Here and There

Scott and Jackie's Travels – Thousand Trails Reviews, Campground Reviews, Fulltime RVing, European Travel

Tag: review

2022 – Northern Wales

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Our bus tour to north Wales was amazing. We enjoyed the towns, good food, and beautiful scenery. Honestly, it was hard to believe we were less than a two-hour drive from Manchester.

Llandudno is a seaside town that is especially popular with beach goers in the summertime. There’s a long pier with a Ferris wheel and all the things you would expect of a summer destination. We walked around a bit, stopped off for a nice snack, and took photos. It was a bit windy and our bus driver, Frank, remarked that that was an indication that it was going to be very windy at our next stop. He wasn’t kidding.

From town we drove up a steep series of twists and turns to the top of Y Gogarth Great Orme Country Park. In addition to the road up, there’s also a cable car that makes the steep ascent. The views out across the Irish Sea are great. On a clear day, we were told, you can see the Isle of Mann off in the distance. And, yes, it was a tad windy. My guess would be 50 mph. I say that because it was a challenge to walk! There’s no telling what the wind chill was, but after making the final climb while fighting for balance, we took some photos and joined everyone else in retreating back to the bus. It was all quite invigorating to say the least!

We now headed inland and onto highway A5 – the route into Snowdonia National Park. The highway passes through tunnels and some climbs up into the park. Our driver took us off the highway to a one lane road on the opposite side of the valley from the highway where we enjoyed some stunning views. It would be hard to imagine a more beautiful setting. From there it was on up to the nearby Ogwen Partnership Centre and a beautiful waterfall.

Our next stop was the village of Betws-y-Coed – a town with the nickname “Capitol of Snowdonia National Park.” We looked around a bit and then found a place for coffee before boarding our van for the next stop.

I’ve never seen anything like the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. To understand it, you have to know that England has a vast network of canals. These canals were originally used for transporting goods on long, narrow barges pulled by horses on a tow path. There are many hand-operated locks that allow navigation up and down the terrain. In 1795 the decision was made to link two canal systems that were divided by a deep river gorge. That was accomplished by building an amazing aqueduct across the gorge. This is no small bridge. It is 126 feet high and over 3 football fields long and took 10 years to complete. The tow path is now a walking trail and long boats, now very popular for recreation, can still use the Aqueduct to cross the gorge.

The weather was no longer windy, but it had been raining off and on throughout the day. It was raining when I started across the aqueduct, but suddenly the sun broke out in the west. As the light rain continued, but most beautiful rainbow I’ve ever seen formed to the east. It was a complete, bright rainbow – the perfect conclusion to a wonderful day!

Everyone had told us that northern Wales is a special place, and we agree. I recommend the Busy Bus tour, but honestly, they can only offer a too-brief taste of this beautiful area.

2022 – Around Edinburgh Scotland

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Edinburgh, Scotland is a great tourist city. We spent four days there and could have spent another four days continuing our exploring. The main attractions are all fairly close together so it isn’t hard at all to see a variety of things in one day. However, it needs to be noted that there are some serious hills there. This takes its toll on even people who walk on a regular basis.

We enjoyed trying out some different food places while we were there. Check out our photos of “Oink;” this is a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in – well you can guess! We ate at a local Turkish bakery near the train station. We liked it enough that we returned to grab some takeaway there to carry on the train on our return trip. We also had some good fish and chips at a nicer restaurant on Victoria Street near Grassmarket Square – an area with plenty of places to eat and shop. It is also where many public hangings took place in Edinburgh’s history. Of course, we checked out a few coffee shops along the way. Jackie loved the Chocolate Cafe where she got a coffee that was more chocolate than coffee! And, of course, we tried out the most popular soft drink in Scotland. It’s an orange colored soda that tastes to me like a cross between Big Red and Cream Soda. It’s not bad, but I think I’ll stick to my Coke Zero.

It was fun just being on the streets, looking at the shops and seeing the architecture. One secret is to look up! There are many building features like statues and gargoyles that are easily missed from street level.

