Been a while since I sat down to write, and so many things have happened! I almost don't know where to start. I guess I could go chronological since my last post, just to catch up.
So the last time I wrote we had just pulled in to Independence Park in Gonzales. It was the last week of the year, and we hadn't decided where we were going to spend New Year's, but there was a disc golf course that I wanted to check out there, and the park was really cheap. We ended up liking it so much, we stayed 10 days, which is actually a record length for us. The disc golf was fun and challenging, and the park was peaceful with plenty of trees and a playground that Zoe loved. A storm came through, so we figured it was better to hunker down and ride it out, rather than hope that the next place we would drive to would be as good.
After the first, we needed to hit up a place that had nice showers. We have a shower in the rig, but it's barely adequate for some basic cleaning, and it doesn't get the job done when it comes to washing the dreads. So we consulted our various maps and tools and finally decided that we wanted to hit the town of Victoria, about 60 miles away from Gonzales. Most people laugh at the way our "road trip" works, but then we aren't in a huge hurry or trying to set some kind of distance record. We're mostly trying to stay warm, and have as much fun as possible.
Victoria is a bigger town than we've been in for a while. There are lots of RV parks to choose from, and we did a lot of online research before selecting the promising sounding Crossroads RV Village on the north side of town. Before checking in, we stopped off at the local Wal-Mart for a much needed resupply, having depleted much of our reserves while staying in Gonzales for a week. Pulling into Crossroads was disappointing, as it really looked like a storage parking lot than a "village" and after talking to the manager we discovered that they didn't even have showers! To add insult to injury, they wanted $35 for the single night that we planned to be there. We spent the first few hours researching where we were going to be spending the NEXT night, because we knew we weren't going to be staying at Crossroads any longer than necessary.
The next day we drove to the very creatively named RV Park of Victoria, and I confirmed that they did indeed have the showers that we so desperately needed. The guy behind the desk looked like Yoda's dad, but he was cool enough to let us park right up front for the single night that we were going to be there. It seems there is a huge market for people wanting to stay for months at a time, and those Winter Texans make it tougher for us rag tag vagabonds to find a crash pad for a single night. But the hot shower was glorious, if the setting did look a bit like a horror movie or perhaps a prison. I should have kept the picture that I sent to my friends on Snapchat, you would have laughed.
That night it rained so hard that I thought surely disc golf was going to have to be canceled the next day, but the morning brought sunshine and smiles all around. Everyone was fresh and clean and ready to see this Riverside Park that I had been telling them about. As we were driving, we saw an Academy sporting goods store and felt compelled to stop. I had been needing shoes for a while, and this was probably going to be the best place to shop for them that we had seen in a while.
Walking in, I was drawn to the disc golf stuff and impressed with their selection. I don't really need any new stuff, but it's always fun to look. Zoe and I had fun playing with all the toys while we made our way back to he shoe area, where I found some really decent kicks for $25. Gotta love it when the inspiration strikes, you know? Anya joined us shortly after and as we were all walking toward the check out, I steered us back around to the disc golf area, since Anya could use some additions to her bag. That's where we met a young man that was a new player to the game and he was seeking some guidance. I helped him select a disc that was suited to his skill level, and he asked if we had played the local course. Coincidentally, they were on their way to play there today, too!
I'm not going to bore you with a review of Riverside Park's disc golf course (but if you're interested, it can be found here.) But what i wanted to relay to you is the wonder of kismet, coincidence, fate, destiny or predestination -- whatever you want to call it. We saw the young man again, once we got to the course. They arrived a little while after we did. I got to see him use the disc that I helped him pick on a huge birdie that probably made his whole round. I know that it made mine. But if I hadn't listened to that still small voice that suggested we stop at Academy, and if I hadn't happened to steer Anya over to the disc golf stuff, we would have missed out on that opportunity. I don't know what you believe, but I love to make the world a better place, even if it's just something as simple as helping someone get better a disc golf. I believe that if you are faithful and diligent in the little things, then the big things will be just as simple.
Are you listening?
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