, other than the beach – we decided to just grab another AirBnb.

That also allowed us to use the van for easy transportation without converting from living mode, and not having to really repack the van after our last stay. Just move our already packed bags.

We got out to the touristy stuff of the aquarium and Lexington, and biked along the waterfront.

But otherwise.. just like I remembered Corpus from the past, we found it unremarkable. And except for our touristy day, the weather was pretty crappy again.

Stop 15: Port Aransas, TX – IG Magee Campground

Continuing to move up the coast just a bit, – we opted to take a spot at IG Magee Beach Park, run by the county, in Port Aransas, TX.

It’s right on the beach and offers full hook-ups at $50/night. At this point, we’ve just gotten used to the new normal of RV camping pricing. We feel like old RVing veterans reminiscing about the days when you could stay at such places for much cheaper.

We could have just grabbed a $12 beach pass and overnighted for 3-nights on the hard packed beach.

But the wind was whipping our entire stay, lots of rain, cold and constantly foggy. On a nice day, it would have been marvelous. Instead, we appreciated the unlimited electric for heat, a little wind protection behind the dunes and not tracking sand into the van.

The park itself.. was just ok. Nicely spaced paved sites, and super easy access to the beach. Which we used for lots of walks and running. And we adored all of the yarn bombing on the parking posts along the beach!

We didn’t find too terribly much to do in Port Aransas itself – except touristy shops and some dining. We did attend a play at the local community theater that was decent.

All and all – this extended gloomy weather has had us not in the most exploratory of moods.

Stop 16: Rockport, TX – Goose Island State Park

We took a very short and free ferry ride over Aransas Pass, stocked up on some groceries and then arrived our reservation at Goose Island State Park.

We had booked a bayfront site in hopes that the sun might actually emerge to enjoy the view. The first day, it was all foggy, but the second day saw peaks of sunlight! Finally!!

At just $25/night (plus $5 pp day fees.. but we purchased state park pass to cover those), it was a great stay where we also got in some work.

This time of year, endangered Whooping Cranes roost in this area – and we were blessed to see five of them (including two juveniles) on our bike ride back from the famously old Big Tree.

Up Next

Whew.. sorry for the length of this post! That was a lot to put together.

As you might tell from our route, we are now eastbound – slowly making our way back to Virginia towards Y-Not. We’re aiming to be there mid to late March to oversee some of the final boat projects we left behind, and resume cruising northward along the Loop once it is warm enough.

Until then, we’re finding new adventures along the way.

And we’re super excited to have scored our first housesitting gig in Houston – which is coming up soon! Which is why our roll east has been rather slow, with time to check things out along the way!

In the meantime, we’ll try to catch up on a backlog of topical posts we want recorded on the blog – such as our marathon experience, our new bikes, and maybe even our Virgin cruise experience.