We already posted a couple of site specific entries, but, as I mentioned earlier, we could have spent another week and seen more without ever repeating an attraction. We missed some biggies like Holyrood Palace, the Royal Yacht Britannia, several museums, and the Botanical Gardens. And that doesn’t even take into account the many other places to visit across Scotland.

Here are some specifics for anyone planning a visit to Edinburgh. (Note: this is based on just one visit, so there are likely many alternative approaches that a person might want to take.} I priced motel rooms in the central city and found them to be uniformly high priced. Instead, we opted to stay out at the Airport Premier Inn. The key to that location is that the tram (light rail) stop is just outside the motel. By buying online I was able to get us multiday tram tickets. Trams run every few minutes and, after a 20 minute ride, we arrived right in the heart of the city. Along the way the tram stops at both major train stations and, it just so happens, right at the Hop-on-Hop-off bus hub. We bought multi day Hop-on-Hop off bus tickets. There are three different bus tours included on that ticket. After riding and listening to the tour information on the entire route of a couple of them we switched to using the busses as our way to get around the city. By the way, we learned that this particular bus service gives you a real 24/48, etc. hour ticket. If you activate the ticket at 11:00 on one day it is good till the same time the next day. That gave us just enough time for the last ride we needed to get back to the tram after we visited the Castle.

As you can see, we had a good time in Edinburgh and highly recommend it to everyone. Just know that you will need to do some walking and some of it up and down hills. And, when you go, be sure to try some Irn Bru and a pork sandwich at Oink!

2022 – Edinburgh Castle

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It is no exaggeration to say that Edinburgh Castle dominates the city. It sits on Castle Rock, high above everything. Historically, it has defined Edinburgh since the 1200’s where It has housed royalty and served as a military stronghold through the centuries.

The Castle is located at the top of the Royal Mile. The other anchor is Holyrood Palace. Both should be visited, but we had to pick one or the other for this trip. The walk up to the Castle isn’t long but it is quite steep. Then, once on the Castle grounds, the steep walk continues, on up to where you can see the Crown Jewels of Scotland. The views of the city are beautiful and there are many displays and museums. We saw a lot but didn’t see nearly everything on the site.

Edinburgh Castle is a “must see” for visitors to this city. Wear your walking shoes and come ready to explore!

2022 – Shopping downtown Manchester

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We took advantage of a pretty day to head downtown and do a bit of exploring.  Our primary target was the Arndale shopping mall, but we also wanted to look around and get our bearings.  It is a 10 minute walk to the bus stop, then a 40 minute ride to the heart of Manchester.  An all-day bus fare is about $6.45 each.  Busses run every 5-10 minutes, so it’s never a long wait.

For our Houston friends, Arndale reminds us a lot of the Galleria.  It has three levels and plenty of stores.  We looped each level, checking out a few stores and doing a lot of people watching.  Many stores are the same as what we have in the States and others reminded us of similar stores.  Honestly, if we were somehow transported into that mall, not knowing where we were we’d think we were in any of the hundreds of upscale malls in the USA.  Of course, when we saw that all the prices were in pounds we’d figure out that we weren’t “in Kansas anymore.”

Just for fun we decided to eat at a strange hamburger place called “Five Guys.”  It was that or another British place called “KFC” or another called “Taco Bell.”  Seriously, there were some restaurants that were new to us, but we thought it would be interesting to compare the UK version of “Five Guys” with the American one.  The result: no difference.  Again, had we not paid in pounds we could have been anywhere in the USA.  As usual, good burger and great fries – which, by the way, were called “fries” and not “chips.”

One thing that was different was the size of the crowds.  On this Tuesday early afternoon the streets were packed with people.  Every step we took outside included dodging people who were busy dodging everyone else.  In one store that reminds us of JC Penny, it looked like the Friday after Thanksgiving – people everywhere – I have no idea why it was so crowded.

Walking back to our bus stop took us through Piccadilly Gardens, an open, grassy area right in the heart of the city.  It was full of people who were sitting or lying on the grass soaking up the sun.  By the way, we are more tanned than any of these sun worshippers.  In Texas we get more sun by accident than they get on purpose!

