Sports

SANDY CREEK COE PARK 

Jasper, TX 75951

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RV LIFE:

Scott is very happy that the Hockey lock out is over. He is a huge Flyers fan (don't hate). While in high school, I followed our football & basketball teams, and while in college I developed a love for soccer. Loved seeing those college guys with their beautifully muscled thighs kicking high in the air.

Northeastern Bible College Soccer Team 1976

Once out of school, I lost all interest in ALL sports. Of all the sports, I thought Hockey would be one of the last I'd ever follow. And then along comes Scott. As a good girlfriend, I "listened" to him talk about the players and teams & plays of hockey. Little by little, info sank in. I eventually became a Flyers fan. In reality I was a Hextall fan, then a Brind'amour fan.

We went to a dinner and sat with a couple of Flyers. We went to the Wive's Carnival and had photos taken with Brind'Amour and the Stanley Cup. We also went to Voorhees, NJ to their training site and waited outside the rink to get our Flyer's jerseys signed.

I loved to see Ron Hextall stretch to warm up and stretch out to block a goal!
And Brind'Amour...well...

Then Hextall retired and Brind'Amour was traded to the Hurricanes. I was done. I am no longer a hockey fan, but of course Scott continues to follow the Flyers.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Austin Street Bistro, Jefferson, TX 75657
Our rating is 4.5 out of 5

Very quaint restaurant. Flowered cloth tablecloths reminding me of a "tea room" type atmosphere. Very cool dark wood "bar" that was used just for storing extra plates, etc.

Very nice wait staff.
BLACKBERRY POMEGRANATE GREEN TEA: Delicious. Not too sweet, with just a touch of blackberry flavor. Free refills.
IRISH POTATO SOUP: Wonderful! This came with a delicious OATMEAL MOLASSES ROLL with MAPLE BUTTER melted on top.
I am craving this maple butter. I will be trying to make this at home.
TOMATO BASIL SOUP: Good, but nothing special. This was paired with CROSTINI, but I would call it more of a FOCACCIA. With that being said, it was delicious whatever you call it!
While waiting for our salads and main course, we could start to smell the wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen, butter & garlic...oh my! Really whets your appetite!
SALAD: Included with dinner. We weren't given a choice of dressing. We were told the dressing was a home made house dressing. Salad consisted of baby greens. Simple salad, but also delicious with the light vinaigrette dressing drizzled throughout. This was served with the oatmeal molasses roll mentioned above.
SHEPHERD'S PIE: Overall this was good. Basically a thick slice of meatloaf smothered with tomato based sauce and vegetables.
ROOSTER'S SKIN: I would not order this again. The base was an open baked potato that was smothered with a tomato sauce with peppers, sausage & chicken. I didn't even taste the potato. This dish would be better suited over a hearty garlic bread or pasta. The sausage, chicken, peppers and sauce were delicious. Just not the right combo with potato.
ALMOND POUND CAKE: Very rich and very good. Baked in a bundt pan. The edges were over done and more than browned. A huge serving served warm with the fabulous maple butter melted on top. Would love this with a nice cup of coffee.
BREAD PUDDING: Rich & delicious.
Right after we started our main course, a group of ladies came in and we heard as they would order, the waitress would say we are out of that, multiple times. This was only about 6pm, so early in the evening to be running out.
Over all, I would LOVE to go back here. A great date night atmosphere. A great ladies night out atmosphere. Just don't have your heart set on a specific menu item. They may have run out.

Lone Star Buffet, Jasper, TX 75951
Our rating 3 out of 5
Looking at the only review on Yelp, it was given 1 star and titled "Gross". I'm sure a teen or 20 something wrote this review.
"A lot of old people eat here and that is because they have liver and onions..."
"Old" people love buffets, but so do young people too. Just skip over the liver and onions. I'm 56 and skipped right over that item. We only saw 1 other "old" couple. We were young compared to the other couple. Most patrons were in their 20's. A lot of scrubs, so I think this is a favorite place for lunch for the local medical office workers.
During the week, this is only open until 2:30. It is not a huge buffet at all. One section for salads, one section for main courses, and one section for deserts. But for the $10. it costs, it was worth it.
The salad buffet was fresh and quite a variety of items making for a very satisfying salad. I tried the HOUSE CAESAR DRESSING, which I thought was very good and not overly thick and heavy.
A decent number of choices for the main courses, most of which were covered in some kind of gravy or sauce. Meatloaf was above average. All the other items were average.
A nice surprise were their huge POTATO ROLLS! Absolutely delicious. You can buy them separately and I was very tempted.
Deserts consisted of a lemon and a chocolate cream pie. They looked like they had been sitting around for too long. Bread pudding was decent. Soft serve ice desert. Can't call it ice cream, because it wasn't. Maybe ice milk? or ice yogurt? Only vanilla offered with some toppings available.
Will probably not return, BUT, if you are in the mood to pig out on some home style gloppy casserole foods, go ahead and enjoy.
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CRAFTS: While in Rutherfordon, NC at the laundry, I met a woman crocheting scrubbies made out of nylon netting. She gave me one to keep. I prefer soap pouches rather than scrubbies. I can toss in the scrap pieces of soap that keep slipping out of your hands when they get too small.

Nylon netting

Scrubbie from nylon netting

I cut the netting into 2" strips and just tied the ends together and rolled into a ball.

Netting "yarn"

My soap scrap scrubbie

Another cake I saw on facebook, that looks like knitting.

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PETS:

One think I thing all RV'rs miss is a regular bathroom. Some of the newer RV's have a decent sized bathroom, almost like home. Ours is not one of those. Our shower is in our bedroom and our toilet is in a "closet". Our dogs have always wanted to be where we are, even if it's in a stinky bathroom. Of course I'm sure the dogs find the stinky interesting rather than offensive.

Poor Lyla can't fit inside the toilet closet, so she gets as close as possible. She moans and sniffs the opening at the bottom of the door, so she can still get those "interesting" smells.

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WHERE WE ARE GOING:
Feb. 11 - 17, 2012
RAINBOW PARK Livingston, TX 77351 Escapees Headquarters

Feb. 18 - 25, 2012
TRAVELER'S WORLD, San Antonio, TX 78214