First weekend in Livingston, TX - Day 986 (Year 3, Day 254)

Livingston, TX

On Friday, I took a little time off work in the morning.  It was a gorgeous day and Mitch was off work (he's actually on stand-by again; may need to go up to Arkansas for live testing first; we'll know this week), so we decided to take our urb-e's out and explore the campground.  We looked at the weekly activity sheet and noticed that at 10:30 they had a "computer group" going on in the clubhouse, so we thought it might be fun to check it out.  Turns out it there were about 6 regulars -- all over the age of 70 (most probably in their 80s) talking shop.  I was impressed with their level of "geek-speak" (aka techno-babble).  Mitch was very in his environment!  I was bored.

Riding around, for the most part, was ok.  It wasn't the smooth pavement as in Houston; it's hard packed gravel so it was a bit bumpy but still rideable.  At least most of the way.  When we got to a certain area where the Activity Center is, it turned to loose gravel.  Mitch was able to ride his urb-e on it, but I chose to walk.  From the end of the road to the AC was the equivalent of about a block.  The CARE center, however, is closer to a 1/2 mile further up that road, so the only way to get there by urb-e is to leave the park and come in through another entrance.

The Activity Center was pretty much a gigantic room with lots and lots of tables set up in the middle and around the perimeter of the room, with a stage at one end.  I guess this is where they have live performances and community dinners (which they have every Thursday night).

The clubhouse (CH) was pretty awesome.  Large one-story wood building which housed a large central area, a closet loaded with all kinds of board games, a separate tv room, 2 small meeting rooms (where the computer group met), a HUGE library and a fairly large video (cassette & DVD) library.  There was a huge tv screen where they show weekly movies, some comfy couches, and a huge kitchen (and a few vending machines).  I didn't see the ping pong or billiards tables.

This is a very aesthetically pleasing park with spacious sites and a lot of grass and trees.  There are mostly deeded lots with homes built on them, but some areas are designated for RVs.  The only complaints I have (other than the entire park not having paved roads) is that the cell and satellite reception here is equivalent to being out in the middle of the desert or in the mountains.  We have 3 wifi systems: AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.  T-Mobile has no coverage and the other 2 are extremely spotty.  AT&T is the only service I can get phone coverage, and the bars tend to keep disappearing, with reception horrible (my clients have complained).  Unfortunately, this is due to not having enough cell towers in the area, so there's not much I can do about it.  The park does not offer free wifi, and we're concerned that paying $30/month for the service will yield the same results as we're getting with our own wifi.  We may end up trying it though. It seemed to be free this weekend, and so far it's been working out pretty well.  The only other complaint is that the water pressure has much to be desired.

Saturday, once again, was an isolated Shabbat.  It was also dark, dreary and rainy all day; a great day to be in bed under the covers or curled up on the recliner with a book (and eating lots of hot soup).  It was also quite chilly.  The day before was in the 80s (it was only in the 50s) so we had the thermostat set to a/c.  I didn't check the forecast before Shabbat, otherwise I would have changed it over to heat.  I had to wear 3 layers: a long sleeve shirt and 2 sweatshirts to keep warm.

Today (Sunday) was the same kind of weather day, but we had to venture out as we had a lot of shopping to do.  We learned that there's a woman who lives about 1/2 mile away who has a bunch of chickens and sells fresh eggs, which she leaves in a refrigerator outside with a box for the money (on the honor system).  Unfortunately, I couldn't find it and in the pouring rain, it wasn't worth it.  We bought some commercial eggs and the grocery store and decided when the weather clears up later in the week, we'll take our urb-es there if possible.  I also want to take some photos.

Meanwhile, I have about 40 actionable emails, so tomorrow will be crazy busy (work is always good!)