We got a bit more walking than we intended – in part because of our laps around Arndale and also in part because I got turned around and had a hard time finding our bus stop.  Finding that stop was harder than you would think because there are probably 50 different stops in a five block radius.  Dozens of different bus lines converge at Piccadilly Gardens.  By the way, just for future reference, in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens is not the same as Piccadilly Station.  The Gardens is in the heart of the shopping district of Manchester and just about every city bus ends up there sooner or later.  The Station is the train station which is a 10 minute walk away.

The Adventure continues.

2021 – Lake Conroe Thousand Trails – Willis, TX (Fall review)

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We’ve had another good stay at Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, Willis, TX. As I posted a few months ago, we’ve stayed at this campground often and written plenty of reviews, so I’ll just share a few random thoughts about this property in this post.

We think the best thing about Lake Conroe TT is the gorgeous sunsets over the lake. A lot of people head down to the boat launch to enjoy to view. However, if you want the best view walk down to the lake front in “The Reserve” – that’s the permanent community just to the left at the entrance gate. You get a terrific sunset view there.

When all the new sites were added to the right of the gate we felt that it freed up a lot of nice sites over in the older part of the campground. However, it seems that things have changed as more seasonal sites have been sold and the campground feels as full now as ever. That said, we’ve never had a problem finding a good spot to land. Upon our arrival this time we were told that there were only two or three sites open. However, when we started looking around we found two additional great spots to choose from.

Jackie really likes the big Kroger that is just a few minutes from the campground. It is built like Fred Meyers stores out on the west coast (same company). We think most people will find it worth visiting.

We’ve been frustrated with the way many Thousand Trails handle packages – often charging as much as $5 a UPS/Fedex package. It seems odd that a campground that is actively selling long term sites would treat their residents like that. Anyway, you might want to know that there’s an Amazon Hub Locker just outside the gate at the RV Ranch.

Covid seems to have been the end of the on-site restaurant. However, the alternative is pretty good: food trucks set up on the property during busy times. Hopefully, they will sell enough food to make it worth their while to come out.

The Conroe area, in general is exploding in growth. Every time we come in to Lake Conroe after being out of the area it seems traffic is worse. I doubt it is going to get any better as housing development is going on everywhere. This area is being swallowed up by the city.

Another thing we have noticed is that there are more full time families in the campground. During the summers we don’t think much about how many children we see. However, now that school is in session we’ve been surprised at the large number of children in the campground during weekdays. I’ve seen the school bus making a stop at the gate, but it’s my impression that many of these children are being home schooled. I’m sure Covid has caused a major explosion in the number of children being home schooled. That, of course, fits right into the RV lifestyle. No judgement here, just something we have noticed.

We have always liked Lake Conroe Thousand Trails and rank it as one of the best in the system. I’m thinking that all the upgrades plus its location close to the big city plus the explosion of RVers is going to keep Lake Conroe running at near capacity most all the time. I suggest reserving as early as possible when planning on visiting this campground.

2021 – Old River Road RV Resort – Kerrville, TX

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Our big travel plans for our 2021 Adventure had to be set aside, so we decided to at least head for the Texas Hill Country to get away from the humidity of the Texas Gulf coast. One result of that was our spending a month at Old River Road RV Resort in Kerrville. This is a large, newer park a few miles outside of Kerrville. The primary feature of the park is that the Guadalupe River borders the property. The clear, flowing river is a playground for tubing and fishing. I enjoyed many quiet walks on the bank of the river. Just adjacent to the campground portion of the river is a swimming spot that is popular with the locals. Golf cart rentals are popular here, mostly, I think, because of the steep hill going down to the river. I know that walking up and down it added considerably to my morning workout!

The campground has a large section of permanent RV’s. There are also rental cabins that get considerable use. We were given a spot more or less off to ourselves. We didn’t mind that a bit. There are different levels of campsites. The most expensive are wide and paved, generally with a view of the river down below. The other sites are rock but plenty long enough for any RV. Most are pull-through. The section we were in had a slight slope down toward the River. This wouldn’t be as noticeable with a smaller motorhome or travel trailer. It was more obvious in our longer rig and we ended up with the front tires up in the air about eight inches. I put leveling blocks under the tires and brought out an extra step that was still not quite tall enough. It wasn’t a real big deal, but in the future I think we’d lobby for a spot in an area that didn’t have the slope.

If playing in the River doesn’t sound good, there are two pools, one inside. We liked the inside one because it has a heated spa attached to it. It was a relaxing and refreshing place. The outside pool also has a kid’s water park. There are also a couple of nice playgrounds for the children and two doggie parks for the pets.

The campground has a small store and also a larger Activity center that has game and workout rooms. There are also two laundries.

Since our stay was during the summer it was hot and our two air conditioners ran a lot. There are young trees, but they aren’t big enough to offer any significant shade.

We enjoyed sitting out at night after things had cooled down. The sky was filled with stars – we could even see the Milky Way many nights. We counted satellites gliding over and saw a few meteors.

Campground WiFi was pretty good, although we felt our Jetpack was a bit faster. With the lack of trees I had no big issues getting satellite.

The Hill Country is a beautiful and interesting area. We visited the Coming King Sculpture Garden, nearby Fredericksburg, Stonehenge II, and did a longer drive into the bigger “hills” (I think they would be called “mountains” in some parts of the country) to the west of the area. We really liked the old fashioned burgers at Classics Burgers. Also, the fried catfish at Lakehouse restaurant was very good. We’ve enjoyed this area for years and this stay was a good one.

2021 – Lake Medina Thousand Trails – Lakehills, TX

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2021 – Medina Lake Thousand Trails – Lakehills, TX

We had an interesting stay at Medina Lake Thousand Trails in Lakehills, TX. This campground has a variety of campsite amenities ranging from 30 amp with no sewer up to full hookup 50 amp sites. The various campsite configurations are scattered around the large campground with no seeming rhyme or reason. Also, many sites are somewhat unlevel. We needed to take the motorhome into the shop (more on that later) so we took advantage of the move to relocate to a more level site.

A previous review is here.

Medina Lake Thousand Trails is known for two things: deer everywhere and a lake that is more often than not lacking in water. We found both to be true on this trip. The deer are practically tame and watch you expectantly, hoping to be fed. People do feed the deer, but the campground and the local game warden frown on doing so because it changes the behavior and the diet of the deer. The lake is more of a small, shallow river as it borders the campground. Closer to the dam there is more water, but the lake is still quite low. Really, it takes a lot of rain over a relatively small area to feed Medina Lake. The area is still beautiful hill country, one of our favorite parts of Texas.

As I said, we took the RV in for service and the report was not a good one. As a result our home had to go into the shop to repair a crack in the black water tank (ugh!). When we upgraded our Thousand Trails membership we were given a few years of one week cabin stays. We moved into a one bedroom cabin, claiming the week and then extending it as work was done on the RV. The cabin wasn’t as comfortable as our motorhome, but we did fine in it.

The campground is undergoing electric upgrades. In fact, there are many new power pedestals already in place. Large sections of the campground have the new service. However, during our stay no new 50 amp service was available. Apparently, they await a final county inspection (or something like that). Until then, all the new 50 amp breakers have locks on them. I don’t think any sewer upgrades are planned so even after the upgraded sites become available you still need to note which sites have sewer and which do not.

Aside from the deer, the lake (when wet), and the pretty hill country the campground has a nice pool, small playground, Activity Center (nothing happening there because of Covid), mini-golf, and laundry. Bandera is nearby with lots of Cowboy themed stores, restaurants, and events. San Antonio is a bit farther, but is a great tourist city.

This review actually covers two stays, a month apart, at Medina Lake. During our second stay we spent some time in San Antonio, revisiting some spots we enjoyed when we lived there several years ago. The campground isn’t especially close to San Antonio, but downtown is just over an hour away.

We enjoyed the OST Restaurant in Bandera and worshiping at the nearby Western Heritage Cowboy Church. Walmart just off of Culebra Road in San Antonio is a distance away. I had no big problem getting a satellite signal but that would be site dependent. My Verizon was pretty good at 2-3 bars.

2021 – Colorado River Thousand Trails, Columbus, TX

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Our two week stay at Colorado River Thousand Trails in Columbus, Texas was a good one in spite of the Texas summer heat and our being a bit under the weather the first part of our stay. Colorado River being fairly close to Lake Conroe Thousand Trails is often thought of as the “quiet one.” The location is rural, there are fewer campsites and amenities. The pace feels slower.

However, this campground is changing. Several sites have been upgraded to include 50 amps and work has just begun to add 100 new pull through sites. As I understand it the new sites will all be oversized in length and, unlike the Lake Conroe pullthroughs the new Colorado sites won’t be “back to back.” We saw the equipment brought in and some of the early dirt work on the new section which will be just beyond the pool on the east side of the main campground road. (January 2022 update: the new sites are open – there’s a $10 a night upcharge for them – the pricing for the rest of the campground is unchanged.)

This campground is also compared to Medina Lake Thousand Trails because of the deer population. The big difference is that deer feeding is allowed at Medina but not allowed here. There are plenty of deer around, but unlike at Medina they don’t approach people.

We watched the deer, rabbits, and a neighborhood armadillo. We also had, apparently, a pocket gopher pushing up mounds of dirt in our front yard. It was kind of funny to walk out onto our rug and find a new huge mound of dirt under it like a mini-volcano had erupted over night.

Aside from the new sites going in the campground is divided up into two sections. The “A section” is comprised of three circles of campsites. The sites on the outside of the circles are more spacious that those on the inside of the circles. Many of these sites are occupied by annuals. “C and D sections” are closer to the river (although I wouldn’t consider the river to be much of an attraction). Again, there are several annual sites, but also a variety of sites, ranging from 30 amp, no sewer sites to recently upgraded 50 amp full hookup sites. I’m not sure the campground map reflects the upgrades so you might be wise to ask about that during check in.

The campground has a cozy, but older activity center, a small pool, a small laundry, and an indoor hot tub. Kids might enjoy the mini golf, although it was rather weedy and just plain hot during our July stay.

Our Verizon was excellent and we had no problem getting a satellite signal. Columbus is nearby with lots of fast food, a couple of grocery stores, and a soft serve ice cream place with tasty chocolate cones. If you want a bigger Walmart, there is a new one just up the road in LaGrange.

Colorado River Thousand Trails is an easy stop just off of I10 and we recommend it for a pleasant, low-key stay.

2021 – Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, Willis, TX

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We’ve just finished another nice stay at Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, Willis, TX. One of the really nice features of this stay was the opportunity to be with good friends. Jerry and Carol were our Battleship Texas neighbors for several years. They were neighbors again, parked just behind us. Also Bob and Erma are local to Conroe and we invited them out for burgers and fellowship. It was a very nice night. Then long time friends Steve and Jeanette brought their new-to-them camper up for a few days. We were glad to have some time with them.

Generally speaking mid-July temps in Texas keep people inside but our wet July produced some cooling thunderstorms several afternoons. Once the storm passed, it was nice sitting out.

As you can tell, I’m not giving much of a Lake Conroe review. However, I’ve done a bunch of them. You can find them here.

2021 – Green Caye – Dickinson, TX

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We’ve just finished another stay at Green Caye RV Park in Dickinson, TX. This is a residential RV Park that hosts mostly long term residents. I’ve done several prior reviews of this park so there’s no need for me to write much here. I will mention that the park now has small metal storage sheds on each site. These sheds used to be an add on that people could rent but they are now on each site. The monthly rental fee increased to cover the cost of the sheds. Our stays at Green Caye are generally a few months a year so the extra storage doesn’t do much for us. All in all, we think this is a good place for us to winter close to family and friends. We already have plans to return next winter.

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